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Make it Four: No. 12 Michigan Doubles-Up No. 14 Hartwick 12-6 for Fourth Eastern Championship
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Eight different University of Michigan players scored as the No. 12-nationally ranked Wolverines used a five goal outburst in the second period to build a one-goal lead by halftime and stifling defense in the second half to knock off No. 14-ranked and top seed Hartwick College 12-6 in the title game of the 2009 Eastern Championship at Harvard Unviersity's Blodgett Natatorium.
Michigan, which has now won 25-consecutive games, joins Hartwick (2006-07), University of Massachusetts (1998-99) and Slippery Rock University (1988-96) as the only teams in league history to win back-to-back titles as the Wolverines defeated Hartwick last year at home in Ann Arbor 10-7 for the 2008 championship.
Overall, the title marks the fourth in program history as Maize and Blue previously captured the 2002 (7-6 W OT vs. Hartwick), 2005 (8-7 W vs. Indiana) and 2008 crowns. Further, it marks the first time a second seed has won the league title since the 2005 Wolverines which knocked off host and No. 1 seed Indiana four years ago for the program's second Eastern title.
Trailing 2-0 with 42 seconds remaining in the first period following an even-strength goal (2:47) and a successful five-meter penalty shot (:42) by Sian Ellis-Tewhiu (Fr., Wellington, New Zealand/Queen Margaret College), the Wolverines broke the ice on a penalty shot by Lauren Orth (So., Poway, Calif./Poway) to pull within 2-1 at the 26-seconds mark.
Michigan pulled even five seconds into the second period as Orth skipped a penalty shot past the out-stretched arms of Hawks' goalie Jessica Dorman (So., Auckland, New Zealand/Diocesan School). The goal continued a Maize and Blue scoring lightning strike as Alison Mantel (So., Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) split the Hartwick defense on successive firing shots the right and left sides of the cage at 5:40 and 5:12, respectively, to give the Wolverines a 4-2 lead. Julie Hyrne (Sr., Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty), the Western Division Player of the Year, closed out the five-goal run with an exclusion score at the 3:47 mark to build the margin to 5-2.
Needing a goal to break the momentum and climb back into the contest, the Hawks received a score from 2007 and 2008 Northern Division Player of the Year Kirsten Hudson (Jr., Wellington, New Zealand/Sacred Heart) with 3:19 left in the first half to trim the lead back to two at 5-3.
However, Michigan refused to allow Hartwick to close any further as Mary Chatigny (Sr., Palm Springs, Calif./Palm Springs) cashed in an exclusion chance at 2:33 to give her team a 6-3 lead before the Blue and White's Jessica McKee (So., Tustin, Calif./Laguna Beach) countered with an exclusion goal of her own with 2:16 to go in the half for a 6-4 Wolverines' lead at the break.
Leah Robertson (Jr., Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) and Carrie Frost (Sr., Saline, Mich./Saline) provided the Wolverines some scoring cushion in the dawning moments of the third period working their way through traffic and depositing shots at 5:47 and 5:25, respectively, for an 8-4 lead.
Hartwick chipped away at the deficit with Hudson and Ellis-Tewhiu putting shots behind Maize and Blue netminder Brittany May (Sr., Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) at 5:10 and 1:42 to inch to within 8-6 and set up a dramatic fourth period.
The key to the win was Michigan's ability to turn up the defensive pressure holding the Hawks to five fourth period shots, including three on cage, and no goals to preserve the win.
Although unnecessary for victory as Robertson's goal in the third period provided the game-winner, Cara Reitz (So., Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) scored on an exclusion at 5:30, Hyrne dropped in back-to-back tallies at 4:29 and 3:54 and Sharayah Hernandez (Sr., Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho) closed out the Wolverines' championship season with 43 seconds to go when she flipped in Michigan's 12th goal.
In cage, May stopped 12 shots, including seven in the second half, to earn the win, while Dorman stopped 10 shots for Hartwick.
Michigan, which earns the league's automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship on May 8-10 at the University of Maryland's Eppley Recreation Center, will have off for the next two weeks until competition begins for the national championship.
Tickets for the NCAA Championship tournament are available by calling 1-800-IM-A-TERP or online at umterps.com
Following the conclusion of the Eastern Championship, the tournament awards and All-Tournament teams were announced with Hartwick's Hudson, Michigan head coach Matt Anderson and Harvard University first-year Devan Kennifer being honored as the Most Valuable Player, "Doc Hunkler" Eastern Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively. The complete All-Tournament teams and scores from all 12 Eastern Championship tournament games are available here.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| No. 12 University of Michigan | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| No. 14 Hartwick College | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
Hartwick Goals: Sian Ellis-Tewhiu (3); Kirsten Hudson (2); Jessica McKee;
Michigan Goals: Julie Hyrne (3); Alison Mantel (2); Lauren Orth (2); Mary Chatigny; Leah Robertson; Carrie Frost; Cara Reitz; Sharayah Hernandez
Saves: Hartwick - Jessica Dorman (10) ; Michigan - Brittany May (12)
Ejections: Hartwick - 12 ; Michigan - 9
Sprints: Hartwick - 1 (Sian Ellis-Tewhiu - 1st) ; Michigan- 3 (Keller Felt - 2nd, 3rd & 4th)
