The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com 
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 — 11 

Michigan takes advantage of corner 
penalties in win over Cornell

CAROLINE CRECCA
For The Daily

Within less than five minutes of 
play, the No. 7 Michigan field hock-
ey team scored on its second corner 
of the game—the second of fifteen 
offensive corners in its shutout 
against Cornell.
On Sunday, the Wolverines’ abil-
ity to convert on corners proved to 
be the difference that led them to a 
win. They ran a corner play on aver-
age every four minutes. On Friday 
against No. 6 Penn State, they had 10 
offensive corners but lost the game 
2-1. And last week, they were unable 
to score on three corner plays in the 
final three minutes of their match 
against Louisville, which ultimately 
cost them the game.
Against the Big Red, however, 

Michigan executed, with two of 
its three goals coming from corner 
plays.
“It definitely feels a lot better to 
finally be putting some of them in,” 
sophomore midfielder Abby Tamer 
said. “We definitely have room to 
go, with fifteen (corners) we should 
still be scoring a little bit more, but 
it’s something we’re going to keep 
focusing on and keep perfecting.”
On the Wolverines’ second cor-
ner, junior midfielder Lora Clarke 
sent the ball in and tipped a reverse 
shot from Tamer. As an insert, the 
pressure of every corner falls on 
Clarke, because if her initial pass 
isn’t accurate or fast enough, the 
defense will shut down the play 
before it ever begins.
“You don’t want to mess it up and 
go two inches to the left or two inch-
es to the right,” Clarke said. “It does 

really matter. It needs to be really 
precise.”
For all 15 corners, Clarke did 
exactly that. Despite only scoring 
on two of the corners, the Wol-
verines were able to get a shot off 
on each of them. Ultimately, they 
outshot the Big Red, 31-4.
Cornell, meanwhile, had two 
offensive corners, and of their 
four shots on goal, three of them 
went just wide of the cage.
The Wolverines earned their 
sixth corner and their second goal 
in the second quarter, scored by 
senior midfielder Sarah Pyrtek. 
An inability to take advantage of 
Penn State’s defensive mistakes 
and execute on corner penalties 
held Michigan back on Friday, but 
on Sunday, this was clearly not the 
case.
“Obviously we’ve had a lot of 
corners,” Clarke said. “So I think 
that the floodgates are going to 
start opening soon and the goals 
will start popping in and getting 
the bounces we need.”
This week is the perfect oppor-
tunity for those floodgates to 
open, as the Wolverines head into 
the rest of Big Ten play and two 
road games. This offensive shift 
came at the right time for the 
team.
While Michigan was thrilled to 
find more success converting cor-
ner opportunities against Cornell, 
two goals off of 15 corners is not 
enough to satisfy the Wolverines. 
In conference play, Michigan is 
focused on one thing.
“Finishing,” Tamer said. “Fin-
ishing and corners.”

Sports

FIELD HOCKEY

Jess Mruzik’s aggressive playstyle leads Michigan to victory

REKHA LEONARD
For The Daily

The Michigan volleyball team 
notched kill after kill in a sweep 
of Bowling Green on Sunday, 
and junior outside hitter Jess 
Mruzik was the deadliest on the 
court. 
Mruzik led both teams in 
kills with 13 — nearly doubling 
the Falcon’s kill leader Kat Man-
dly. Junior outside hitter Kend-
all Murray and senior middle 
blocker Jess Robinson were 
close on her heels with 11 and 10, 
respectively.
Last season, Mruzik led the 
team in points with 446 and co-
led the team in kills with 389. 
She is on track for an equally 
strong season after tallying 131 
kills in the first 10 games this 
season.
One of Mruzik’s strengths is 
her aggressiveness. She already 
has two double-doubles on the 
season. Against Bowling Green, 
she recorded eight digs — the 
most of any hitter or blocker — 
and consistently attacked the 
ball, racking up an impressive 
33 total attacks. 
Mruzik was quick to credit 
her teammates for her success:
“Having great people around 
me that are offensive threats all 

around makes my life a lot eas-
ier,” she said. “I wouldn’t be as 
aggressive or go after it so hard 
if these guys didn’t as well.”
Michigan coach Mark Rosen 

also considers the collective 
offensive ability of the team to 
be a key factor for the success 
of any individual player such as 
Mruzik. 

