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In field hockey, being tasked to insert multiple penalty corners is no easy task; the crowd’s attention diverts from the entire team to just one player, forcing her to calmly put her best foot forward at the hands of mounting pressure.
While many players succumb to such pressure, graduate midfielder Lora Clarke rose to the challenge in a motivated, balanced manner in the No. 8 Michigan field hockey team’s 3-2 win over Miami University. Clarke’s six penalty corners with three resulting goals made up the entirety of the Wolverines’ points.
Clarke doesn’t attribute her successful insertions to simply herself, but rather to the entire team combined with a pinch of personal superstition.
“I twirl my stick twice or four times, depending if it’s good or not, and then I kind of take a deep breath by myself down there,” Clarke said. “We, as a collective group, take a deep breath as well, so I really think it just kind of calms us down.”
The rituals Clarke performs along with her teammates ensure tranquility amid a stressful game, further contributing to the team’s overall strength. Her first penalty corner in the first quarter resulted in a goal by graduate midfielder Erin Reilly with redshirt junior midfielder Claire Taylor helping Clarke assist it. With three players heavily involved with the goal, their cohesion stood out. The more penalty corners Clarke inserted, the more her teammates came in to assist.
“We’ve practiced (the insertions) so much, and also we’ve just been doing so good at the simple, I would say, this year … it speaks volumes,” Clarke said. “We’ve struggled a lot with corners in the past.”
The practice became evident as the Wolverines continued to prove their dominance despite the RedHawks’ constant attempts to reclaim the field, securing Michigan’s seventh consecutive win. The Wolverines’ ability to overcome previous struggles is one of many aspects of their determination. In the third quarter, after Clarke’s final penalty corner of the game, sophomore forward Juliette Manzur scored an unassisted goal.
Although Clarke remained a fierce player throughout the game, she received a yellow card at the end of the second quarter, putting a halt to her time on the field. However, she didn’t let the card affect her for the rest of the game, citing it as a lesson rather than a punishment.
“I gotta keep my emotions in check and make sure they’re even-keeled throughout the entire time of the game, and not let anything get to me,” Clarke said. “So it’s a great lesson, and I’m glad that it happened now in the season.”
Clarke’s “even-keeled” demeanor helped Michigan’s overall morale, not letting her punishment distract the rest of the team from putting in its utmost effort. Her strength and confidence in inserting the penalty corners ultimately led the Wolverines to prevail over Miami.
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