Call it mojo. Call it luck.

Whatever you call it, the fourth-seeded Michigan field hockey team didn't have it during its frigid Big Ten Tournament opener on Friday.

No one associated with the team expected its tournament showing to end so abruptly on the first day of play. Many players, especially the seniors, cried openly as the game ended a minute and a half into overtime, a 2-1 loss to unranked, fifth-seeded Iowa on Michigan's own Phyllis Ocker Field.

For the seniors, their final competition at home came two days too early. The game might have been the last of their careers as well, if Michigan (4-2 Big Ten, 11-9 overall) isn't selected for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.

The Hawkeyes (2-4 Big Ten, 11-8 overall) almost ended the game on a corner opportunity, with the scoreboard showing no time left in regulation. Though the ball found the back of the net, the goal was waved off, and the game went to overtime.

Iowa made its next corner count. Lauren Pfeiffer, who had scored Iowa's first goal, blasted a shot from the top of the circle past goalie Beth Riley at 72:28, ending the game and No. 16 Michigan's run in the Big Ten Tournament.

The Hawkeyes drew first blood, finishing on a corner at 17:23 of the opening half. Though the Wolverines played with an almost desperate sense of urgency throughout the match, Iowa contained them.

Senior tri-captain Mary Fox, who normally weaves through multiple defenders as if they're standing still, couldn't penetrate Iowa's defense. Leading goal-scorer Lucia Belassi was held to just two shots on goal. And though, as usual, Michigan out-cornered its opponent (9-7), the Hawkeyes were the team capitalizing on those chances.

The Wolverines demonstrated their usual gritty spirit, fighting Iowa all the way to the end. Finally, with about 12 minutes left in regulation, freshman Kelly Fitzpatrick knotted the game at one goal apiece. She pounced on a rebound near the Iowa cage, stuffing it past Iowa goalkeeper Lissa Munley as she fell to the turf.

"Every time (Fitzpatrick) steps on the field, she's able to finish," Michigan coach Nancy Cox said. "Having had to overcome all of her health issues all year long . stepping on and playing two minutes here, four minutes, six minutes here - every time the kid steps on the field, she makes a significant contribution to the success of Michigan field hockey."

The Wolverines left everything they had out on the field. Cox thought the possibility of this being the seniors' last game of their careers might have weighed on them. But she discounted the possibility of fatigue or the freezing temperature as factors contributing to the loss, even asserting:

"The weather is Michigan weather, and we're proud to play in it because it's Michigan weather."

Despite being knocked out of the conference tournament, Michigan still has a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament. But instead of controlling their own destiny, the Wolverines will have to depend on the selection committee.

"Well, we certainly didn't make the likelihood of (being selected) very high, but I hope that the selection committee looks at the strength of our schedule," Cox said. "When you look at the strength of our schedule compared to all the teams in Division I hockey, we play the second-hardest schedule in the country."

The NCAA selection committee will announce the 16 teams advancing to the tournament on Tuesday evening.