October 10, 2014
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The tenth-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team (8-4, 2-2 Big Ten) came up short in a 3-1 loss to Michigan (9-4, 4-1) Friday night on Grant Field in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes lone goal came in the 63rd minute to narrow a 3-1 deficit.
“We need to get out of this funk and get back to the drawing board,” said UI head coach Lisa Cellucci. “Michigan played stifling defense and we weren’t able to generate any attack. Moving forward we need to get our confidence back and be able to put a full 70-minute game together,” said Cellucci.
The Wolverines took possession of a 1-0 lead four minutes into the contest scoring off a corner shot by Michigan’s Leslie Smith. Playing from behind, the Hawkeye defense settled in and limited the visitor’s to five shots going into the half.
The Michigan offense picked up in the second half attacking UI sophomore goalkeeper Alex Pecora on 10 separate occasions. Pecora recorded seven saves in the second period while surrendering a pair of goals in the 57th, and 62nd minutes. The Marlton, New Jersey, native recorded nine total saves in the contest, the second most in a single game this season (North Carolina, 12).
“Pecora played really well, when your goalkeeper is grabbing save-after-save and to you’re not be able to generate an offensive attack and take pressure off the defense and goalkeeper — it’s very frustrating,” said Cellucci.
Trailing 3-0 with just under seven minutes to go, UI sophomore Stephanie Norlander netted the Hawkeyes lone goal scoring off a corner, which marked the final score, 3-1. UI sophomore Chandler Ackers registered the assist.
The Hawkeyes return to action Sunday at 11 a.m. (CT) squaring off with Miami (Ohio) on Grant Field in Iowa City.
GAME SUMMARY | |||||
#10 Iowa (8-4, 2-2) | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
#14 Michigan(9-4, 4-1) | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
SCORING | |||||
Michigan | Leslie Smith (McCallister, Ainsley; Lubbers, Veerle) 4:40/1st | ||||
Michigan | Sammi Gray (Bennett, Carly; McCallister, Ainsley) 57:39/2nd | ||||
Michigan | Sammy Gray 62:08/2nd | ||||
Iowa | Stephanie Norlander ( Chandler Ackers) 63:32/2nd | ||||
STATS | |||||
Shots | Iowa 2, Michigan 15 | ||||
Penalty Corners | Iowa 3, Michigan 4 | ||||
Saves | Alexandra Pecora (7-4) (Iowa), 9 |