Michigan offense sneaks past UC Davis defense in 2-0 win

The UC Davis defense remained dominant through 31 minutes. But the disciplined back could only hold on for so long.

After a persistent attack, the No. 7 Michigan field hockey team (3-1) eventually broke through and secured a 2-0 win over the Aggies (2-3).

Michigan’s defense silenced UC Davis’ offense in the first quarter not allowing any shots. The Aggies’ defense, however, mimicked the same strategy, early on in the quarter. But graduate forward Abby Tamer struck first in the 40th second of the opening quarter by firing the ball toward the net. While Tamer’s shot came up short, the Wolverines’ offense kept attacking in the first minute with two more shots from freshman back Maxine Rogge and redshirt junior midfielder Zoë Bormet.

The remainder of the first quarter was a back-and-forth defensive match, with each team fighting for possession of the ball. The Wolverines got one more offensive chance with a shot from redshirt sophomore forward Payton Maloney in the ninth minute, but unlike Tamer’s opening shot, it wasn’t an offensive threat as UC Davis’ defense was on top of her and the shot went wide.

“They fought hard the whole game, especially on their defensive corners,” Michigan coach Kristi Gannon Fisher said. “They were running out hard and fearless and getting a stick or a foot or anything in the way, so that we were having a hard time executing, and we knew that going in that it would be a battle for us just with their athleticism and how hard they work defensively.”

The Aggies’ defense continued to make the Wolverines’ offense fight hard going into the second quarter. Michigan’s first shot of the quarter didn’t come until the 25th minute off a penalty corner by sophomore back Anjolie Norton, but the shot was deflected by a UC Davis stick. 

While Norton’s shot was blocked, it ignited the Wolverines’ offense. 

Michigan went on to shoot seven more times with three of those shots being on goal before halftime. The scoreboard remained scoreless, but the Wolverines’ offensive ability showed promise of powering past the Aggies’ defense.

That pressure broke through in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter. Michigan got its first goal of the game with a shot by junior forward Esmée de Willigen breaking the scoreless tie.

“Right away at halftime, we’ve talked about just getting shots on goal and doesn’t have to be pretty, just needs to go over the white line,” Gannon Fisher said. “So once she got in a circle, she was ready to pull the trigger with the shot, and good stuff will happen when you get things on cage eventually.”

The Wolverines didn’t settle for one goal, though.

In the 33rd minute, just two minutes after de Willigen’s goal, Michigan scored again, this time as sophomore back Eva Bernardy slotted the ball past UC Davis’ defense into the back of the net to widen the lead 2-0.

After the goal, the battle for possession resumed as the Wolverines and Aggies traded shots. But the defenses on both sides blocked the shots, preventing anyone from scoring as the third quarter came to a close.

The fourth quarter was quieter for Michigan as the lone on-goal shot came from Bernardy, just two minutes into the quarter. But the shot was saved by UC Davis goalkeeper Addy Collingwood. The Aggies’ offense tried to spark their own goal in the final minutes with a penalty stroke and a penalty corner, but both attempts were denied by graduate goalkeeper Caylie McMahon, leaving UC Davis scoreless.

In the end, the Wolverines’ persistence outlasted the Aggies’ grit, proving that sometimes it only takes one crack in the defense for momentum to swing — and stay that way.

The post Michigan offense sneaks past UC Davis defense in 2-0 win appeared first on The Michigan Daily.