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2009 Season Recap |
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Women’s Lacrosse Scrimmage vs MSU
Michigan began its
fall season with a scrimmage against intrastate rival Michigan State at
Oosterbaan. The Wolverines fell behind 3-1 but battled back to top the Spartans
by a score of 10-8. The Wolverines got on the board first but the Spartans
countered with three unanswered goals. Midway through the second half, Michigan
was able to secure the lead which they would hold on to for the win. Sophomore
Amanda Schutte, Sophomore Britt Boehm, and Junior Amy Johnson each scored two
goals while Boehm added a team-high three assists. Other goal scorers for
Michigan were Jess Stanley, Julie Baskind, Becca Miller, Amy Santorello, and
Rachel Lary. Alumni Game The Wolverines welcomed back alums Noelle Frazier, Marie Wolbert, Ashley Steitz, and Mimi Kuehn who took part in an alumni game/intrasquad scrimmage at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse. Johnny Sung and Mary Ann Meltzer, former Michigan Lacrosse coaches, also came back to watch the game. The players and alums enjoyed reuniting with their former coaches and teammates. Frazier (2004-07), brought her new baby, Madison, who gave the Wolverines on the sideline a welcome distraction as they took a breather from the game. Frazier currently resides in Cleveland, OH. Madison and Wolbert (2004-07) were both captains and All-Americans in 2007 for the Wolverines. Wolbert .The fourth former player to participate, Kuehn (2003-06) is now living in Columbus, OH. Steitz (2005-08) did not play in the scrimmage but watched from the sidelines. She is also living in Chicago, IL. Sung and Meltzer are both head coaches of varsity programs at Adrian and University of Detroit Mercy, respectively. Opening Weekend Michigan (2-0) swept opponents on its first day of regular season competition, blowing out Toledo (0-1) 24-1 and Central Michigan 24-4. Sophomore, Britt Boehm led the way, scoring ten goals on the day and Erin Conroy added six to lead the offensive charge. Emmy Scheidt and Liz Mennen were strong in net, allowing just one five goals between the two games. The blowouts allowed everyone to get in on the action as all players on the roster got to play significant minutes in both games. Santa Barbara Shootout The fifth-ranked Wolverines (4-2) took their first road trip of the year traveling to Santa Barbara, CA over spring break to compete against a Western lacrosse gauntlet. In one weekend, Michigan played against #1 UC Santa Barbara, #4 Cal Poly, #3 Colorado, and #9 UCLA. Unfazed by the competition, Michigan put together an impressive 2-2 record, turning in a pair of one goal victories. First U of M defeated top-ranked UCSB on their home field 7-6 to start the tournament with an eye-catching win. The rest of the field took notice, as both Colorado and Cal Poly topped the Wolverines by one goal. Michigan was able to rebound against UCLA in the weekend’s final game to win 9-8. The scores showed just how close all of the elite WDIA teams are when it comes to talent. All four of Michigan’s games came down to one goal and the Wolverines knew that they would see these same teams at nationals to close out the season. Big Ten Tournament Returning home, the Wolverines (8-2) hosted the inaugural Big Ten Tournament. All ten schools that have women’s club lacrosse team traveled to Ann Arbor to participate in the tournament. Oosterbaan Fieldhouse played host to 16 games over the three day tournament Michigan made short work of their four opponents, winning by a combined score of 58-14. Michigan was so dominant that Junior Amy Johnson nearly outscored all of UM’s opponents combined, netting 13 goals over the four games. With the outcomes never in doubt, the Michigan coaching staff used the four games as a live practice for the team to work on several new plays and techniques. Second halves were used to practice shooting low on the goalie. Players who shot high were pulled from the games even if they scored. Players practiced trick shots with the highlight being a behind-the-back goal from Amy Johnson. Michigan blew past Ohio State to open the tournament on Friday night by a score of 14-7. This game marked a milestone for Michigan Women’s Lacrosse as it was broadcast live on WCBN FM 88.3 in Ann Arbor and online at wcbn.org. The online broadcast drew over 275 listeners with another 500 estimated to have tuned in on the radio. The second day of the tournament pitted UM against Penn State and Wisconsin with the Wolverines winning 18-4 and 16-2 respectively. Daylight Savings made Sunday’s 9 AM opening draw feel like 8 AM but it didn’t matter to Michigan as they shut down Northwestern 10-1 to close out the tournament undefeated. The final three games were all broadcast to an online audience via wcbn.org which drew nearly 1,000 combined listeners for the four games that Michigan played over the