Features - University of Michigan Women's Lacrosse Team

February 17, 2007

Event: Women's Lacrosse

Site: Orlando, Florida (UCF Rec Fields)

Score: Michigan 18, Colorado 8 -- Georgia 15, Michigan 9 -- Navy 23, Michigan 12

Record: U-M (4-2, 2-0 WCLA)

Next U-M Game: February 17 vs. Florida & Central Florida in Orlando, Florida

Michigan Opens Five Game Orlando Swing 1-2

Ann Arbor, Mich. – The University of Michigan women’s lacrosse team grabbed a win vs. Colorado before dropping back to back to games vs. Georgia and Navy in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, February 17. Michigan opened with an 18-8 win over the Buffalos of Colorado, before falling 15-9 to Georgia and 23-12 to Navy to close out the afternoon.

The Wolverines kicked off their full day of games vs. Colorado with a solid performance that featured a spread scoring attack with eight different Wolverines scoring. After building a 5-3 lead mid-way through the first half, U-M scored five unanswered goals to build a sizable 10-3 lead. Buffalo answered back with three of the next four goals, before Michigan tallied the last goal of the half as they headed into the break up 12-6. Notching the first two goals of the second half, Michigan put the game out of reach early and cruised to the victory. Sophomore Alexis Pavle (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Grosse Pointe South) paced the Wolverines with six goals, while fellow sophomore Rachel Lary (San Diego, California/Torrey Pines) added three of her own. Pavle also led the team with six groundballs, while Lary earned five draw controls. Freshman goaltender Liz Mennen (N.Y., N.Y./Morris Hills) stopped five shots in the contest.

In their second game of the day, Michigan fell behind Georgia 5-0 early on before battling back to draw the game even. It appeared as though the comeback took away much of the Wolverines' energy however, as the Bulldogs notched three of the next four and opened the second half with three unanswered goals as they started to pull away. Michigan was never able to mount a serious comeback effort after that point, falling 15-9 in the end. Junior Ashley Steitz (Grosse Pointe, Michigan/University) added four goals and one assist to lead the team.

In Michigan's final game of the day, the Wolverines faced off against an old rival in Navy, and looked weary throughout after playing two previous games. After Michigan jumped out to a 3-1 lead, Navy answered with seven of the next eight goals, and eventually took a 16-7 lead going into the half-time break. Once again, the Wolverines were unable to mount a comeback attempt in the second half eventually falling 23-12. Freshman Amy Johnson (Washington, D.C./Holton Arms) had a solid game with four goals and an assist while sophomore Micaela Battiste (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) also performed well, adding four helpers. Liz Mennen stopped eight shots in the game.

The Wolverines will be back in action tomorrow as they square off against Central Florida and Florida before returning home to Ann Arbor.

Contact: Joe Hennessy – jjhennes@umich.edu – 734-276-8493