6B - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - September 30, 1996
FIELD HOCKEY
Wolverines'
sticks can
shoot, can't score lately
Michigan outshoots opponents but comes up short
By Richard Shin
Daily Sports Writer
Not much good can happen if you
don't score goals, and for the
Michigan field hockey team last week-
end, not much did. And despite playing
two games close, bad luck eventually
struck the young Wolverines.
In Michigan's two losses this past
weekend, the Wolverines managed just
four goals despite firing 40 shots
against Ohio State and Penn State.
Against Ohio State on Friday, the
Wolverines outshot the Buckeyes 14-
11 in the first half, but trailed 3-2. In
the second half, the story was the same
as Michigan fired 13 shots to six for
Ohio State, but both teams failed to
score. The Wolverines mounted a rally
late in the game and had a chance to tie
the match on a penalty corner.
Junior attacker Meredith Weinstein
converted on the penalty corner to
knot the score at three, but the goal
was disallowed because it came one
second after the buzzer.
The Wolverines outshot, out-
cornered and outplayed the Buckeyes
and only failed to outdo them in one
category. Unluckily for the
Wolverines, the category is the only
one that counts in win-loss records,
goals.
The Wolverines, who have only four
seniors, have suffered from inexperi-
ence.
"The seniors that are on the team
right now haven't played very much,"
Pankratz said. "They're great leaders
and they work really hard, but some of
them just need playing experience.:"
Against Penn State yesterday, the
Wolverines played the best game they
have played all season, Michigan
coach Marcia Pankratz said.
Unfortunately for the Wolverines,
their best performance came against
the No. 19 team in the nation.
Michigan again could only muster two
goals and fell, 5-2, to the Lady Lions.
It came down to a matter of who was a
better team, and yesterday, it was Penn
State.
"We're playing well and we just
haven't had the results to show it,"
Penn State coach Char Morett said.
"We came back well after our loss at
Michigan State. (Michigan) is a very
skilled team.
"Unfortunately, they had to be the
team we beat. We were due."
Penn State outshot the Wolverines,
23-13, in the match and kept Michigan
on its defensive heels for much of the
second half. The Wolverines played
solid defense in the second half, but
could not overcome the three-goal
deficit.
In fact, the Wolverines managed
only four shots in the second framne,
while the Lady Lions fired I1.
Michigan junior attacker Julie
Flachs scored both goals against Qhio
State on five shots-on-goal. Going iinto
yesterday's game, Flachs had account-
ed for the last five Michigan goals.
Despite Michigan's apparent offen-
sive woes, Pankratz doesn't believe
that the offense is struggling.
"We had some opportunities to
score (against Penn State), but we did-
n't," Pankratz said. "(Penn State's)
goalkeeper was outstanding. We had
some really niceshot and she made
some really good saves.
"That could have been the differ-
ence in the game."
Despite the hard luck Michigane
faced this weekend, Pankratz was
encouraged by the team's improvement
between matches. Until the next
match, the Wolverines have a few
details to straighten out.
"We made some mental mistakes
that cost us two goals," Pankratz said.
"But we also want to build on estab-
lishing passing combinations."
And maybe some good luck for a
change would help, too. ,
®
LIONS
Continued from Page 18
against Michigan (0-2 Big Ten, 3-4
overall), scoring the first-half goal to
send Penn State's lead to 3-0. Maguire
assisted on a goal in the second half, in
addition to her four shots on goal.
Michigan attacker Lindsay Babbitt
provided a spark off the bench for the
Wolverines, scoring an unassisted goal
minutes after Penn State's third goal of
the contest.
Babbitt's goal was the first of the
sophomore's collegiate career, not to
mention the lone bright spot in
Michigan's dismal first half.
That trend would continue for the
Wolverines in the second half, as the
Lady Lions came out of the intermis-
sion with the same offensive fire that
they displayed in the first half.
Penn State added two more goals to
its lead, making the score 5-1, and
putting the game seemingly out of
reach for Michigan. Senior co-captain
Michelle Smulders scored on a penalty
corner with less than eight minutes left
in the game, but at that point, it was too
little, too late for the Wolverines.
For the Lady Lions, the victory was
well overdue after a difficult start to
their 1996 campaign. Penn State
dropped a game to Michigan State, 4-2,
on Friday, after losing games to nation-
al powers Connecticut and
Massachusetts the weekend before.
"We have not really come out with a
tough mentality," Penn State coach
Char Morett said. "That was part of (the
problem with the team)."
Unlike the Lady Lions, the
Wolverines haven't lacked a proper
mindset - the team has simply missed
out on some scoring chances. Friday's
loss to Ohio State illustrated this point.
Michigan outshot the Buckeyes, 27-
17, yet was only able to put two goals
on the board in the back-and-forth con-
test.
The explosive first half defined the
tempo for the entire game, as scoring
alternated between the two squads.
Britta Eickhoff led off the scoring. for
the Buckeyes, pushing a shot past
Helber in the midst of a wave of phio
State pressure.
A minute later, Michigan's Jijlie
Flachs converted a penalty corner, scoro
ing the first of her two goals in the
game. A Michigan goal sandwiched
between two Ohio State scores ended
the scoring for the half at 3-2.
The Buckeyes might have added .to
their lead, but a goal was scoredgjust
after time expired in the half. Ironically,
the same situation arose for be
Wolverines at the end of the game.
Michigan attacker Meredith
Weinstein seemingly scored on a pendl
ty corner as time ran out. However, offi-
cials ruled that goal came after the end
of the game. Had Weinstein's shot
counted, the game would have been sent
to overtime.
JONATHAN SUMMER/Dady
Michigan's Selina Harris tries to keep up with Penn State's Heidi Landis as she drives the ball downfield on Sunday. As a
team, the Wolverines couldn't keep up with the Nittany Lions and lost, 5-2.
Oct. 15 CENTRAL MICHIGAN 4 p.m.
Oct. 20 Michigan State Noon
Wednesday MICHIGAN STATE 4 p.m. Oct. 25 Penn State 4 p.m.
Sunday NEW HAMPSHIRE Noon Oct. 27 Ohio State 1 p.m.
Oct. 11 Iowa 4 p.m. Nov. 1 NORTHWESTERN 3 p.m.
Oct. 13 Northwestern 1P.M. HOME GAMES IN BOLD
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