weekend. Michigan @ Oakland University On a cold and dreary night, Michigan (9-2) took care of business, defeating Oakland University (0-1) by a score of 13-5 at All-American Lacrosse in Pontiac, MI. Delaney Kempner, Rachel Lary and Julie Baskind all scored two goals to lead the Wolverine offense. After building a commanding 9-2 halftime lead, Michigan used the second stanza to work on its offense, holding the ball and making several passes before attempting a shot. The patient offense resulted in some beautiful passing and a pair of one-timer goals. Amy Johnson's one-time attempt from Micaela Battiste was denied by Oakland's goalie before Ani Shekerjian poked home her fifth goal of the season off a quick pass from Kempner. Michigan's concerted effort to pass the ball in order to set up shots showed up in the stats with assists on seven of the thirteen goals. This game concluded a grueling stretch where the team played four games in five days. Michigan vs. Michigan State In front of a standing-room only crowd, #3 ranked Michigan (10-2) topped interstate foe #14 Michigan State by a score of 12-9. Close to 500 fans crowded Oosterbaan Fieldhouse to watch the Wolverines battle the Spartans in tight contest from start to finish. Michigan had not been challenged in a game since returning from the Santa Barbara Shootout winning by an average margin of 11.2 goals in its last five games. Michigan State made it very clear that this would not be another cakewalk for Michigan, taking a 2-1 lead off two goals from Allison Atchoo. On an eight-meter free position shot, Micaela Battiste leaped into the air, bouncing a shot past the MSU goalie to knot the score at 2-2. The Wolverines would take the lead for good, using two more goals off eight-meter shots from Amy Johnson and Rachel Lary. Quinn Golinske scored her second goal of the season, recovering after bobbling the initial pass then beating her defender with a spin move to open up a shot on goal. Johnson then opened the lead up with her second goal of the contest as she converted on an eight-meter, giving Michigan the 6-3 advantage. Michigan would take a 6-4 lead into the intermission, marking the eleventh time this year the Wolverines have gone into halftime with a lead. Lary opened up the scoring in the second stanza with her season-high tying third goal of the game. Lary ran a give-and-go to perfection with Johnson who earned the assist. Alexis Pavle became the third senior to tally a goal on Senior Night, putting Michigan on top 8-4. Fellow senior, Battiste raced up the field weaving through Spartan defenders before finding an open Pavle in front of the net. The Spartans would not go down quietly with Atchoo taking control of the subsequent draw and beating the entire Michigan defense back making the score 8-5.Michigan State would score again three minutes later to draw back to within two goals. Golinske erased any momentum the visiting Spartans were able to build up scoring her second goal of the night on a beautiful one-timer off a Lary assist. Lary found the cutting Golinske on the left post and Golinske swatted the pass into the net before the MSU goalie could even move her stick. Pavle again pushed the Michigan advantage back up to four goals at 10-6, scoring at the 14:10 mark. After Michigan State narrowed the gap to 10-7, Lary found Britt Boehm a cross-goal pass leaving Boehm an open net for her 22nd goal of the season. Pavle would ice the game, completing her hat-trick - all of which came in the second half - at the 7:21 mark. Michigan State would score two goals in the closing minutes to bring the final tally to 12-9. This was the final home game for Michigan's seven seniors: Alexis Pavle, Natalie Relich, Micaela Battiste, Julie Baskind, Rebecca Miller, Rachel Lary, and Christine Lee. Michigan finished the season undefeated at home with a 7-0 record. The game attendance of 475 set a new program record as spectators had to stand or sit on the ground once bleacher space was exhausted. Colorado State Shootout Michigan (14-3) made their second lengthy road trip of the season as they traveled to Boulder Colorado to play in the Colorado State Shootout. Facing another group of elite teams, Michigan posted a 4-1 record despite playing in just about everything Mother Nature could throw at the team. Before the team even played a game, it had to push one of the rental vans out of a snowbank after the driver lost control in the blizzard. Games were delayed on Friday while the field crew shoveled two feet of snow off the playing fields, leaving a border of snow mounds around the field. After the delay, the Wolverines dominated Denver and Wyoming, winning by a combined 29 goals. As the snow melted, the competition heated up on Saturday with Michigan facing a pair of ranked teams in #10 BYU and #7 Colorado State. After earning a hard-fought 8-5 victory over BYU, the Wolverines suffered their third loss of a season, falling to the defending national champion and tournament host, Colorado State 9-7. All of Michigan's losses this season have come by two goals or fewer and to teams ranked #2, #3, and #7. The team closed out the weekend beating #18 Minnesota 10-2 on Sunday morning before heading back to Ann Arbor. Michigan @ Calvin Despite missing eight players due to injury, academic, or religious commitments, Michigan (15-3) blew past Calvin College (7-5) 18-3. The team bus pulled up to the field just three minutes before the 7:00 PM scheduled start time but the Wolverines needed little time to warm up, taking the lead just one minute into the game with Amy Santoriello's 8th goal of the season. Goalie Emmy Scheidt kept the lead intact, turning aside consecutive eight-meter shots within a span of one minute. The action stayed in the Michigan offensive zone for the remainder of the half with the Wolverines jumping out to an 8-0 lead before the Knights pushed across their first goal at the 5:15 mark. Calvin would score again with 1:16 to go in the half, cutting the Michigan lead to 8-2 at the break. Britt Boehm got the second half scoring started off the opening draw, finding the net just :37 into the second stanza. Amy Johnson added her third goal of the game to put Michigan into double-digit scoring for the 11th time this season. Michigan is undefeated when scoring ten or more goals. Johnson added two more goals in the half, tying her season-high with five goals on the evening. The Wolverines never took their feet off the pedal, scoring six times in the final eight minutes, including two goals in the last :25 to make the final score 18-3. While it may be hard to stay focused once the outcome is determined, Michigan takes advantage of the opportunity to practice against a live opponent, "We regroup after every goal and decide what we want to accomplish in offensively before we score again," said Senior quad-captain, Julie Baskind. "We set up scenarios for ourselves to mimic the competition we will face at Nationals." WCLL Conference Tournament #6 Michigan (17-4) entered the WCLL Conference Tournament in Toledo, OH as the top seed. The Wolverines opened the tournament with a 23-2 trouncing of Marquette. Delaney Kempner, Ashley Felber, and Amy Johnson all scored hat tricks to pace the offense. Thirteen different players scored goals during the game for Michigan. That stat becomes even more impressive since Michigan only has 15 different players that play the attack or midfield that could even possibly score a goal. Next up for UM was Pittsburgh which put up a bit more of a fight before the Wolverines pushed past 12-6. Amy Johnson led Michigan with four goals in the contest. With the victory, Michigan advanced to the finals where they would play #10 Lindenwood University. With an automatic bid to nationals on the line, Lindenwood upset Michigan, winning 10-8. With the loss, Michigan had to return home and await the selection committee’s decision on their post season fate. After the eight conferences award automatic bids to their league champions, the committee selects eight more teams for at-large bids. Fortunately the committee awarded the Wolverines a bid so the season would continue in Scottsdale, AZ May 6-9. US Lacrosse WDIA National Tournament Round One – #8 Michigan 17 #9 UCLA 13 Despite the intense 95 degree heat, eighth-seeded Michigan (18-4) kept their cool, overcoming a three goal deficit in the second half to earn the 17-13 victory over ninth-seeded UCLA (10-8). Julie Baskind, Jess Stanley, and Amy Johnson registered hat tricks to lead the Wolverine scoring charge. Senior quad-captain Micaela Battiste started off the scoring, finding the net 1:25 into the game. UCLA then answered with back-to-back goals, taking a 2-1 lead. Stanley followed by bouncing home her first goal of the contest off an eight-meter shot, knotting the score at 2-2. The two teams traded goals until Michigan opened up an 8-6 advantage on a bounce shot from Johnson assisted by Ani Shekerjian. UCLA closed out the first half scoring consecutive goals to send the game into the intermission tied at 8-8. The Bruins would pick up right where they left off, scoring three unanswered goals to build an 11-8 lead. Trailing by three, many teams might have panicked and lost focus but not Michigan, said assistant coach, Kasey Hughes, "We kept our composure and never got panicky during the UCLA run. We played solidly the whole game." Baskind proved to be the spark for Michigan again, ending the UCLA run with a marker at 23:13, cutting the UM deficit to two. Rachel Lary added a goal three minutes later to make it a one goal game. UCLA responded with another tally to lead 12-10 before Michigan went on a run of their own. "It's a long game and being down by three goals with a full half to go can't stop you. We knew we had to keep it up," said Baskind after the game. "We slowed the ball down when we had to and our goals came at the right time." Johnson bounced home two goals within thirty