Michigan's three second-half goals doom Central
Patrick SillerThe field hockey team had its two-game win streak halted by a 5-2 loss to Michigan Tuesday in Ann Arbor.
The Chippewas were peppered by 27 shots, 20 of which came on goal. CMU countered with only five shots - three on goal.
Michigan jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, stashing away the first goal of the game when Kelly Fitzpatrick scored at the one-minute, 25-second mark of the first half.
"Michigan came down and scored and we were able to turn right around and score right back," said coach Cristy Freese. "Any time you can do that is good. We feel like we offensively we should be able to do that."
But CMU senior forward Samantha Sandham would waste no time tying the game up. Sandham dribbled through defenders and snapped a low shot into the net for her 10th goal of the season only one minute and nine seconds later.
Sandham also helped CMU respond to Meredith Way's goal on a penalty stroke at 18:25. She assisted freshman midfielder Paulina Lee at the 30:07 mark to tie the game 2-2 before halftime.
But the Wolverines unleashed their offense in the second half. Michigan scored three unanswered goals to ultimately dismantle the Chippewas.
Michigan came out firing in the second half, attempting four shots in the first six minutes (three on goal). From there, Central only recorded a single shot. Way and Fitzpatrick would add to their days with one more goal each to put the game away.
"We struggled getting the ball out of our end in the second half," Freese said. "It was a combination of what Michigan threw at us and our inexperience with our younger players in the game."
Because of the amount of games played by the team lately, Freese decided to rest some players in the second half.
"We had five games in 10 days," Freese said. "We made some decisions due to some injuries and other things to rest some of our kids and go with some of our younger players."
Goalkeeper Melinda Curran stopped 14 of the Wolverines' 19 shots in the loss.
"I played well but there is a lot to work on," Curran said. "I think we did a lot of good things, but there is a lot to work on."
The team heads back into Mid-American Conference play this weekend as they host rematches against Kent State and Ohio.
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