Michigan field hockey scores 2 last-minute goals to dominate Miami, OH in NCAA Game 1

ANN ARBOR – With just a minute to continue their season, the Michigan field hockey team dug deep to claim a spectacular victory over Miami (OH) in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday at Ocker Field.

The Wolverines trailed for most of Friday’s game, but scored two goals in the last minute to complete the comeback victory, 3-2, and advance to the NCAA quarterfinals, which are set to take place on Sunday. in Ann Arbor.

Michigan tied the game with 1:01 remaining in the fourth quarter when Hallie O’Neill pushed the ball into the circle and found Katie Anderson for the tying score.

“Don’t give up,” Anderson said of what was going through his head during the final stretch. “We couldn’t stop at that point. Our season is over or we’re moving on to the next round, so it’s literally all or nothing. We knew we had to give him everything we had, and that’s exactly what we did.

The game looked like it was heading into extra time when Lora Clarke inserted the ball to Sofia Southam, who connected on a direct shot into the opposite corner of the net to put the Wolverines ahead with just two seconds left in regulation. .

“I always try to breathe, calm myself and think about the score and the goal; back to basics, ”Southam said of his mindset on the winning game. “Stop the ball, kick the ball, watch the ball and everything else comes. If you do the basics and do it with a lot of intention, then the rest comes and that was that goal.

Miami got off to a quick start with two first-quarter goals before Southam scored to reduce the deficit to 2-1 at halftime.

The RedHawks held onto the 2-1 advantage until the last minute of the fourth quarter, when Michigan found its mojo and improved to 16-4 overall this season.

“It was everything we thought it was going to be,” said Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz. “I’m really proud of the team to stay after that and stay balanced and stick to the game plan throughout the period and play a full 60 minutes.”

The third-ranked Wolverines will face the winner of Louisville-Harvard for a berth in the NCAA semifinals for the second year in a row.

Michigan qualified until the national championship game last year before falling 4-3 to North Carolina in overtime.