Offensive onslaught breaks through late in 4-0 win over Ball State

With 3:58 left in the third quarter on Sunday, junior forward Abby Tamer delivered a crossing pass to the stick of junior forward Alana Richardson. Richardson loaded up the Michigan field hockey team’s 36th scoring opportunity against Ball State goaltender Hannah Johnston.

Richardson snuck the ball past a diving Johnston, found the back of the net, and doubled the fifth-ranked Wolverines’ lead over Ball State to 2-0. The crowd at Ocker Field exhaled a collective mix of relief and jubilation.

Finally, Michigan had some breathing room, and with a continued barrage of shots, the Wolverines (10-1) extended their lead against Ball State (3-8), winning 4-0

“The moment when I scored I swear there was a shift in the intensity and energy in the team,” Richardson said. 

While Richardson’s moment led to the eventual onslaught, opportunities for those goals came early for Michigan. But scoring was stifled as the Cardinals’ goalie Hannah Johnston turned in the most impressive performance of her career. The Wolverines failed to convert six shots on goal on five penalty corners in the first five minutes of the game before graduate student forward Lora Clarke opened the scoring off an assist from Tamer.

As the afternoon wore on, the 1-0 match became a war of attrition for Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz’s squad as pass after pass was sent into the shooting circle, and each shot was sent back unsuccessful.

“I thought we were controlled the run of play most of the day, and I thought our passing was good,” Pankratz said. “We had an awful lot of shots on goal, so I was happy with it.”

The Wolverines’ offensive control led the way throughout the match as Michigan dominated in every offensive category.  The offense tallied seven shots to Ball State’s zero in the first quarter and by halftime led the Cardinals 29-0 in shots and 12-0 in penalty corners.

Despite the offensive onslaught, Johnston’s heroics – which included multiple diving and sprawling deflections – were enough to keep the score at a tight 1-0.

“When you have a great goalkeeper like her, she was able to keep them in the game,” coach Pankratz said. “So it was an exciting, exciting hockey game for a while.”

Johnston’s performance held until time wound down in the third quarter when the Wolverines managed to break through. The aggressive offense, which had peppered Johnston to the tune of 29 shots in the first half, surged once again and Richardson broke down Johnston’s dam.

Following Richardson’s goal in the third quarter, and with 12:13 left in the fourth, Tamer ripped a long-range shot herself and scored to push the score to 3-0. Less than two minutes later sophomore midfielder Natalie Milman followed with a goal of her own, sealing the eventual 4-0 victory for Michigan.

Meanwhile, the Wolverine defense suffocated the Ball State attack with extremely aggressive pressing and it paid dividends. Michigan didn’t allow a penalty corner the entire match and Ball State struggled mightily against the Wolverines’ aggressive defensive strategy. The Cardinals’ offense didn’t manage to cross into the shooting circle nor even manage a shot on goal until 2:47 left in the third quarter.

Coming off of Sunday’s match which, with a better conversion rate could have led to a wider margin than the eventual 4-0 win, Richardson recognized that “every game will be a battle” and is looking to “execute and finish.” If Michigan wants to finish by competing for conference and national championships, it must expect to dominate in ways it showed Sunday.

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