The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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F BY ANDY REID or the last 10 years, the 2001 national championship team has been a source of motiva- tion and frustration for Michi- gan field hockey. The banner flies high above Phyllis Ocker Field, a beacon of program expectations and, during a few lean years in the late 2000s, a reminder of how far the Wolverines had fallen. So it seemed fitting when the ath- letics department asked the players from that team back for this season's game against No. 12 Iowa Oct. 1. The 2001 Wolverines were on hand to wit- ness the 2011 squad take a giant leap toward launching the program back into the elite stratosphere of the sport. On that day, Michigan's stifling defense led the way in a 2-0 shutout over the Hawkeyes, the No. 2 scor- ing offense in the Big Ten (3.30 goals per game). And the young Wolverines took off, beating No. 14 Northwestern, No. 6 Penn State and every other Big Ten team left on the schedule to clinch the regular-season conference crown. "Iowa's a great team. To have the 2001 championship team there, it was a great feeling," senior back/midfielder Bryn Bain said. "From there, we built on it. … We set really high expectations for ourselves. By the time the season rolled around, we knew exactly what we wanted to do: win the Big Ten." The run to the championship was equal parts unexpected — from ev- eryone outside the team itself — and thrilling. When Penn State came to town with the top scoring offense in the conference, the Wolverines once again played picture-perfect defense, tallying another 2-0 shutout win over one of the Big Ten's best teams. "That's definitely up there, for my favorite wins of my career," fifth- year senior back Eileen Brandes said. "Mostly because we held them. They didn't get a shot or a corner in the second half. To shut them down and frustrate the heck out of them was so rewarding. It made all of the drills we had done, all of the tedious practices, it made it all worth it. I looked at my teammates after the game, and was like, 'Yep. We just did that.'" Even after U-M's surprising run to a Big Ten Tournament title last year, few people gave Michigan much of a chance in 2011. The roster boasted just six upper- classmen — five seniors and a junior 86 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2011 — and a wealth of talented but inex- perienced freshmen and sophomores. But the youngsters stepped up, filling in holes and answering question marks all season. Five of Michigan's top six scorers were underclassmen. In fact, just 10 of the team's 65 goals on the year came off the sticks of outgoing seniors. "What surprised me about the young players, really, was the way we sort of started dominating teams," Brandes said. "We took our time. BACK ON TRACK Field Hockey Squad Is Headed For A Return To National Prominence When we played well, it surprised me how effective that a group of people who may not be the most skilled play- ers in the country can be when we worked together. Our simpleness and cohesiveness, it was surprising how much it helped us win games." Leading the offensive charge for the second straight year was sophomore forward Rachael Mack. She finished the year with a career-high 37 points, a career-best 17 goals and three assists. "The sophomore year is always a concern, especially because of the level of success she had as a freshman," Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said. "Let's be careful, because they put so many high expectations on themselves to outdo their freshmen seasons, and Rachel is a competitor who definitely wanted to do that. But she did a great job. She was a clutch player for us." Playing opposite Mack at forward was Emy Guttman, a true freshman Ann Arbor native who burst onto the scene with 11 goals and 25 points. "She wasn't a surprise to us. We knew she could come in and score goals, and that's why we recruited her," Pankratz said. "She has really spe- cial, magic hands. She has a knack for the goal and a great skill set. We knew it would be important to find some balance, because people would key on Rachael, and Emy provided that." Sparked by the team's success over the last two seasons, the young Wol- verines are motivated for the future. Several players took a road trip to Louisville, Ky., to witness the Final Four, which Maryland won for the second straight year. And they know they're close. In non-conference play this season, the Wolverines lost 2-1 to the Terrapins and 3-2 in overtime to national run- ner-up North Carolina, and they beat No. 11 Wake Forest. In postseason play, Michigan once again made it to the final of the Big Ten Tournament be- fore losing 3-2 to Penn State and then falling to North Carolina in the Elite Eight at NCAA Tournament. "We're very excited for the future," Pankratz said. "All those young play- ers got an awful lot of playing experi- ence this year, and they'll be that much better for it next year. I think we're very focused on jumping into that top four and playing for national champi- onships again. We're ready to take that challenge on." "I know we're on the cusp of that elite level," Brandes added. "Last year was a step for us. People thought we were going to take a step back, but we didn't. This team isn't taking steps back anymore. It might take a couple years to get back to the Final Four, but it's going to get there. I know it is." On that October day against Iowa, with the greatest team in program his- tory looking on, the 2011 Wolverines forged a new future for themselves. Four years removed from a fifth-place finish in the Big Ten, Michigan is once again knocking on the door of re- sounding success. "I'm really proud of us," Brandes said. "My first two years here, let's just say they weren't up to Michigan standard. You come to this university to win and play on the best team. We can't thank Marcia enough for what she's done for this team. "You want all four years to be win- ning the Big Ten and going to the NCAAs, but sometimes that doesn't happen. The fact that it was a progres- sion and ended on a high note and set the program back to where it was in the early 2000s, that's cool to say: 'I was a part of that, putting it back on the right track.'" ❑