Replace the helmets with skirts, the pads with sticks, and the loss with a win, and you've summed up the primary differences between the Michigan football and field hockey teams' games against Iowa on Saturday afternoon.

The sixth-ranked Wolverines matched up with No. 7 Iowa for a showdown between the Big Ten's best field hockey squads at Michigan's Ocker Field. The home team came out on top with a 1-0 victory over the Hawkeyes.

"Our goals were to focus and to play like champions," Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said. "This was a very important game, and it's easy to see why. It was incredibly tough. We just had to play our match. I think we did that really well today."

In the scoreless first half, the teams appeared evenly matched, as Iowa took four shots and Michigan managed six. Although the Wolverines earned three consecutive corners, they were unable to capitalize on their opportunities.

"We had an awful lot of corners," Pankratz said. "It would have been nice to convert more of those."

The first half was not productive in terms of scoring, but the absence of goals created a strong sense of urgency that boosted the Wolverines' performance in the second half.

"At halftime, I told them to stay patient - relentless, but patient," Pankratz said.

Michigan outshot Iowa 15-1 in the second half, with the only goal coming from Wolverine senior April Fronzoni.

This shot was significant not only because it put Michigan on top in the game and in the Big Ten, but also because it placed Fronzoni one point behind the University's career point record of 136. Mary Callam set this record between the 1976 and 1979 seasons.

Fronzoni, however, chose to focus on the immediate effect of her goal, rather than being poised to go down in Michigan athletic history.

"Luckily, though my skills weren't on today, I was able to finish for the team," Fronzoni said.

One area in which the Wolverines were not lacking was defense. Michigan freshman goalkeeper Beth Riley needed to stop just three shots, while Iowa's Barb Weinberg kept a remarkable nine shots out of the net.

"Weinberg was outstanding," Pankratz said. "I'd attribute our lack of goals to her goalkeeping more than anything else."

The game also marked Riley's third shutout and sixth win in the six games she has played in goal.

This win afforded Michigan a little extra confidence going into the rest of the season and in preparing to complete the remainder of Big Ten play.

"It's great to be able to come out and win against Iowa," Fronzoni said. "It's always a battle, and we came in knowing that it would be a fight to the end. This game set our sights pretty high."

The Wolverines' next challenge comes today in Louisville at 3 p.m.