[ad_1]
Sometimes all it takes is one goal for a game to be decided. It doesn’t matter who scores it, a game-winning goal is a game-winning goal. On Sunday, freshman forward Cami Wiseman was the hero for the Michigan field hockey team helping it extend its win streak to eight games.
The sixth-ranked Wolverines are no strangers to high-scoring games, but against No. 4 Ohio State, Michigan knew it would be tougher than previous contests to score.
“We all knew that it was probably gonna be a one-goal game and we tried to make it happen,” Wiseman said. “We had to execute in the corners, which we did.”
Wiseman played a key part of that execution, as her one goal was all the Wolverines needed to upset the Buckeyes in a 1-0 win.
The first half was relatively quiet as both teams only put one shot on target. Michigan’s offense, however, started to come out against Ohio State’s defense in the second quarter with three shots – although none were on target. While they didn’t produce any serious offensive threat, this was the start of the Wolverines turning the tables in their favor. While Wiseman wasn’t involved in Michigan’s early offensive execution, other players stepped up until her chance came.
“I thought the intensity was high from the very beginning,” Wolverines coach Marcia Pankratz said. “It took us a couple minutes to really adjust to the speed of play, which we did, and then we played toe to toe.”
The intensity was certainly high in the third quarter, as Michigan’s offense woke up. What started as a penalty corner from graduate midfielder Lora Clarke in the 37th minute turned into a shooting spree. Immediately after the corner, the Wolverines shot the ball three times, all of them blocked by the Buckeyes, before an on-target shot from sophomore forward Juliette Manzur was saved by Ohio State’s goalkeeper.
Then Wiseman’s chance came.
“The opportunity presented itself, and Cami dove for it, got a stick on it first, and that’s what we practiced,” Pankratz said. “She’s a great goal scorer, and it paid off today.”
Wiseman, on the ground, surrounded by Buckeyes, dove for the ball with the stick in her hand and got to it before Ohio State could hit it out of bounds or take possession. Still on the ground, her outstretched arm fired it into the bottom left side of the net for the Wolverines’ lone goal of the game.
In the 54th minute, what could be seen as an offensive opportunity came when Ohio State pulled its goalkeeper, leaving its net empty and giving Wiseman and Michigan’s offense a greater chance to score another goal and seal the win lessening the importance of Wiseman’s goal.
However, the fourth quarter ended up being a repeat of the first half. If not for Wiseman’s goal, the game would have been sent into overtime. The Wolverines’ defense, though, kept the Buckeyes’ offense scoreless, making Wiseman the hero as she scored the only goal Michigan needed.
“I love that she dove for it and she dove for it, and put all out effort,” Pankratz said. “It paid off with the game winning goal.”
The Wolverines’ offense was mostly kept silent against the Buckeyes. But Ohio State couldn’t hush Wiseman and her game-winning goal.
Related articles
[ad_2]
Source link