“I thought they came out and 
went after us pretty aggres-
sively, but I love how our team 
stayed composed and handled 
that really well,” Rosen said. “I 

think it’s hard for them to stop 
when we have a lot of hitters 
that are contributing.”
The opportunity for multiple 
hitters to have an impact on 

JENNA HICKEY/Daily

the game comes in part from 
Mruzik’s ability to wear down 
the opposing team. Her fero-
cious strikes on consecutive 
plays kept the Falcons scram-
bling, allowing her teammates 
to attack and strike their own 
ruthless kills.
Off the court, Mruzik’s lead-
ership style mimics her play 
style. And again, she credits 
her teammate’s chemistry with 
much of her success as a leader.
“I feel like I am that aggres-
sive kind of pushing people lead-
er,” she said. “I think it’s great 
that the people on the court and 
on the team really balance each 
other out really well.”
Mruzik made the Big Ten 
All-Freshman Team in her first 
season with the Wolverines and 
received First Team All-Big Ten 
Honors after her breakout soph-
omore season. This year, she is 
ready to showcase her offen-
sive prowess and lead Michi-
gan through the Big Ten season 
— starting this Friday against 
Rutgers.
“(The Big Ten) is the best 
conference for volleyball for a 
reason,” Mruzik said. “We’re 
really prepared, and I think 
we’re all ready to just get after 
it and go into the match with a 
clear mind and really compete 
this season.”
Outside hitter Jess Mruzik helped lead Michigan to the win.

Failure to capitalize on offense 
dooms Michigan in loss

MALLORY MOORE
For The Daily

Controlling possession is indica-
tive of a winning team. But on Fri-
day, the No. 7 Michigan field hockey 
team found that it doesn’t always 
translate into success.
Although the Wolverines and 
Penn State each had one shot on 
goal by the end of the first quarter, 
their ability to capitalize on these 
attempts would prove to be the 
deciding factor of the game. The 
Wolverines found themselves in 
their offensive zone for the majority 
of the game, but they couldn’t find 
the back of the cage.
The Nittany Lions didn’t have 
this issue, netting two of their three 
total shots to win the game. Michi-
gan’s lack of offensive conversion 
proved to be fatal as the team only 
scored one goal despite 23 shot 
attempts. 
“The past two games that we’ve 
lost, we have definitely outplayed 
our opponents,” junior Lora Clarke 
said. “I would say we have more 
shots, we have more corners and … 
we just have to work on finding the 
back of the cage.”
The Wolverines took more cor-
ner attempts than the Nittany 
Lions, ending the game with 10 total 
penalty corners to Penn State’s one. 
Converting with penalty corners is 
something that has plagued Michi-
gan all season, and on Friday, it was 
no different.
Although the Wolverines were 
able to penetrate into the offensive 
zone, they couldn’t turn that into 

success on the scoreboard.
The matchup with Penn State 
marked Michigan’s first conference 
game while also exposing what the 
Wolverines will have to fix to reach 
their season goals. The team cre-
ated numerous scoring opportuni-
ties, but failing to take advantage of 
these chances led to a Big Ten loss 
for the Wolverines. 
“Every (Big Ten matchup) is a 
significant matchup,” Michigan 
coach Marcia Pankratz said. “So 
every game matters and it’s a huge, 
huge game, so we’re disappointed 
that we didn’t win it, especially at 
home.”
The Wolverines’ offensive cor-

ners were telling of the domi-
nance and determination they 
have shown so far this season. 
But, what they did with these 
corners showed faults in their 
strategy. Their dominance never 
reflected on the scoreboard. 
“If you can’t finish and score 
goals (you) can’t win the game,” 
Pankratz said. “So we’ve been 
working on it really hard. (We’re) 
frustrated that we haven’t been 
able to solve it yet.”
If the Wolverines continue 
struggling to capitalize on offen-
sive chances, it will continue to be 
tough to turn the team’s strength 
into success on scoreboard.

FIELD HOCKEY

LILA TURNER/Daily
Despite taking 23 shots, Michigan only scored one goal in Friday’s loss.

SportsWednesday: Michigan’s real test starts now

As the No. 4 Michigan football 
team wrapped up a 59-0 victory 
over lowly UConn Saturday after-
noon, everything seemed rather 
ho-hum. There was no hoopla, no 
stir in Ann Arbor over the Wolver-
ines’ ranking in the AP Top 25 poll, 
which slots them behind only Geor-
gia, Alabama and Ohio State — col-
lege football’s three goliaths. 
This is the standard now. While 
Michigan has always been known 
as a football school, the proclama-
tion feels realistic following last 
year’s monumental breakthrough. 
The Wolverines should be this 
strong, and their passionate fanbase 
has a blueprint by which they judge 
success by; everyone knows how it 
feels and what it looks like. 
Good teams, though, are forged 
through crucibles of adversity. Sure, 
the first three games — all cake-
walks — played out as they should, 
as the Wolverines avoided the fate 
that befell Notre Dame and Texas 
A&M. But that doesn’t mean that 
the non-conference slate is a har-

