The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 — 7
Sophomore attacker Caitlin
Muir, positioned behind the
goal, received a pass from
sophomore midfielder Maggie
Kane off the opening draw. She
wrapped around and took a
shot that found the back of the
net, giving the No. 8 Michigan
women’s lacrosse team (14-1
overall, 4-1 Big Ten) the lead
over Rutgers (5-9, 0-4) just 17
seconds into the game en route
to a 12-8 win on Saturday.
Coming
off
their first loss
of the season to
No. 2 Maryland,
the
Wolverine
players
aimed
to take an early
lead in order to
regain some of
the
confidence
from
their
13-game winning
streak that was
snapped against the Terrapins
last week.
“I feel like it really boosted
our morale because coming off
Maryland we wanted to get
up early and get going,” Muir
said. “I think it really pushed
everyone to go harder and
faster and kept the trend up.”
Michigan
took
advantage
of this momentum and used
it to take a four-goal first-
half lead. Three more goals
scored by Muir, along with
two from junior midfielder
Nadine
Stewart
and
one
each from junior midfielder
Molly Garrett and freshman
midfielder
Kaitlyn
Mead
gave the Wolverines an 8-4
advantage at halftime.
Michigan began the second
half just as strong as it ended
the first, with Kane scoring
just 1:39 into the half. But the
scoring quickly dried up as the
Wolverines didn’t score again
for more than 20 minutes,
with
Rutgers
goalkeeper
Kameron Halsall making five
saves in that span. With 10:26
remaining in the game, the
Scarlet Knights had cut the
Michigan lead to two.
“We were getting shots,
but I think once a few of them
didn’t go in, the girls played a
little on their heels and just
started freezing up a little bit,”
said Michigan coach Hannah
Nielsen. “We were making
stop after stop defensively,
but we were hitting pipes,
hitting the goalie, and she had
a great game.
I thought we
were
getting
the shots but
it wasn’t quite
falling
our
way.”
Even though
Rutgers
appeared
to
be
gaining
momentum
midway
through the second half —
scoring three consecutive goals
— the Wolverines kept fighting.
They put together a strong
offensive
possession
that
resulted in Halsall saving a
free position shot, and followed
it up with a defensive stand.
After
clearing
the
zone,
Muir
took
possession
and
drew a foul. She then scored
her fifth goal of the day on the
resulting free position shot,
giving Michigan a 10-7 lead
with 7:37 left. Garrett and
sophomore
midfielder
Erin
Daly both scored in the next
four minutes, securing the
victory for the Wolverines.
“We just needed that to keep
the momentum going,” Muir
said. “We knew we were OK,
but we just wanted to keep it
going. We were missing a lot of
shots, so that really got people’s
confidence back up.”
Added Nielsen: “I thought
we were getting better looks
on cage. We weren’t taking the
low angle shots and we were
sharing the ball around.”
Since the Wolverines had
not lost all season prior to
last weekend, this was their
first opportunity to prove that
they could bounce back from a
tough loss. While Rutgers is not
a particularly strong opponent,
Michigan’s strong start and
continued persistence offered
encouraging signs for this team
going forward.
“We had a lot of fun this
week in practice. We worked
really
hard,”
Nielsen
said.
“We worked on some concepts
that we put forth in the game
today, and I thought the girls
responded really well.”
As the regular season winds
down, Michigan is approaching
the most important part of its
season. Playing aggressively
from
the
opening
whistle
and
persevering
when
the
offense isn’t converting during
stretches of the game like on
Saturday will be crucial in
hopes of beating the best teams
in the country.
Facing their team and coaches
with their families by their sides,
the 11 seniors of the Michigan
women’s lacrosse team stood
pregame, in uniform, on their
home turf, for the final time.
As the PA announced each
player’s position, name and
hometown, the Wolverines were
recognized for a historic season
that is far from over, and how
the 11 women holding bouquets
of maize flowers helped shape
the program into what it is today.
And help shape the program,
they did.
The eighth-ranked Wolverines
put on a show for the crowd,
defeating Rutgers, 12-8. This
win helped secure Michigan’s
first undefeated home season
since the program’s inception in
2014.
Though they didn’t play a
perfect game by any means, the
Wolverines defeated the Scarlet
Knights for the first time ever
in the U-M Lacrosse Stadium,
propelled by sophomore Caitlin
Muir’s team-best five goals.
Junior Lilly Grass broke the
single-season record for assists
behind her five on Saturday, and
senior Mira Shane recorded her
100th save on the season and
ended the game with 106.
Shane was challenged with
a much more offensive-minded
opponent on Saturday, forcing
her to be much more alert and
energized in the net at all times.
“I think it’s a mentality thing,”
Shane said. “I think I stay busy in
my mind, even though I may not
be running around. I always try
to stay connected
with our offense.
You
might
see
me
doing
some sprints as
(the
offensive
players)
score.
But that’s only
for me – I kind
of get energized
by them scoring
and us having
these
great
opportunities. I think that’s how
we stay in the zone as a defensive
unit.”
Rutgers took 16 shots on goal
in Saturday’s game, something
Shane isn’t unfamiliar with.
Facing so many shots forces her
to stay alert, providing an energy
that transfers to the rest of the
team.
“I think it just forces me and
energizes me to pick up the level
of my game,” Shane said. “If I’m
seeing more shots, I definitely
always want to come out with
a win, and, you know, give my
team the best performance that I
can. ... just having a great Senior
Day was really important to me,
for this being
our last regular
season
home
game.”
As
Shane,
the
starting
goalkeeper
for
the
2018-2019
season, reflected
on her four years
in
the
maize
and
blue,
she
couldn’t
help
but get emotional. With all of
the changes Michigan women’s
lacrosse has gone through, from
being a sub-.500 performance
in Shane’s freshman year to
nationally-ranked
program,
she has been a key factor in
Michigan’s
record-breaking
seasons.
“I think it was my goal today
to play with gratitude and heart,”
Shane said. “It’s been a heck
of a ride for four years, playing
a lot of different games with
a lot of different people. And
today to just play at home with
my parents by my side during
this
Senior
Day
celebration
with wonderful teammates and
coaches that I’ve had all season.
“I don’t think it gets much
better than that. And so I was
just really thankful to have a
great win today, and then to
keep it going for the rest of our
season. As you said – it’s not
over, we’re not done, and this
team is definitely going places.”
Bounce back
After Maryland spoils undefeated season, Michigan recovers with 12-8 win over Rutgers to move to 14-1 on the season
JACK KINGSLEY
Daily Sports Writer
SHIRA ZISHOLTZ
Daily Sports Writer
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Senior goaltender Mira Shane recorded her 100th save of the season in a 12-8 Senior Day win over Rutgers.
I think we
pushed
everyone to go
harder.
I definitely
always want to
come out with a
win.
Foster charges past competition
As sophomore Chloe Foster
approached the final stretch of
the track and leaped over her
final hurdle at Cardinal Park
in Louisville, Ky., there was
nothing but daylight behind
her.
By the moment the second-
place
competitor
crossed
the finish line, nearly three
seconds had passed. Foster
cruised to a runaway victory
in the 400-meter hurdles with
a career-best outing of 58.60
seconds to cap off a successful
day for the No. 21 Michigan
women’s track and field team
at the Louisville Invitational.
It wasn’t just Foster who
succeeded for the Wolverines.
As a team, they won three
events and placed in the top
five in 11 total events on the
day.
“(Foster) is a very hard
worker,” said Michigan coach
James Henry. “We have high
expectation of her. We have
a lot of confidence in her and
it’s a matter of getting her
confidence up.”
Foster’s
performance
not
only shattered her previous
personal
record
by
nearly
three-quarters of a second, but
also moved her up to fifth all-
time in school history for the
400-meter hurdles.
“It’s just the beginning of
how good we think she can
be as an athlete,” Henry said.
“She’s a great student and I
think she could be just as good
as an athlete.”
Elsewhere on the track,
the Wolverines posted strong
showings from the middle-
distance group. Junior Micaela
DeGenero
impressed in the
800-meter run
with a 2:07.69
performance,
more
than
a
second
faster
than
anyone
else in the field.
Fresh
off
their
own
wins,
Foster
and
DeGenero
joined a team of sophomores,
Alice Hill and Jenna Reid, to
clinch the 4x400-meter relay
(3:43.22),
Michigan’s
third
and final victory of the meet.
