TOLEDO, Ohio — It’s safe to say that Michigan women’s soccer coach Greg Ryan’s squad has excelled in the second half of games through the early part of the season.

The Wolverines have scored all of their goals after halftime, leading to several victories when the outcome was very much in doubt before the break.

That late-game uptick was present again in Michigan’s draw against Toledo on Friday, after the Rockets raced out to an early 2-0 lead by taking advantage of sloppy Wolverine play.

“We’ve put ourselves in a hole in some games and we’ve had to fight our way out of it,” Ryan said. “It’s a lot harder. Being down 2-0, a team shouldn’t let us back in the game … when you’re in a hole, it’s tough to dig out of, and fortunately we dug out as well as we could today.”

The Wolverines (3-1-2) have been behind at halftime in just two other games, but their inability to get on the board early or at least before their opponent has almost forced the issue — the team has had to up its level of play in the second just to gain a result.

But where in other games Michigan didn't dominate in the first half, against Toledo (3-2-1), and even with the early deficit, the Wolverines played very well before the break and clearly were the better team. The squad controlled possession for most of the period and had plenty of opportunities to score, outshooting the Rockets 12-6 and earning 10 corners to their three.

Despite improved play on this occasion, Michigan still couldn’t punch in any of its chances. Luckily for the Wolverines, they finally turned their fortunes around and knotted the game in the second. The mystery remains, though — why can't they convert in the first half, even when seemingly controlling the game?

“We do get those good chances in the first half,” senior defensive midfielder Jackie Carron said. “I don’t know if it takes us a while to warm up and to get mentally into the game or what, but I don’t know."

Ryan was just as clueless as to why Michigan has been scoring exclusively in the second. He said his team has worn down other opponents with its physicality and fitness, but he didn’t see that as being the case against Toledo — the Rockets substituted more and were fresher than the Wolverines.

Michigan did play more error-free defensive soccer after halftime against Toledo, eliminating the kind of passing mistakes and overaggressive attacking that led to the Rockets’ goals, and still swarmed the ball whenever they threatened in the Wolverines’ box.

But that still doesn’t explain why Michigan was suddenly able to convert second-half opportunities that were no better than similar first period chances. Whatever the reason, Ryan knows that in order for his team to reach its maximum potential, Michigan will have to take advantage earlier in the game and avoid falling behind early.

“We’re playing well in the first half.” Ryan said. “We’re just not scoring in the first half. That’s a tricky one. I got no reason in my head why that is. (It's) something we’re going to work on.

“I’m just going to start telling the girls it’s the second half at the beginning of the game.”