seconds of one another and UM led for the first time since the first half. UCLA would tie it once more at 13-13 but then the Michigan closed the game on a 4-0 run to put it out of reach. With the sun blazing down, the Wolverines used their depth to overcome the stifling desert heat as nine different players scored n the game. Along with the three hat tricks, Alexis Pavle and Lary added multi-goal efforts. The Wolverine defense stepped it up to seal the victory, holding the powerful UCLA offense goalless over the final twelve minutes. Freshman goalie, Emmy Schedit made several key saves down the stretch and fellow freshman, Kelsey Martin intercepted a Bruin pass in the crease, leading to a Michigan goal on the other end to seal the victory. Round 2 - #8 Michigan 8 #1 UCSB 9 In a game that seesawed back and forth, #8 Michigan (18-5) fell one goal short in the end, falling 9-8 to #1 University of California Santa Barbara (20-2). After a scoreless five minutes, the Wolverines jumped ahead 1-0 when Britt Boehm found a cutting Rachel Lary who lifted a shot over the UCSB goalkeeper. The two teams would trade goals until the 4:31 mark in the first half when UCSB was able to open up a two goal margin, scoring with 0:20 left in the half. Many teams may have let up with short time remaining, but not these Wolverines. Lary controlled the draw herself and raced down the field, finding an open Amy Johnson who wristed a shot into the net with just 0:02 on the clock. Down one at the half, Michigan stayed positive, "I think goals like that are really important," said Michigan senior quad-captain, Micaela Battiste. "It gave us a spark going into the second half." Using the momentum from Johnson's last second goal, Michigan came out of the break firing. Julie Baskind scored less than a minute into the second stanza to tie the game at five. Johnson followed with her second goal of the game just 0:44 later to give Michigan the one goal lead. UCSB called a timeout after Michigan's two quick goals which seemed to settle the Gaucho nerves. UCSB went on a 4-0 run over the next fifteen minutes as their offense controlled the ball, draining clock. The Gaucho defense toughened up, holding the Wolverines goalless for over 26 minutes. Michigan survived a three minute period where they lost two midfielders due to double yellow cards. During that stretch, freshman goalie Emmy Scheidt stepped up to keep the Wolverines in contention, "She was ridiculous once again," Battiste said, of Scheidt, "I think everyone on the team would agree that she kept us in the game." Scheidt ended the day with a season-high 19 saves. Twice during the second half, UCSB had open shots at net but Scheidt was able to come up with the save. UCSB only managed to convert two eight meter opportunities in the game. Coming out of a timeout facing a three goal deficit, Michigan used all of their remaining energy to come up with one final run. Alexis Pavle bounced in an eight meter shot, bringing the Wolverines to within one. Lary won the ensuing draw and just :26 later, Johnson earned a hat trick with a bounce shot to cut the Gaucho lead to one. UCSB took the final draw and were able to stall for the remaining 1:15 to secure the victory and advance to the semifinals where they will play #3 Colorado who knocked off #4 Cal Poly in quarterfinal action. Michigan moves into the consolation bracket where they will play at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET against #4 Cal Poly. "Cal Poly is one of our big rivals," said senior captain, Becca Miller. "We're going to play tomorrow like we play every other game. We're going to build on the momentum that we gained in the game today and finish strong." Round 3 – #8 Michigan 10 #5 Cal Poly 8 #8 Michigan (19-5) took the lead early and never looked back on its way to a 10-8 victory over #5 Cal Poly (9-7). For the third consecutive game of the tournament, Michigan scored the first goal, this time off the stick of Rachel Lary. Jess Stanley added two more goals to build a 3-0 Wolverine lead in the game's first ten minutes. Cal Poly finally broke through with a goal at the 16:57 mark but Alexis Pavle converted an eight-meter to put Michigan back ahead by three. The lead grew to five behind a goal from Julie Baskind and Stanley's third of the game. Cal Poly cut the lead to three with a pair of goals, but Micaela Battiste added a marker on an eight-meter free position shot with two minutes left in the half, extending the lead to 7-3. Down, but not out, Cal Poly scored four of the first five goals in the second half to cut the Michigan lead to just one goal at 8-7. Once again, Michigan rode the stellar play of freshman goalie, Emmy Scheidt. Cal Poly managed just three goals in the first half as Scheidt came up with 13 saves in the opening period. Cementing her status as a lock for the All-Tournament team, Scheidt continued to deny Cal Poly shots at point blank range. The Mustangs only scored on one of