Junior Julia Hall and senior
Meg Darmofal also impressed,
by placing third in the 400
meters
and
3,000
meters
respectively.
“I think we had a number of
performances to be proud of
as a team,” Henry said. “Our
athletes stepped up and had
better competitions and better
performances we were happy
with.”
Senior Jeryne Fish set the
tone for the Wolverines on the
field with a personal record of
5.08 meters in the long jump.
Her showing was particularly
encouraging, as it came after
her return from surgery that
sidelined her for all of last
season.
Junior
Katt
Miner
continued
Michigan’s
stellar play on
the
field
by
posting a fifth-
place finish in
the high jump
after a season-
best 1.70 meter
performance.
Health
remains
the
key
question for the Wolverines,
as they head into the Big Ten
Championships and the rest of
postseason play.
“We have to stay healthy and
we’re always as good as we are
healthy,” Henry said. “We’re
just starting to get the health
under
our
athletic
ability
and that’s where we need to
improve.”
‘M’ gets mixed results in Columbus
Settle in two ... one ... two ...
Settle.
On junior coxswain Erik
Yasuda’s call, the 2V8 made a
dramatic shift. At the settle,
the rowers elongated their
stroke in unison from the quick,
choppy catches of the starting
sequence to a more sustainable
racing pace against Ohio State.
By the end of the day Saturday
— facing the Buckeyes and
Rutgers at the Big Ten Double
Dual — the No. 5 Michigan
rowing team had finished first
in 11 of the 14 total races.
Through
the
starting
sequence and the following
high strokes, the Wolverines
battled Ohio State to get out in
front with neither team able to
take a commanding lead.
With
this
settle
stroke,
the boat found its rhythm.
Michigan jumped up two seats
at the 500-meter mark and
never let up, something senior
Shayla Lamb credits to the
boat’s single-minded focus.
“It had to do with our base
pace,”
Lamb
said.
“That’s
something we’ve been working
on: getting into our rhythm and
staying internal. I think that’s
something we’ll keep working
on to get better.”
Michigan increased its lead
by inches with every stroke,
taking a decisive lead by the
time the boat crossed the
1,250-meter
mark.
Taking
control of the race gave the
Wolverines the confidence and
control they needed to keep
walking away into the second
1,000 meters.
As the last 500 meters
came up, 2V8 got ready to
take another move to seal the
victory.
“We worked on sprinting
quite a lot — well, no not quite
a lot — but we’ve worked on
making those moves at the
end,”
Lamb
said.
“That’s
something we (have) gotten
more experience with in the
past couple of weeks. It’s nice to
have that in our back pocket.”
While they knew they had
this skill at their disposal, they
didn’t have to rely on it. Despite
Ohio
State’s
best
efforts,
Michigan only increased its
lead in the sprint, finishing the
race half a boat length up on its
competition.
The 2V8 boat went on to beat
Rutgers by over 10 seconds,
though other boats experienced
mixed results.
The 1V8 was edged out
by the Buckeyes, but found
redemption against the Scarlet
Knights
later
in
the
day.
Despite the loss — its first of
the season — Michigan coach
Mark Rothstein was content
with the race.
“Our boat raced really hard
and showed a lot of toughness,”
Rothstein said.
That boat — led by freshman
Jessica Schoonbee in stroke
seat — fell short by a mere .96
seconds and finished in 6:22.04
minutes.
Other freshmen prevailed in
the 1N8 which beat out both of
its opponents.
The first two fours also
found success against Rutgers.
The 1V4 lost to Ohio State while
the 2V4 beat them by eight
seconds.
Despite the overall success
of the weekend, Michigan has
some room for improvement —
especially as the 1V8 will have a
chance to redeem itself against
Ohio State next weekend at
Lake Las Vegas.
Lamb hinted she may know
the key to success.
“We need to keep finding our
rhythm early on and making
that middle one (kilometer)
ours.”
LANE KIZZIAH
Daily Sports Writer
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
The Michigan rowing team finished first in 11 of 14 races at the Big Ten Double Duo against Ohio State and Rutgers.
CHRIS SULLIVAN
For the Daily
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore Chloe Foster ran away with the 400-meter hurdles with a career-best time of 58.60 seconds.
It’s just the
beginning of
how good we
think she can be.