The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OLYMPIC SPORTS "Ani has now had back-to-back outstanding years and led our front line," Ryan explained. "She really played great soccer for us throughout the entire year. "Reilly and Sura have been made a very solid impact in their first year. Reilly has been able to score a couple of goals and put her teammates in a position to score quite a bit, and Sura has been a mainstay in the back. She played in every game and is re- ally someone we can count on back there." Replacing veterans with young tal- ent can be a bit stressful, but Ryan is confident and comfortable with the fresh faces he has returning and ex- pects big things in 2016. "We are replacing some key se- niors, but we have a lot of talent com- ing back next year," he said. "With the talent that we have and the due diligence I'm going to do to ensure we get a more comprehensive look by the NCAA, I really hoped we can get into the tournament like we've deserved for the last two seasons." FIELD HOCKEY FALLS IN NCAA QUARTERFINALS After losing 3-0 to Wake Forest in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in August, the No. 10-ranked Michi- gan field hockey team exacted some revenge, defeating the Demon Dea- cons 2-1 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Nov. 14. However, the Maize and Blue then ran into North Carolina in the quarterfinals — the other ACC foe that had defeated them earlier in the year in the same Challenge — and dropped a 1-0 contest to the No. 1 Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C. Head coach Marcia Pankratz was disappointed after losing a close one but was pleased with her team's play. "I couldn't be more proud of the effort and how they put it all out there," Pankratz said. "They played their best game of the season and just came up short." Pankratz couldn't help but note that North Carolina handed the Wol- verines their first and last losses of the season, but gave credit where credit was due. "I think North Carolina is the best team in the country right now, and we played them toe-to-toe," she said. "We were looking for a lucky break, and they were just 1-0 better than us." Seniors Jaime Dean, Shannon Scav- Sophomore goalkeeper Sam Swenson paced the Big Ten with a .837 save percentage. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS