The first goal of the game was going to be important. Michigan got the first two and earned a 3 – 2 win over Saint Joseph’s in the first round of the NCAA Field Hockey Tournament. The Hawks end the season with an 18 – 3 record. 8th ranked Michigan moves on the face top-seeded North Carolina. Freshman forward Tonya Botherway scored twice.
Michigan (14-6) got the critical first goal in the 13th minute as Meg Dowthwaite fired high to open the scoing. The Wolverines doubled the lead six minutes later when Emma Way assisted on a goal by Tina D’Anjolell for a 2-0 lead at the 18:03 mark.
In the 40th minute, the Hawks were given a penalty corner call that was challenged by the Wolverines; the call was upheld. SJU made it count with Botherway tipping home a ball from fellow freshman Johanna Huse to halve the lead.
Way added to her point total scoring with 16:20 to go, redirecting a pass from Sofia Southam, and the Wolverines regained their two-goal lead.
The Hawks rallied. Botherway went one-on-one with Michigan goalkeeper Anna Spieker. Botherway, the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, fired low to beat Spieker and brought the Hawks to within a goal. They would get no closer.
Junior Hawks goal keeper Victoria Kammerinke made a number of key stops to keep the Hawks in the game and had eight saves.
Botherway finished the season with 23 goals, 10 assists, and 56 points; her goal and point totals are both the third-highest single-season marks in program history.
The defeat ends a program-record 14-game winning streak and a championship season for the Hawks. Their 18 wins match the program record set last season.
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