Sept. 21- ANN ARBOR, MI Even though the EGR Pioneers did not have a match this weekend, the players still focused on field hockey. After a thrilling victory over the Parents in the 2nd Annual Parents-Players Scrimmage, a lions share of the program arose early on a Sunday to make the trek over to Ann Arbor. Arriving in time for the game at Phyllis Ocker Field on the University of Michigan, the Wolverines were testing their first top 10 ranking since 2014, coming into the match as the #8 team in the country. The Lady Dukes though had eyes on ruining the party. JMU had not visited U of M in the past five years, so many of the players had never had to play in the shadow of the Big House in the U of M field hockey venue. However, the stage did not seem too big as the Lady Dukes took it to the Wolverines from the opening tap. After a scoreless first quarter, the team from Harrisonburg, VA broke the ice in the 2nd quarter with a beautiful solo effort from Madlief Molier, the Dutch player from Rotterdam, the Netherlands. After the break, JMU continued to pressure the Wolverines' defense as the ladies from U of M had a hard time getting any sustained offense in the JMU defensive area. However, when U of M did get the ball into their attack zone, it typically resulted in an offensive penalty corner. Only one of the 15 corners they forced resulted in a goal on the afternoon as the goalie from JMU stood on her head making save after save from close range. JMU countered these many corners with offensive rushes in on the Wolverines' goalie and after a sweet sweep to Molier by Alice Roeper, the Senior captain from Delft, the Netherlands, the second goal gave the Lady Dukes a tenuous 2-0 lead with one quarter left. That is when Michigan put on a heightened pressure that the JMU team had to repel every effort. After the goal on the offensive penalty corner to cut the lead to 2-1, it seemed that their would be a destiny for the equalizer to come before the end. However, another vaunted counter left Molier with an opportunity to extend the lead, and she did not fail to capitalize with a reverse chip into the far right corner to finish off her hat trick and put the game out of reach. A fantastic match to watch with great technical skills in a driving rain gave the athletes from EGR an idea of what it takes to reach the next level. Hopefully, it inspires them to continue to drive for success through the rest of the season. Next up is the OK Conference game versus Spring Lake on Sept. 22 at 7 PM at Mehney Field in EGR. Come watch as the girls continue to charge toward their second Conference Championship.