Southam's Two Corner Goals Key Michigan Win over No. 23 Kent State

Sunday, September 26

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:00 PM

Michigan

(8-0)

Kent State

(5-4)

Kent State

Michigan

Sofia Southam (Sam Janicki)

Southam's Two Corner Goals Key Michigan Win over No. 23 Kent State

9/26/2021 4:13:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

By: Leah Howard

» No. 1 Michigan scored twice on second-half penalty corners to edge No. 23 Kent State 2-1 for its second ranked win at Ocker Field this weekend.
» Sofia Southam, the nation's leading scorer, netted both Michigan goals, including the late game-winner at 52:51, in the fourth quarter; she boasts 13 goals this season.
» U-M led in shots 16-7 and corners 7-4; Anna Spieker earned three saves in goal.

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Phyllis Ocker Field)
Score: #1 Michigan 2, #23 Kent State 1
Records: U-M (8-0), KSU (4-3)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Oct. 3 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), Noon

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Senior Sofia Southam scored twice in the second half to propel the No. 1-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team to a 2-1 win against No. 23 Kent State on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 26) in front of 459 fans at Phyllis Ocker Field. The Wolverines earned a pair of ranked wins over the homestand and improved to 8-0 on the season.

All three of the game's goals came off the corner attack. After Michigan (8-0) and Kent State (4-3) scored less than five minutes apart in the third quarter, Southam netted the game-winner midway through the fourth, at the 52:51 mark. She took a pass from fifth-year senior Halle O'Neill on the left side of the scoring arc and drilled a shot on net, deflecting it in off a Kent State defender's stick.

Southam, the national scoring leader with 13 goals on the season, broke a scoreless tie midway through the third quarter, at the 39:06 mark, with a similar goal, finding the near-side corner of the KSU cage on a shot from the left side of the arc. Junior Nina Apoola earned the assist on the play. Southam has scored at least one goal in all six of her appearances this season and boasts three multi-goal games.

Kent State answered the first Wolverine goal less than five minutes later, at 43:57, on its next corner opportunity. The initial shot deflected off a Golden Flash stick in the middle of the circle and to the right post, where Kate Wuerstle knocked it into the cage.

U-M largely controlled play after regaining the lead in the fourth quarter before O'Neill corralled the ball in the final two minutes, took it to the left sideline and ran off the remaining clock.

Michigan outshot the Golden Flashes 16-7 and outcornered them 7-4. Senior goalkeeper Anna Spieker posted three saves, while Kent State's Azure Fernsler stopped five of seven U-M shots on goal.

The Wolverines will travel to Columbus, Ohio, next Sunday (Oct. 3) to take on rival Ohio State at 1 p.m. on Buckeye Turf Field. The game will be streamed live on B1G+.