By now, they were getting used to it. The Wolverines spent the
first two games of the NCAA field hockey tournament defying
rankings, stepping over teams that were statistically superior.
Then, it finally happened. In the semifinal round, the Wolverines
were forced to take on the ultimate challenge: They were to butt
heads with top-ranked Wake Forest.

According to coach Marcia Pankratz, Michigan entered the match
with the confidence that comes with repeatedly beating the odds.
Repeating this feat, however, was not in the cards, and the
Wolverines were edged out by the Demon Deacons, 1-0.

“We had a difficult (tournament) draw,” Pankratz
said. “We played the number-4 team, then the number-5 team,
and beat them back-to-back. Then, to keep the number-1 team at bay
for so long is quite an accomplishment.”

Although the game did not end in Michigan’s favor, the
performance showed just how far the team had come from the first
weeks of the season. In the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Wake Forest had
a slightly more lopsided victory, by the score of 4-2.

“We’ve just had lots more game experience since
then,” Pankratz said. “It’s tournament time, and
we played as well as we could play.”

The play was somewhat tentative throughout the scoreless first
half. Each team managed to pull off only one shot on goal, and
though the Wolverines had two breakaway chances, they were unable
to capitalize.

The teams emerged from their halftime talks driven by the dream
of a bid to the national championship, which hung in the balance
over the next 35 minutes.

The Demon Deacons received multiple corner opportunities, giving
them multiple chances to take control of the game. And indeed,
these shots led to the Wolverines’ demise.

Just over 10 minutes into the half, Wake Forest was awarded its
first corner of the game. Three consecutive corners later, it was
finally able to put a shot past Michigan goalkeeper Beth Riley.

The Wolverines fought back for the remaining minutes, but to no
avail. Their only hope for a trip to the championship came with
less than a minute left, when defender Stephanie Johnson slipped
the ball in for what would have been a game-tying goal. The shot
was ruled too high though, sealing Michigan’s fate, and
assuring them a spot in the stands instead of on the field in the
finals.

Pankratz felt that her team had a great deal to be proud of.
Junior Katy Moyneur was named to the All-Tournament team.

“One of their best players, Kelly Dostal, was not a factor
at all, thanks to Katy’s defense,” Pankratz said.
“She will definitely be a leader of the defense next
year.”

There will be quite a bit of turnover for the Wolverines next
year. They are losing seven seniors, including tri-captain stars
Kristi Gannon, Stephanie Johnson and April Fronzoni.

“The three captains are some of the best players
we’ve ever had,” Pankratz said. “It’s a big
graduationg class, but the juniors will step up and be great
seniors, and we’ll be right back here, battling for the
championship.”

The Wolverines finished the season with a 17-6 overall
record.

While this speaks to the team’s ability on the field,
Pankratz maintains that it is their copious talents in other realms
that make this team stand out from those in years past.

“They are all fantastic students,” Pankratz said.
“They are selfless, take care of each other, train hard, are
responsible … really, they do everything right. They
epitomize exactly what you want in a student-athlete. I am very
proud of them.”