You could see the displeasure written on Michigan coach Nancy Cox's face following her field hockey team's match with Central Michigan yesterday.

"I told the team beforehand that we would have to come out with the same type of intensity that we would if this were a Big Ten team," Cox said. "Quite frankly, we didn't do that today."

Surprisingly, Cox made her comments after a 7-2 win for the Wolverines (2-1 Big Ten, 8-7 overall) over the Chippewas yesterday at Phyllis Ocker Field.

Although the win marked the 16th-straight time the Wolverines beat the Chippewas (1-3 Mid-American, 6-7 overall), the blowout victory wasn't the prettiest.

The game mirrored Sunday's match against Miami (Ohio), which the Wolverines won, but also started sluggishly. The team was held to just one goal in the opening half but rallied to score four in the second to win 5-3.

Despite the margin of victory over the Chippewas, Cox and many players said they were unsatisfied with their team's play. Central Michigan hung with No. 20 Michigan for the first half of the match. The Wolverines out-shot (18-3) and out-cornered (6-1) the Chippewas, but led just 2-1 at halftime.

"We need to get points on the scoreboard a lot quicker in these games," said freshman Paige Laytos, who tallied two goals. "Each game, it seems like we take about the first 10 minutes of the game to figure things out, and it is really starting to hurt us."

But the Wolverines did indeed figure things out when the second half rolled around.

The team caught fire, scoring five goals - four of which came in a four-minute span.

Sophomore Lucia Belassi anchored the team with two goals and four assists. With Michigan holding a 2-1 lead in the second half, the Uruguay native received a pass from junior Ashley Lennington in front of the goal. After making a move to her right, she had a clear shot at the goal and extended Michigan's lead to 3-1 just eight minutes into the period.

Less than two minutes later, Belassi was at it again. This time, she scored off a rebound that bounced into the middle of the circle, giving the Wolverines a three-goal advantage.

Belassi - who had two assists in the first half - assisted the next two Michigan goals, scored by Laytos and freshman Jenner Johnson, respectively. Laytos and Johnson's goals came a minute and a half apart, pushing the advantage to 6-1.

"(Belassi) always has a great vision of the field," Laytos said. "She always knows where people are and where the ball needs to go. I guess as a team, we were finally in the right positions, because she always puts the ball in the right spot for us."

Central Michigan got off just one shot in the second half, but the Chippewas made it count. Nearly 22 minutes into the half, Central Michigan put its second goal of the game through, trimming the Michigan lead to 6-2.

The enjoyment didn't last long for the Chippewas. Sophomore Stephanie Hoyer scored a goal just over a minute later to extend the Michigan advantage to 7-2 and ice the victory in the 57th minute.

But Belassi couldn't explain why the Wolverines were so much more effective in the second half than in the first.

"We don't really know what it is," Belassi said. "I just wish it wouldn't always happen like that. We can do much better in the first halves of these games."

Cox said that her team might have been looking ahead to a match against conference-leading Indiana on Sunday, causing a somewhat flat first half during the game.

"What this group of young women needs to recognize is anytime you cross the sideline with a maize and blue jersey, your mandate is to bring the best game that you can possibly bring," Cox said. "Right now, they don't consistently do that. It doesn't matter who the opponent is - that should be the passion with which you pursue the pursuit."