binger of what’s to come. 
“I feel like we look good, but we 
haven’t faced adversity,” junior run-
ning back Blake Corum said. “I real-
ly don’t know how good we’re gonna 
be. I feel it. I feel like we’re gonna be 
great. But I can’t tell you.” 
The real challenges — the real 
season — starts now. A grueling 
Big Ten schedule beckons, begin-
ning with a clash against an upstart, 
undefeated Maryland squad on Sat-
urday. It’s not a litmus test, but none-
theless an important barometer. 
Last year serves as a cautionary 
tale. After a domineering 3-0 non-
conference slate, Michigan opened 
up Big Ten play at home against 
woeful Rutgers. After waltzing out 
to a 20-3 halftime lead, the Wolver-
ines stagnated, leaving the door ajar 
for the Scarlet Knights. A fumble 
late in the fourth quarter secured 
a Michigan victory, but the game 
served as a wake-up call. 
And the Wolverines answered 
that call in resounding fashion, 
storming their way through their 
Big Ten schedule and into India-
napolis. When adversity hit — a 
fourth-quarter deficit in Lincoln, a 
heart-wrenching loss in East Lan-

sing, a nail-biter in Happy Valley — 
Michigan responded. 
That’s where a team with poten-
tial transcended into a team bound 
to be cherished for generations. 
This team, merely because it’s 
only Week Three, hasn’t faced any 
tests to push it there. 
It is simultaneously confident 
and aware of the need for growth.
“We’re in a good spot, but we still 
got stuff to build on,” junior defen-
sive lineman Kris Jenkins said. 
Though it’s entering confer-
ence play in a good spot, Michigan 
has caught flack for its lackluster 
non-conference opponents. But, as 
Corum reiterated Saturday after-
noon, you can only play your sched-
ule. 

“We treat every game like a 
championship game,” Corum said. 
“We’re just playing the schedule, 
having fun out there. It’s been great, 
and Big Ten’s on the way.”
To their credit, the Wolverines 
have played a brand of disciplined, 
mistake-free football. They like 
where they are, and there’s no rea-
son not to. The offense is humming 
with McCarthy under center, while 
the defense has picked up where it 
left off last year, despite notable ros-
ter turnover. 
They’ve said the right things, too. 
They maintain that they approach 
each game as if the opponent is 
Michigan State or Ohio State, stress-
ing the minutia and nuances of each 
practice. It’s all eerily reminiscent 

of last season, especially in the way 
that their play has lent credence to 
their words. 
“I like the team a lot,” Michigan 
coach Jim Harbaugh said after Sat-
urday’s game. “… And there’s been 
zero entitlement.” 
Harbaugh went on to recall a text 
he received last week from a child-
hood friend. 
“He said he just can’t wait to 
watch Michigan football,” Har-
baugh remembered. “It reminds 
him of the days of Rick Leach and 
Harlan Huckleby and Anthony 
Carter. That’s the way he feels about 
this team. I do as well. I get the same 
feeling about this team.” 
But there are signs, too, that this 
year’s group is different. The Wol-
verines may carry with them les-
sons and memories from last year, 
but they are not the same. 
Saturday after the game, that dis-
tinction shined brightest. McCar-
thy — fresh off his first start as the 
full-time starting quarterback — 
took a seat at his press conference 
with a grin plastered on his face. 
Gazing towards the cameras point-
ed at him, McCarthy leaned over to 
Corum and marveled, in an audible 

whisper: “So, this is what it’s really 
like?”
Yes and no. Because Michigan’s 
season starts now, and when adver-
sity hits, that’s when these Wolver-
ines will find out what it’s really 
like. 
And they know it. 
McCarthy said he is becom-
ing more comfortable each game, 
which will lead to a path of “expo-
nential progress.” For now, though, 
he is dwelling on his shortcomings, 
like the second drive of the game 
which still “haunts” him. 
The same growth mindset holds 
true on defense. Sophomore line-
backer Junior Colson said that the 
defense, despite its success, is still 
crafting its identity. 
Harbaugh walked through a 
number of areas that need to be 
worked through, as is customary 
for a team in Week Three. 
“We’re shooting for perfection,” 
Jenkins said. “The sooner we can 
get to that, the better.” 
But are they ready for the Big 
Ten? 
“We’ll find out,” Harbaugh said. 
That’s why, in essence, the sea-
son starts now.

FOOTBALL

VOLLEYBALL

ANNA FUDER/Daily
Michigan’s ability to score on corner penalties was key to their success on Sunday. 

JARED GREENSPAN
Managing Sports Editor

ANNA FUDER/Daily
After an easy non-conference schedule, Michigan’s real test will begin with Big T
en play this week.

