Four-goal Fronzoni sparks Blue

By David Roth

Daily Sports Writer

Why are Happy Days so prevalent at Michigan?

The Fronz.

Freshman April Fronzoni had to stop, drop and roll after catching fire yesterday, scoring four goals to help the No. 4 Michigan field hockey team char Miami of Ohio 10-1.

Fronzoni wasn't the only star - sophomore Jessica Rose blazed the first hat trick of her 12-year field hockey career.

Fronzoni rocketed out of the gate and took a Kelli Gannon pass with 29:52 left in the first half and scored to put Michigan up 1-0.

A blink later, she smoked a shot from the left side on the arc to net her second goal of the minute.

Fronzoni played relentlessly and maintained her intensity despite the lopsided score.

"If we're up six or seven, I don't want to let down and start playing the other team's game," Fronzoni said. "I keep playing my game the whole time. As soon as the whistle blows after 70 minutes - then I'm done."

Fronzoni was surprised that the collegiate level would be where she would produce the most.

"I don't think I had too many four-goal games in high school. Maybe one or two," she said. "This is new and exciting."

Michigan displayed its superior talent in every facet - quicker and more explosive penalty corners, crisper passing, sharper stick skills and greater hustle.

Fronzoni epitomized this type of play.

"April having four goals was not the reason she played well - it's because she worked incredibly hard," Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said.

Miami's speed was subordinate to Michigan's and led to its downfall. The Wolverines got to play almost everyone, keeping an already-fast rotation fresh.

"It's nice to be able to utilize our speed and to exploit it," Pankratz said. "When you get matches where you can really do that, it's a good confidence builder."

Penalty corner plays directly resulted in four Michigan goals, where each score came within seven seconds of the team's set play.

The corners were where Rose flourished, redirecting misdirected balls toward the cage.

"I was doing my job on the corners," Rose said. "If the ball pops out toward me, I put it in."

Rose said that good corner play is Michigan's focus when the Wolverines' Big Ten season opens up this Friday against Indiana.

"It's going to be tougher competition and closer games," Rose said. "Corners can make or break the game, so it was really nice to see that we were on today."

With yesterday's win, Michigan concluded its five-game homestand against unranked teams where the Wolverines outscored their opponents 31-5.

PETER CORNUE/Daily

Michigan's April Fronzoni was solid yesterday with four goals, but coach Marcia Pankratz was more impressed with her overall game.