Pyrtek Nets Late Game-Winner as Wolverines Overcome Deficit at Cal

Sunday, September 8

Berkeley, Calif.

Noon PT

Michigan

(2-2)

California

(1-2)

Michigan

California

Sarah Pyrtek

Pyrtek Nets Late Game-Winner as Wolverines Overcome Deficit at Cal

9/8/2019 5:17:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

By: Leah Howard

» No. 7 Michigan overcame a halftime deficit, scoring once in the third and fourth quarters, to defeat California, 2-1, in Berkeley.
» Sarah Pyrtek netted her first collegiate goal with the late game-winner off a rebound at the 52-minute mark.
» Tina D'Anjolell scored the equalizer at 38:21, as Michigan outshot Cal, 7-2, in the second half.

Site: Berkeley, Calif. (Underhill Field)
Score: #7 Michigan 2, California 1
Records: U-M (2-2), California (1-2)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 13 -- vs. UConn (Phyllis Ocker Field), 6 p.m.

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Freshman Sarah Pyrtek scored the deciding goal in the fourth quarter as the No. 7-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team rallied from an initial deficit to defeat California, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 8) at the Golden Bears' Underhill Field.

Pyrtek's scored the game-winner -- and her first collegiate goal -- at the 52-minute mark, with just eight minutes remaining in regulation and moments after a Cal green card. Senior Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort penetrated the circle from the left side off a free hit and fired a shot into a scrum in front of the cage. The ball rebounded to the right, where Pyrtek lunged and knocked it into the cage.

The Wolverines used a sustained and suffocating second-half attack and outshot the Bears, 7-2, to overcome a halftime deficit. Sophomore Tina D'Anjolell scored the equalizer midway through the third quarter, at 38:21, after she got her stick on a Fernandez Lacort crossing pass and tipped it in near the right post. It was D'Anjolell's second marker in as many games.

California scored its goal in the closing minutes of the first half, at 28:25, after sophomore goalkeeper Anna Spieker made a big save off a fast break but the Wolverines failed to clear. Cal's Katrina Carter corralled a blocked shot and snuck it through traffic on the left side of the circle.

Michigan outshot the Golden Bears, 11-7, and outcornered them, 5-2. Spieker made two saves in the Wolverine cage, while California goalkeeper Natalie Dalton stopped five of seven Wolverine shots on goal.

The Wolverines (2-2) will return home for a pair of non-conference games in the Mitten State next weekend. Michigan hosts No. 4 Connecticut on Friday (Sept. 13) at 6 p.m. at Phyllis Ocker Field before they travel to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, for an in-state showdown against Central Michigan on Sunday (Sept. 15) at 1 p.m.