 |  |
Eight Wolverines Score as No. 12 Michigan Top Princeton 12-7 at Eastern Championship
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Eight different University of Michigan players scored as the No. 12-nationally ranked and second seed Wolverines upended No. 7 seed Princeton University 12-7 in the opening round of the 2009 Eastern Championship on the campus of Harvard University.
The defending Eastern Champion, Michigan (31-8) advances to a semifinal matchup at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 25 versus the winner of a first round game between No. 20 ranked University of Maryland and Bucknell University. Princeton (14-13) falls into a 2:30 p.m. consolation game on Saturday versus the loser of the Terrapin-Bison match-up as the Tigers will have a chance to earn a place in the fifth place game.
Michigan did not pull away early from the Tigers as the Wolverines led 2-1 after a period of play and 3-3 at halftime while being outshot 14-8.
Alison Mantel (So., Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep), Lauren Orth (So., Poway, Calif./Poway), Meagan Cobb (Fr., Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) and Carrie Frost (Sr., Saline, Mich./Saline) led the way for Michigan with pairs of scores, while Princeton had seven different players account for all its scoring.
Tied 3-3 at the midpoint break and 4-4 after 50 seconds of play in the third period as the teams traded five-meter penalty shot goals by Orth and the Tigers' Lauren Brunner (So., Sacramento, Calif./St. Francis) at the 7:38 and 7:10 marks, respectively, Michigan went to work to advance to the next round.
Keller Felt (So., La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla) drilled a shot into the cage at 6:26, Julie Hyrne (Sr., Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) cashed in on a man-up chance at 3:44 and Sarah Roberts (So., Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) tacked on an even-strength marker with 16 ticks left on the clock to put Michigan ahead 7-4.
Princeton sliced the margin to two in the opening minutes of the fourth period with a tally by Audrey Zak () at the 5:39 mark, but the Wolverines clawed their way to a 9-5 lead courtesy back-to-back shots by Leah Robertson (Jr., Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) and Frost at 4:52 and 4:25, respectively, for the game-winner and the first of four insurance goals to coast to the win.
In cage, Brittany May (Sr, Santa Barbara. Calif./Santa Barbara) blocked down seven shots to earn the win for Michigan, while Princeton's Christina Michel (So., San Marcos, Calif./The Bishop's School) stopped six scoring-attempts.
Overall, Michigan is seeking its
fourth Eastern Championship this year as the Maize and Blue
previously captured the 2002 (7-6 W OT SD vs. Hartwick), 2005 (8-7
W vs. Indiana) and 2008 (10-7 W vs. Hartwick).
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| No. 7 Princeton University | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| No. 2 (#12) University of Michigan | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
Michigan Goals: Alison Mantel (2); Carrie Frost
(2); Meagan Cobb (2); Lauren Orth (2); Leah Robertson; Julie Hyrne;
Cara Reitz; Keller Felt
Princeton Goals: Audrey Zak; Sierra Schelegle; Tanya Wilcox; Elizabeth Dilday; Lauren Brunner; Phoebe Champion; Katlin Poladian
Saves: Michigan - Brittany May (7) ; Princeton - Christina Michel (6)
Ejections: Michigan - 11 ; Princeton - 11
Sprints: Michigan - 3 (Keller Felt, 2nd, 3rd & 4th) ; Princeton - 1 (Phoebe Champion, 1st)
Tanya Wilcox prepares to score against Leah Robertson &
Brittany May
