Wake Forest Athletics
Field Hockey Wins Season Opener in Overtime, 3-2
8/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Aug. 25, 2001
Ann Arbor,Mich. - The Wake Forest field hockey team captured a victory its season opener, defeating the University of Michigan 3-2 in overtime on Saturday afternoon at UM's Ocker Field.
Deacon junior Heather Aughinbaugh scored with 5:05 left in the first overtime to give the Demon Deacons the victory while snapping Michigan's 11-game home winning streak. The overtime match marked the third time in the last four meetings the two teams have needed an extra period to determine a winner. Two years ago the Wolverines knocked Wake Forest out of the NCAA Championship with a 3-2 overtime victory in the regional finals while the Demon Deacons returned the favor with a 3-2 overtime win in the second round of the NCAA Championship in 2000.
"For our first game we did fairly well but we had a few critical mistakes," said Michigan head coach Marcia Pankratz. "This has turned into a great rivalry and it is good for hockey. That is why we play the best in order to get ready for the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA tournament."
Michigan scored within the first four minutes of the game as senior Ali Balmer redirected a pass from sophomore Kristi Gannon. Wake Forest, however, took a 2-1 advantage into the locker room at halftime on first-half goals from senior Jennie Shelton and sophomore Emily Ruth. Michigan tied it up early after the break, as Gannon took a pass from April Fronzoni and put it into the net 1:46 into the second period.
"It doesn't get much better then two of the best teams in college field hockey fighting it out from year to year," said Wake Forest head coach Jennifer Averill. "Our program has a lot of respect for Michigan and I'm proud of our team that they came in here, played with the best, and came out with a victory."
Wake Forest will travel down the road to East Lansing to take on Michigan State on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The Spartans also won their season opener 3-2 in overtime, upending defending national champion Old Dominion on Saturday.
