Michigan falls short in 2-1 overtime affair with Northwestern

After the 60 minutes of regulation ended, neither the No. 7 Michigan field hockey team nor No. 1 Northwestern dared to celebrate just yet. 

Although the Wolverines (11-4 overall, 4-3 Big Ten) forced the Wildcats (17-0, 7-0) to their first overtime of the season, Northwestern pulled off the victory, 2-1. With the Wildcats’ high-powered offense averaging 3.76 goals per game, even with Northwestern struggling offensively, Michigan’s sole goal was never going to be enough to win. Despite three victories against ranked opponents, the close loss marked the Wolverines’ third loss to a top-10 opponent this season.

“I think we fought really hard,” junior midfielder Claire Taylor said. “We stuck to our tactics, we stuck to our passing sequence. We played really tight and really hard defense, and we had our chances, and now we just need to finish.”

During the first quarter, the ball largely remained on the Wildcats’ half in Michigan possession. Still, only after 10 minutes of play did Wolverines sophomore midfielder Natalie Millman finally take the first shot of the game, which sailed high above the net. On the other end, a strong defensive presence by Michigan meant that Northwestern failed to have opportunities in the circle, meaning they ended the quarter with no shots. 

Both teams’ offenses came alive in the second quarter, though. The Wildcats began with the first two corners of the game, which were both blocked. Later, the first shot on goal came from Northwestern, with Michigan redshirt freshman goalkeeper Hala Silverstein making the save. 

Wolverines redshirt junior forward Abby Tamer — the team’s leading scorer — took Michigan’s first shot on goal late in the first half via a hard-hit backhand attempt which was ultimately saved. Despite a scoreless game entering halftime, both teams began to build up momentum. It was clear that one team would eventually break through — the only question was which one.

Just over five minutes into the third quarter, the Wildcats found themselves with another corner. This time, forward Chloe Relford scored the first goal of the game. The ball was passed in, and Relford took a strong forehand shot that had no lack of power behind it. It wasn’t surprising that Northwestern executed the play to perfection to score, given this was its third corner of the game.

Both offenses continued to be active with multiple shots on goal, but neither team broke through. Although Michigan had several corner opportunities, they failed to capitalize, and it appeared that the Wildcats just had the edge.

Northwestern seemed to confirm this, as just over a minute into the quarter, the Wildcats reached the back of the net again, but Wolverines coach ​​Marcia Pankratz challenged the play. After a tense minute of review, the goal was overturned, keeping Michigan in striking distance. This ruling reinvigorated the Wolverines, propelling them to one final push, despite the scoreboard.

Halfway through the quarter, Michigan earned itself a corner. After it failed and the Wolverines received another, Tamer assisted redshirt junior midfielder Emmy Tran for her first goal of the season to even up the game and send it into overtime.

“We knew exactly what plays we needed to run more to score,” Tran said. “We practiced that one this week, a couple times, so I did anticipate it was coming to me.”

Four and half minutes into overtime, after a Northwestern shot that Silverstein saved, midfielder Lauren Wadas collected the rebound and hit the ball in from just a few feet out to score. Michigan once again challenged the goal, but this time to no avail.

“This is a really strong game for us,” Taylor said. “I think our growth exponentially from this game last year to now is huge and we know we’re seeing them again, and they better watch out when they do.”

The Wolverines pushed the top-ranked Wildcats to their closest game all year, but to win, Michigan needed to produce significant points. However, even with both offenses struggling, the Wolverines ultimately failed to take advantage and fell short.

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