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Sports
Tuesday, Septermber 12, 2017 — 7
Way scores three,
‘M’ defeats Aggies
Emma Way wanted to prove
her coach wrong.
After starting the first five
games of the season, the junior
forward found herself on the
bench as the buzzer sounded to
begin the match at Ocker Field on
Sunday afternoon.
She was clearly frustrated.
Rather than sulk though, she
channeled that anger into success.
Way anchored the Michigan field
hockey team’s offense by recording
the first hat trick of her career.
“Two of (my goals) were
actually assisted by my good
friend
Meg
(Dowthwaite)
and we connect
really
well,”
Way said. “So
it felt good to
score goals with
her today.”
Inserted
in
the
10th
minute,
Way
quickly
began
her
offensive
surge, scoring eight minutes later
on a rebound shot. Then, she added
two more goals in the second half
— the first off a pass from the right
side — and another to cap off her
performance, a one-timer from the
middle of the circle.
Sunday’s performance was a
long time coming for Way — even if
she began the game on the bench.
Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz
has
noticed
improvements
in
Way’s
confidence
and
aggressiveness.
While the offensive side of
Way’s game shined the most on
Sunday, her defense, in particular,
has really stood out to Pankratz
this season.
“Her
tackling
back
and
doubling
down
on
defense
creates a lot of counterattack
opportunities for her,” Pankratz
said. “And she’s just so natural at
getting great touches on the ball.
It’s something you can’t teach, it’s
really special.
“She’s just a dangerous dynamic
player. It’s just fun to watch.”
It is traits such as these that
have made Way a consistent
starter this season. But for
Pankratz, with her team in the
midst of a two-game of losing
streak — including a shutout loss
Friday night — she needed to
shake up her lineup.
Her tinkering paid off. Seven
different players Michigan scored
nine goals for Michigan against
UC Davis.
“It feels great,” Pankratz said.
“We were really deep and had a lot
of versatility in the goal scoring,
and that’s hard to scout and hard
to play against, so
I feel great about
it. We have a lot of
talented players.”
As
an
upperclassman on
a team with eight
freshmen, Way is
often looked as a
symbol of stability
and
assistance.
Frequently,
the
young players will
look to her for guidance and advice.
And while some older players
may grow tired of this questioning,
Way sees it as an honor, enjoying
helping the first-year members
of the team adjust to the rigors of
NCAA life.
Pankratz notices the impact
that players such as Way have
made on the freshmen.
“She’s being more assertive
and has a great presence on the
field,” Pankratz said. “And so she
has been running down plays
and doubling down and making
a difference in the circle and
outmaneuvering
the
defender
and making some really confident
goal-scoring shots.”
Though she initially was upset
at her coach’s decision to go with
an atypical starting lineup, Way
used the shift as motivation for a
career game. Her coach was happy
too, as her shifts with the starters
led to an offensive barrage.
FIELD HOCKEY
AVI SHOLKOFF
Daily Sports Writer
She’s just so
natural at getting
great touches on
the ball.
Wolverines rebound with win over UC Davis
All it took was 75 seconds
Sunday for the Michigan field
hockey team to get its groove
back.
Converting on a corner by
junior defender Maggie Bettez,
senior
midfielder
Katie
Trombetta
slammed a direct shot into the
back of the cage, opening up
scoring for the seventh-ranked
Wolverines. It was immediately
apparent
that
Michigan’s
presence differed from Friday
night, where it saw an offensive
slump, taking just five shots
throughout the game.
Following the first goal, the
Wolverines never relinquished
their intensity and continued
to dominate in a lopsided game.
Michigan (4-2) outshot UC Davis
(0-6) 30-1, drawing nine penalty
corners at Ocker Field on Sunday
afternoon.
In
their
highest
scoring game of the season, the
Wolverines overwhelmed the
Aggies, 9-0, rebounding from
their previous two losses.
“I think we thought more
about our play versus their
play,” said junior forward Emma
Way. “I think on Friday we kind
of went down to their level and
didn’t get to really play our
game. Today we were focused
on what we do well, and every
individual player doing their
own job.”
Michigan
demonstrated
depth in addition to command,
with seven separate players
seeing goals throughout the
game.
Sophomore
midfielder
Kate Walker earned her first
collegiate goal, and the final
goal of the first half. With 2:50
remaining, Walker sent a ball
into the cage off a broken corner.
“We were really deep and had
a lot of versatility in the goal
scoring,” said Michigan coach
Marcia Pankratz. “That’s hard
to scout and hard to play against,
so I feel great about it. We have a
lot of talented players.”
It would be hard to find a
minute in Sunday’s game that
the Wolverines didn’t have their
sticks on the ball, maintaining
control in their attacking zone
for the majority of the game.
