After last Saturday’s 21-0 loss to No. 3 Florida, the Michigan women’s lacrosse team took the field in Rock Hill, South Carolina against Winthrop looking for a confidence booster. The Wolverines lost to Winthrop last season, 14-12, and came out seeking revenge.
But the Wolverines couldn’t pull off the the win, losing in overtime, 11-10. Still, Michigan pointed to the positives, including the team’s growth from last season.
“(We played) much better than last year, when we ended up going in the hole,” said Michigan coach Jennifer Ulehla. “When we came out we were a little flat and had to make a comeback.”
Sophomore midfielder Anna Schueler nearly tied the game for the first time with 12:43 to go, but the goal was called off due to an illegal stick. However, sophomore Kelly Schlansker caught a quick break after a Winthrop turnover to tie the game up.
“It was really exciting tying the game,” Schueler said. “I think we did a really good job realizing that there was a minute and a half left in the game and so much can happen.”
And much did happen. After sophomore goalie Allison Silber came up with six crucial saves in the last few seconds of regulation, the Wolverines pushed the Eagles to overtime.
“Without those huge saves, we don’t go to overtime,” Ulehla said. “When a goalie makes a huge save it really pumped up the entire team,”
The first half of overtime went by without a goal, and the Wolverines switched ends of the field, preparing for the final three minutes.
With just over a minute to go in the second stanza of overtime, Winthrop scored on a free-position shot to go on top for good.
“We’re just bummed we didn’t come out on the winning end,” Schueler said.
Michigan’s defense took charge after an early deficit, carrying the team into overtime.
The Wolverines held Winthrop scoreless for 23 minutes, and Michigan went into the second half down only one, 6-5.
Improvement on the defensive end was a large reason for the Wolverines’ progress, albeit in a loss.
“I think it was one of the biggest improvements I’ve seen,” Schueler said. “We have so much trust in the defense and talent, which is something we are working on a lot of the time.”
Another large improvement in Michigan’s play was its possession game. After having little possession in last weekend’s game against Florida, Michigan took full advantage of Winthrop’s 18 turnovers. The Wolverines also won the balance in ground balls, with Schueler picking up five.
“We did win the ground balls category, which a coach is always incredibly proud of because that comes down to competition and work ethic and never-give-up attitude and 50-50 things,” Ulehla said.
Freshman attacker Mae Tarr saw her first minutes as a center taking the draw near the end of the first half.
With Tarr in the middle, Michigan was able to win four draws in a row, beginning the Wolverines’ first half scoring streak.
“Mae came in at critical time and was able to get the ball to be more of a 50/50 ball which allowed us to come up with a lot of more of the draw,” Ulehla said.
After the comeback, the Michigan coaching staff is extremely proud of the team’s performance.
“It’s unfortunate that we came out on the losing end, but I still think it was a great learning experience,” Ulehla said. “I can’t say enough of how proud the whole coaching staff is of the efforts that this team gave today, especially when we ended up going in the hole early. It was a successful day.”