Wolverines Defeat No. 25 Spartans in Conference Opener Behind Big Second Half

Friday, September 24

Ann Arbor, Mich.

6:00 PM

Michigan

(7-0, 1-0Big Ten)

Michigan State

(6-2, 0-2Big Ten)

Michigan State

Michigan

(Michigan Photography)

Wolverines Defeat No. 25 Spartans in Conference Opener Behind Big Second Half

9/24/2021 10:00:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Leah Howard

» No. 1 Michigan scored early and surged away late, scoring four goals in the second half, to beat No. 25 Michigan State 6-1 in its Big Ten opener at Ocker Field.
» Anouk Veen scored twice on the penalty corner for her first goals of the season, while Sofia Southam, the nation's leading scorer, added a second-half tally to her total.
» U-M led in shots 32-6, including an 18-1 advantage in the second half; Anna Spieker earned five saves in goal.

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Phyllis Ocker Field)
Score: #1 Michigan 6, #25 Michigan State 1
Records: U-M (7-0, 1-0 B1G), MSU (4-2, 0-2 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Sept. 26 -- vs. #23 Kent State (Phyllis Ocker Field), 1 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 1-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team kicked off its Big Ten Conference slate in decisive fashion, using a big second-half surge to down No. 25 Michigan State 6-1 in front of 1,131 fans at Phyllis Ocker Field. The Wolverines remain perfect on the season, improving to 7-0.

Michigan led by one at halftime, 2-1, before scoring two apiece in the third and fourth quarters, outshooting the Spartans 18-1 in the second half. Sophomore Anouk Veen scored two goals -- her first tallies of the season -- off the corner attack, while junior Nina Apoola also picked up her first of the season and senior Sofia Southam, the nation's leading scorer, netted her 11th as part of U-M's second-half surge.

The Wolverines scored twice in the opening five minutes of the contest, as senior Tina D'Anjolell tapped one in from in front of the MSU cage at the 3:33 mark, before Veen converted on the second of back-to-back penalty corners just 78 seconds later, burying the direct shot from the top of the circle.

Michigan State (4-2, 0-2 Big Ten) got on the board with a rebound goal in the waning seconds of the first half, at 29:18, to pull within one, but it was all Michigan for the remainder of the contest.

The Wolverines scored in spurts in the second half, tallying two goals in a 2:04 window of the third quarter and two more over a 2:34 span in the fourth. Veen scored off another U-M corner at the 40:38, deflecting it in off a Spartan defender, while Southam did the same at 42:42, taking a shot from the top of the circle and caroming it off an MSU player before it slowly rolled into the cage.

Apoola scored on a rebound at 50:34, chasing it down near the right post and lifting it over the sprawled Michigan State goalkeeper. Sophomore Lora Clarke ripped a shot off the crossbar and down into the net to wrap up scoring at 53:08. It was Clarke's fourth goal of the season.

Michigan (7-0, 1-0 Big Ten) outshot the Spartrans 32-6 in the contest and outcornered them 8-3. Senior goalkeeper Anna Spieker earned five saves in the Wolverine cage, while MSU's Jade Arundell posted 11 stops.

The Wolverines will wrap up their weekend homestand with a 1 p.m. slate against #23 Kent State on Sunday (Sept. 26) at Ocker Field. Admission is free for all regular-season home games. The game will be streamed live on B1G+.