This provided comfort for senior
goalkeeper Sam Swenson and
freshman goalkeeper Sidonie
LaPlante, who played in the
second half for her collegiate
debut. The two combined for the
shutout in the cage.
One of Michigan’s greatest
strengths
displayed
was
its
ability
to
capitalize
on
penalty
corners.
Seventeen
minutes
into
the game, Way
drew a penalty
corner, crossing
the
ball
to
sophomore
forward
Meg
Dowthwaite
who
buried
into
the
corner of the
cage. Dowthwaite was a vital
part of the Wolverine offense,
contributing three assists on the
day.
Rushing the circle again just
a minute later, Way punched
the ball into the goal off a
rebound, adding another goal
to Michigan’s scoreboard. The
junior earned her first career hat
trick in the game.
After Walker’s goal made the
score 5-0 at halftime, Michigan
didn’t let up in the second
half, showcasing a dynamic
performance with a shot count
in the second half (16) surpassing
that in the first (14).
After close scoring attempts
off back-to-back corners in the
38th minute of the
game,
freshman
midfielder Kayla
Reed broke open
scoring
in
the
second
half
at
41:28. Reed sent a
reverse chip into
the top-shelf of
the cage for her
second goal of the
season.
The Wolverines
continued
the
momentum from
Reed’s
goal,
as minutes later, sophomore
forward
Fay
Keijer
buried
the ball into the lower left
corner off a rebound. The flow
demonstrated in back-to-back
scoring plays like that between
Reed and Keijer exemplified
what Pankratz believed to be
missing in Friday’s game against
William & Mary.
“This
game,
because
we
found a lot of confidence and the
game was going well, we were
able to spread out, and spread
(UC Davis) out,” Pankratz said.
“There were a lot more gaps for
them to operate in.”
Way scored Michigan’s final
two goals of the game, the first
on a redirected pass at the
52-minute mark, and the second
in which she one-timed a pass
with 12 minutes remaining.
After they scored the last goal,
the Wolverines maintained ball
control, keeping UC Davis at
their heels for the remainder of
the time.
Though Michigan had a tough
night Friday, it resurrected its
offense
Sunday,
completely
abandoning
its
struggles.
And that could be helpful, as
Michigan State comes to Ann
Arbor to begin Big Ten play
Friday.
“I think (today) helps with
our confidence,” Pankratz said.
“We played sharp and crisp
today, which we were trying to
achieve Friday night, and I think
it’s a good stepping stone for the
Big Ten season which is starting
Friday.”
ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Writer
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Junior forward Emma Way scored three goals for the Wolverines, marking the first hat trick of her career.
UC DAVIS
MICHIGAN
0
9
We played sharp
and crisp today,
which we were
trying to achieve
Friday night.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Emphasis on defense
leads Michigan to tie
The Michigan women’s soccer
team fended off No. 17 Wake Forest
in a scoreless double-overtime
game despite a potent offensive
attack by the Demon Deacons.
The
Wolverines
(3-1-3)
returned home, and just as it had
in the previous matches, Michigan
placed emphasis on defense and
goalkeeping as they fought to
repel the Wake Forest offense.
Despite starting a relatively
new back line, the Wolverines
played
defense
quickly
and
concisely. Wake Forest looked
for any chance to break through,
shooting nine shots, four of which
were shots on goal. Every one-
on-one scoring opportunity the
Demon Deacons had was met
with a swift clearance or block
that helped relieve pressure on the
goalkeeper.
“This is a young defense – most
of them weren’t here last year,”
said Michigan coach Greg Ryan.
“Taylor (Timko) was out with
an injury, Sarah (Stratigakis)
was gone with Canada. Brooke
Cilley was out for most of the fall
and didn’t play in the back. The
only returning defender is Jada
(Dayne). They have really come
together as a back four and the
goalkeeping behind them has
been outstanding.”
Freshman goalkeeper Hillary
Beall made her second start,
starting
over
senior
Sarah
Jackson, who played the second
half. Recording four saves, Beall
stopped the Demon Deacons
from capitalizing on mistakes the
defense made.
At the start of the second
half, Wake Forest came out
aggressively. It forced two fouls
and three shots in the first 15
minutes, looking to control the
offensive momentum as they
had the first half. Despite being
unable to slow the Demon Deacon
offense, Michigan avoided being
scored on, while pressuring the
opposing forwards to shoot high
above the post.
In an effort to stop Wake
Forest’s attackers, the Wolverines
had their midfield fall back to assist
the defense. In addition, Michigan
added a veteran presence in senior
midfielder Rubina Veerakone to
control the center of the field,
which Wake Forest had previously
dominated.
The
individual
efforts
by
the defenders alongside strong
play by the midfield allowed
the Wolverines to shift the
momentum,
creating
much
needed scoring opportunities.
