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Thursday, May 13, 2021
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
STATE
COLLEGE,
Pa.
—
There’s an old adage in sports that
it’s hard to beat a team three times
in a season.
Heading
into
its
matchup
against
undefeated
Maryland,
the Michigan men’s lacrosse team
hoped that that adage would once
again rear its head. After a historic
win over Ohio State in the first
round of the Big Ten Tournament,
the Wolverines were primed to
catch the Terrapins — who had not
played in over a week — dozing.
Against Michigan’s best wishes,
though, the abilities of Maryland’s
usual
suspects
were
on
full
display on Thursday afternoon.
On the back of a career-high
10-point, eight-goal outing from
attackman Jared Bernhardt, the
No. 1-ranked Terrapins (11-0 Big
Ten) ended the Wolverines’ (3-9)
season in the semifinals of the Big
Ten Tournament, defeating them,
16-8.
“I think (our last) game, the
last game of the year, maybe we
walked off the field feeling like
we didn’t play our best game,”
Maryland coach John Tillman
said. “Having that week off, I
thought was really helpful for our
guys just to kind of step away and
catch their breath. … They were
really excited (today).”
The Wolverines’ offense began
the contest with the same tenacity
and confidence that propelled it to
victory against the Buckeyes.
Three minutes in, Michigan
sophomore
attackman
Josh
Zawada opened the scoring when
he dodged from behind the crease
and snuck a goal past Terrapins’
goalkeeper Logan McNaney. Just
minutes later, graduate transfer
midfielder Tyler Papa dodged
hard down the right alley and fired
a low-angle shot to the top left
corner, extending the Wolverines
lead to two.
Meanwhile,
Maryland
was
kept silent for the first half of the
opening quarter: partly due to
a string of saves from Michigan
junior goalkeeper John Kiracofe,
partly due to the fact that a trio of
its shots ricocheted off the post.
The Wolverines’ composure,
and the Terrapins’ dormancy,
would only last for so long, though.
As a 16-minute scoring drought
ensued for Michigan, largely a
consequence of several errant
passes
on
offense,
Maryland
began to capitalize off its own
possessions. Using speed to their
advantage, the Terrapins picked
apart a disjointed Wolverines’
defense and rattled off six-straight
goals — four of which came from
Bernhardt.
“The
ball
just
zips,
and
(Bernhardt) is just too dynamic,”
Michigan coach Kevin Conry said.
“We just didn’t have the guy to
really keep up with them. … He’s
just special. He’s the best player in
the country.”
Michigan falls in overtime to North Carolina in National Championship
The 2nd-ranked Michigan field
hockey team knew it had its work
cut out for itself in the National
Championship game.
The Wolverines (15-2 overall,
6-0 Big Ten) faced off against the
top-ranked University of North
Carolina (19-1, 9-1 ACC), one of the
best teams in the history of NCAA
field hockey. The Tar Heels were
chasing their third consecutive
national
championship
and
secured it after beating Michigan
in overtime, 4-3.
Carolina
has
maintained
a
37-0 record at home — where the
championship game was played —
since 2018, and has only lost one
game in the past three years.
Regardless, the Wolverines left
their hearts out on the field and did
what they’ve done well all season
long: persevere.
Unlike the Tar Heels in the
ACC, Michigan didn’t play a fall
season, and were forced to play
in the spring due to the COVID-
19 pandemic. The Wolverines’
didn’t let that get the best of them,
going on to earn an undefeated
conference record and winning the
Big Ten Tournament. One of the
most impressive parts of the team
was the season-long performance
of junior goalkeeper Anna Spieker,
who allowed only seven goals
all season until the national
championship game.
Michigan
is
considered
a
blue-chip field hockey program,
qualifying
for
the
NCAA
tournament eight times since 2010
under the leadership of coach
Marcia Pankratz, but the team
hadn’t made it to the championship
game since 2001.
“I just couldn’t be more proud
of how hard (the team) worked all
season,” Pankratz said after the
overtime loss. “(They) learned a
lot and grew and came together as
a team and respected each other.”
The Wolverines drew first blood
in the first period as redshirt junior
forward Kate Burney was able to
score off the foot of an opposing
player. Carolina was quick to
follow-up, scoring 33 seconds later.
The Tar Heels scored again in
the second period off of a corner
and built up a 3-1 lead in third.
Where other teams would have
staggered, Michigan rose up to the
challenge. The team dug their heels
in and engineered a comeback
against the defending champs.
After trimming the deficit to
one, sophomore forward Sarah
Pyrtek reacted to a wild ball off of
a Carolina stick and scored, tying
the game at three and forcing
overtime.
“They’re
opportunistic.
We
knew it was going to be a hard-
fought battle,” Carolina coach
Karen Shelton said. “Credit to
them for not folding when they got
down two goals. They almost got
better (the more they trailed).”
The Wolverines had a strong
opportunity to end the game in
overtime but missed the game-
ending goal by a few feet. In
response to the threat, the Tar
Heels pushed back immediately
and were able to draw a penalty
corner. Carolina controlled the
ball and fired a backhanded shot
that found its way to the back
of the goal — ending Michigan’s
championship hopes in devastating
fashion.
Still, the future is bright for
the Wolverines. When a normal
fall season gets underway in a
few months, Michigan expects to
be right back to competing for a
national championship.
“We didn’t give up and we kept
fighting. And I mean, what more
can you ask for?” senior fullback
Halle O’Neill said. “We are such a
young team. And thankfully, we get
to get back at it in three months.”
MAX WADLEY
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan falls to Maryland in Big Ten Tournament semis, 16-8
DREW COX
Daily Sports Writer
BECCA MAHON/Daily
Despite a solid start, Michigan fell to No. 1 Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament.
BECCA MAHON/Daily
Michigan forced overtime in the National Championship against North Carolina, but
ultimately fell short.
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Read more at michigandaily.com