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. 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