their free position shots all game. "She really came out strong this whole tournament, without her we would not have gotten this far. Her composure set a good example for the rest of the team," said senior quad-captain Becca Miller. Scheidt finished the game with 23 saves and even managed to pick up one ground ball. "I enjoy the pressure of playing the best teams," said Scheidt after the game. "These games have all been so close so it's a lot easier to stay absorbed in the game." With the Wolverine advantage down to one goal, Delaney Kempner entered the game for the first time all weekend. Kempner immediately drew a foul and was awarded an eight-meter which she converted, shooting high to beat the Cal Poly goalie and giving Michigan the 9-7 lead. "Our bench is always involved in the game, cheering on our teammates," Kempner said, "so it wasn't hard to adjust to being in the game at a pivotal moment." Stanley added her fourth goal of the game at the 4:00 mark to ice the game for Michigan. Cal Poly would add one last tally at the 1:50 mark to cut the Wolverine lead to 10-8 but Lary won the draw and Michigan's offense was able to hold possession until time expired. Round 4 - #8 Michigan 11 #2 UC Santa Clara 7 For the second game in a row, #8 Michigan (20-5) led from start to finish, earning fifth place with an 11-7 victory over #2 UC Santa Clara. Julie Baskind got the scoring started for the Wolverines, finding the back of the net on an eight-meter shot just over one minute into the game. Baskind scored again one minute later to put UM ahead 2-0. After Santa Clara cut the Michigan lead to one, Jess Stanley answered right back. Stanley received a pass from Alexis Pavleon the right wing. Then, cutting across the goal mouth, shot left-handed over the goalie's outstretched stick to put UM back ahead by two. Santa Clara converted on a free position shot to get within one but once again, Michigan responded. This time it was Pavle turning in the highlight goal as she cut across the crease going cross-body, over the shoulder to beat Santa Clara's First-Team All-American goalie and make the score 5-3 in favor of the Wolverines. The Broncos fought back to tie the game with consecutive goals and it appeared like the game would go into the break tied at five. However, Rachel Lary came through, scoring a goal off her own rebound with :47 left in the half. The teams traded goals to start the second half, Michigan's coming when Amy Johnson took a beautiful feed from Quinn Golinske and deposited it into the back of the net, putting UM ahead 7-6. Michigan would extend the lead when a pair of senior captains connected, Micaela Battiste to Lary for the marker with 20:10 to play, giving Michigan the two goal edge. For the remaining twenty minutes, the Wolverines would battle the officials along with the Broncos as they drew three yellow cards within a two minute span. The second of these cards was called on Baskind, her second card of the day which resulted in an ejection. Despite being down three players, Michigan did not surrender a goal during the penalty time. Scoring five of the last six goals, the Wolverines put the finishing touches on the win when Pavle bounced in her second goal of the game at the 4:09 mark, extending the lead to 10-7. Johnson provided the exclamation mark, finding the open net for a hat trick in the closing minute. Emmy Scheidt preserved the Wolverine lead, putting the finishing touches on her masterpiece tournament. Scheidt saved 66% of shots during the four game stretch, a feat that is even more remarkable considering it came against the first, second, fifth, and ninth seeded teams. For her efforts, Scheidt was a unanimous selection to the All-Tournament team. With the win, the Wolverines capped a spectacular season, reaching the twenty win mark for just the second time in program history and the first since 2005. "It was nice to go out with a win today," said Johnson. "The seniors been such a huge part of the team so we wanted to get the win for them and finish the season on a high note." Postseason Accolades Seniors Micaela Battiste and Julie Baskind were both named Second Team All-Americans as midfielders at the U.S. Lacrosse WDIA Nationals Banquet in Scottsdale, AZ. Additionally, Freshman goalie Emmy Scheidt was named to the First Team All-Tournament for her performance at nationals. Michigan’s coaching staff won their third consecutive Michigan Division I State Championship this past June with Birmingham United, defeating Marian HS in the finals. Next Year’s Outlook Michigan graduates seven seniors including its four captains. The returning squad includes Johnson, the team's leading scorer with 59 goals on the season as well as fellow seniors to be, Amy Santoriello and Arielle Dyner. Santoriello and Dyner will serve as tri-captains along with junior to be, Britt Boehm. [an error occurred while processing this directive] |
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