With
that
momentum,
Michigan went on the attack,
which led to a few unsuccessful
scoring
attempts.
After
recovering
momentum
with
two substitutions, Wake Forest
retaliated, beating the defense
to get six shots in the final nine
minutes of the game.
Despite that relentless attack,
Michigan’s
defense
handled
the situation in a calm yet gritty
manner, closing out on forwards
after being beat and attempting to
clear loose balls.
While the Demon Deacons
managed 11 shots in the second
half and overtime, just two were
on goal, showing the effort the
Wolverine defense had put in
to prevent any Demon Deacon
opportunity from becoming a
legitimate scoring threat.
The two shots on goal, however,
would have been goals had it not
been for Jackson. Despite not
starting over Beall, Jackson had a
great game, making a key save in
the final minutes.
“So far all three goalkeepers
have
just
been
outstanding,
including Megan Hinz,” Ryan
said. “We’ll always see who looks
the sharpest, but right now they all
look sharp. You can pick any one
and they’re gonna do well.”
TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
Hill stands out in second career start
Deep in his own territory with
his team trailing late in the fourth
quarter, Cincinnati’s quarterback
Hayden Moore rolled out and
uncorked his 39th pass of the day.
The ball whistled through
the
air,
passing
sophomore
defensive back Khaleke Hudson’s
outstretched right hand. But it did
not get by sophomore cornerback
Lavert Hill, who broke on the ball,
cradled it into both hands and
sprinted 24 yards untouched into
the endzone.
It
was
Hill’s
first
career
interception
and
touchdown,
and it provided a fitting sense of
finality against the Bearcats in
Michigan’s 36-14 win Saturday.
Quite simply, Cincinnati could
not pass on the Wolverines —
though that wasn’t for a lack of
trying. Moore completed just
15-of-40 attempts for a measly 3.3
yards per attempt.
Michigan’s success was due in
part to Hill, making his second
collegiate start. After opening
the season against Florida —
a game in which he gave up
several completions, including
a
34-yarder
on
the
Gators’
opening drive — Hill looked like a
shutdown cornerback.
“Yeah,
been
happy
with
Lavert,” said Michigan coach Jim
Harbaugh on Monday afternoon.
“He’s asserted himself and played
very well. Made the big play for us
in the ball game this past week.”
That
was
the
expectation
for Hill when the Wolverines
recruited him — he would play
sparingly as a freshman, learning
under
his
brother,
former
safety Delano Hill, and former
cornerback Jourdan Lewis. Then,
he would take over the reins.
And last fall, that was how
things played out. Hill appeared
in 11 games, playing corner in nine
as an important backup behind
Lewis and Channing Stribling.
Things
went
slightly
askew,
though, once the page turned to
spring ball.
According
to
cornerbacks
coach Mike Zordich, Hill didn’t
practice much in the spring —
something that
the
coaching
staff was “very
disappointed”
with.
Hill,
who
says
he
had
a
minor
concussion,
worked hard to
stay on the field,
but had to deal
with the injury
again in August.
Hill
confirmed there
was
a
sense
of
urgency
on
his
part
this offseason when it came to
his development. As one of the
faces of Michigan’s revamped
secondary, he needed to be ready.
“Yeah, because those guys left
and just people had to step up and
take over for them,” Hill said. “I
just felt like that’s what I had to
do, and that was it.”
And when he finally returned
for good in fall
camp,
things
clicked.
“I had suffered
a couple of minor
injuries,” Hill said,
“so after that, I
just had a better
mindset
about
things
and
got
after it.”
Added
Harbaugh: “Yeah,
(Lavert is) doing
well. Seeing him
digest information
very well. Comes
from good stock.
You’d love to be Lavert Hill Sr.,
to have Delano Hill playing
professional football and now
here you see Lavert in there
starting at corner, making plays,
helping his team win.
“Lavert Hill Sr.’s probably
boring the heck out of the
neighbors with how well his sons
are doing.”
Delano, whose rookie season
with
the
Seahawks
opened
Sunday, found time to watch his
younger brother’s game Saturday.
For the first season ever, he wasn’t
there to offer advice to Lavert in
person.
He may not have had any
wisdom regarding his younger
brother’s first pick-six, though.
Delano didn’t register his first
interception or touchdown until
his senior year. And perhaps
with that in mind, any struggles
Hill had in the spring or fall may
best be put in perspective. After
all, he’s still ahead of the family
curve.
“I talked to (Delano) right
after the game,” Lavert said.
“He called me, he just told me
congratulations and just keep
working and get some more
interceptions.”
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Sophomore cornerback Lavert Hill returned an interception for a touchdown Saturday, sealing a victory for Michigan.
Lavert Hill Sr.’s
probably boring
the heck out of
the neighbors
with how well
his sons are
doing.
ORION SANG
Daily Sports Editor