Field hockey guards against big letdown

Often when a team scores an emotionally charged victory like the Michigan field hockey team's 1-0 win against in-state rival Michigan State on the road Wednesday, there is the possibility of a letdown the next game.

That can be especially true if the team's next opponent is not as meaningful, as is the case this weekend for the 12th-ranked Wolverines as they play their final two non-conference games at Ocker Field against Ohio and California.

For Michigan, the focus all week has been on starting the Big Ten season on a good note with a victory over the Spartans.

But now the Wolverines must shift that focus to two nonconference opponents, and maintain the intensity and aggression they employed in their dominating victory over Michigan State.

"(Ohio and California) are quite strong, and they are both having good seasons," Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said. "Ohio beat Kent State which is normally quite a strong team in the MAC. We tied them last spring, so we are certainly looking for t

DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily Michigan's Courtney Reid thinks the Wolverines will avoid a letdown this

hem to play really well.

"It will be tough because our focus has been on the Big Ten season and the Michigan State game. We only have two days to jump into those next two matches and prepare."

But Michigan is not making any excuses for a possible letdown this weekend.

The Wolverines are confident that they can channel the emotion from their victory and maintain rather than lose intensity.

"I think it helps the intensity because we know how we feel now, and we want to carry it over to this weekend," junior midfielder Courtney Reid said.

Pankratz agreed with the sentiment of her players, explaining that the Wolverines could use the energy the got from the Michigan State in the two games this weekend.

"The momentum is a positive," Pankratz said. "(The players) feel good about their play. They feel more confident, so I think that that will carry over positively into the weekend."

Besides having only a short amount of time to prepare for this weekend, Michigan also will be shorthanded on the sideline. Assistant coaches Tracey Fuchs and Peggy Storrar will be competing for the U.S. national team over the next few weeks in Australia and South Africa, leaving the Wolverines with just Pankratz and assistant Nancy Cox to prepare the team for the bulk of the Big Ten season.

"We'll miss them, but we are going to hang on," Pankratz said. "They told us we need to be undefeated until they get back, so we're trying."

Pankratz said the the two would be missed the most "to bounce ideas off of, but Nancy is certainly a fantastic coach and we really bounce ideas off of each other during the game."

For now, the Wolverines just keep plugging away.

"I think we are going to go into this weekend exactly the way we went into (Wednesday)," sophomore forward Jessie Veith said. "We'll just keep on firing at them until we win."

weekend, despite playing two nonconference opponents.

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