Women's and Men's Soccer vs. Schoolcraft Tomorrow, 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Mitchell Field SPORTS Men's and Women's Cross Country at Notre Dame Invitational Friday, 2 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. South Bend, Ind. 10 The Michigan Daily Wednesday, September 30,1992 Stickers not sharp On the defensive Gridders smother opponents with tough 'D' despite shutout. by Brett Johnson A victory is a victory no matter how you look at it, but Michigan field hockey coach Patti Smith was not pleased with the way her team played last night. The Wolverines opened their home schedule at Oosterbaan Field House against Miami (Ohio) and came away with a 2-0 victory, raising their record to 6-1. The shutout was the team's fourth of the season, but Michigan was far from dominant defensively. Wolverine goalie Nikki Hoover had to make 14 saves, many of which were not routine. "I was disappointed in our ability to keep our composure," Smith said. "We had been playing very consistent, but tonight, we didn't play our game. They disturbed us with their style of play." The Wolverines played sloppily in the first half but still managed to hold a 1-0 lead. Jennifer Lupinski scored an unassisted goal with 1:29 left in the period on one of only seven shots Michigan took in the first half. Smith talked to her players at halftime and told them to work on the good things that they had done in previous games: sharp passing and ball control. "I told them there was no need to panic; we were ahead," Smith said. "We were throwing the ball away, and we weren't communicating." "At halftime, we talked about See STICKERS, Page 11 by Josh Dubow Daily Football Writer Michigan's defense this season has stifled its oppositions' attacks. The Wolverines have the top defense in the Big Ten in terms of yardage (287.0 yards per game) and points al- lowed (9.0 per game). In fact, Michigan is 15th in the country in total defense and No. 4 in scoring defense. Much of the success of this year's defensive unit can be attributed to the strong play of the defensive backfield. The Wolverines have al- lowed 168.3 yards per game and only one touchdown pass. That scoring strike cane in the final minutes of last Saturday's 61-7 blowout of Houston. "Our defense is pretty good," senior free safety Corwin Brown said. "It's the best I've ever played on. We've got a lot of guys who love each other and play well together. The biggest thing about this defense is that every- one wants to make the big play. You almost expect it. When you come off the field and there hasn't been a big play, it shocks you." These big plays have not just come from the secondary. Michigan's defensive line and linebackers have applied heavy pressure on the quarterback lately, providing great help to the pass defense. "I think the front seven - especially the defensive line and the outside linebackers - tend to get overlooked in a game like (last Sat- urday)," strong safety Pat Maloney said. "They're the main reason we were able to come up with some big hits, some intercep- tions and stuff like that. When you put pressure on the quarterback, he doesn't want to stand back there and wait to throw. HIe'll be more apt to get rid of the ball quicker." "It's incredible, because we don't even have to blitz sometimes," Brown said. "Those guys will get in like we're blitzing. The ball will come out quicker and the quarterback doesn't throw as accurate. It's just a totally dif- ferent feeling. When he's getting pressure it's like we're controlling the game." A major concern of Michigan coach Gary Moeller coming into this season was the pas- siveness of his defense. le brought in a new defensive line coach - Greg Mattison - to apply more pressure on the quarterback, and the entire defense has become more potent. "Every time we go out we expect to have a big play - a turnover or interception or caus- ing a fumble or hitting those guys real hard," Brown said. "We want teams when they're on offense to feel just as worried. We don't want them to see our defense and think something good is going to happen. 'Cause it's not. We're gonna be flying around and getting to the ball." The secondary has been more aggressive mainly because of added experience Many younger players got an opportunity to play last season and now have confidence. "We had six or seven guys coming into this year who had a lot of experience," Maloney said. "The big thing about experience is you've been in a game and it's not new to you. You tend to be a little bit more at ease and you're not worried about making mistakes. You en- able yourself to fly around to the ball." Brown feels that because the secondary is playing with assurance they have been taking more chances. "When you're playing with confidence, you know what you're doing, you know what you want to do and you know you can do it," Brown said. "You know nothing can stop you. It's contagious. You hear Alfie (Burch) and Shonte (Peoples) and Coleman (Wallace) and Dwayne (Ware) talking about making big plays and they go out and do it." ELVIS UPDATE: Michigan quarterback Elvis Grbac practiced yesterday and Moeller says he has about an 8 percent chance of start- ing Saturday against Iowa. DIALING LONG DISTANCE: Tailback Tyrone Wheatley won the AT&T Long Distance Award by virtue of his 99-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff. Four hundred dollars will be donated to the NCAA's Degree Completion Scholarship Fund, and Wheatley will receive a plaque com- memorating his achievement. 0 Ninef Aghakhan and his fellow defensive linemen, under new position coach Greg Mattison, are a key part of Michigan's more aggressive defense. The Wolverines are in the top 15 nationally in total defense and No. 4 in scoring defense. 'M' spikers vie for State pride by Rich Mitvalsky Daily Sports Writer Size makes might. The Mjchigan women's volley- ball team hopes to prove this clich6 correct tonight in East Lansing by exploiting their significantly taller and more aggressive front line against a small Spartan squad. In their first two Big Ten matches, the Wolverines overpow- ered Indiana in five games, then Purdue in three straight. Against the Hoosiers, Michigan's size and strength advantage became readily apparent later in the contest, as the Wolverines came back from a two-game defecit. In the fifth game, the Hoosiers suffered multiple blows as high-flying Wolverines repeatedly delivered spikes into unguarded holes in the Hoosier defense. Against Purdue, Michigan's physical advantages were very obvi- ous from the start. "Probably Michigan's front line is comparable to Illinois with Hayley (Lorenzen) and Fiona (Davidson)," Purdue head coach Carol Dewey said. "And another of their strengths is their aggresiveness, both up front and all around." While Michigan's front line could average nearly six feet in height, the Spartans may fall as much as two inches under that figure at times. Wolverine back row hitters should experience considerable height advantages as well. Michigan's taller lineup may be a factor in the immediate net area, but the Spartans can compensate in other aspects of the game. "We have played small teams in the past, and that really hasn't had too much of a bearing," senior Michelle Horrigan said. Horrigan, who averages just over five kills per game, ranks 12th nationally in that category. "If a team keeps digging up what you hit, that becomes frus- trating. They can be scrappy. 11 we play our game against State though, we should be all right." Last season, the Wolverines split a pair of gruelling five setters with the Spartans, as each took their re- spective home match. However, the Spartan upset victory in East Lans- ing accounted for Michigan State's only conference win, and one of only three victories overall. Dewey, who saw her Boilermak- ers crush the Spartans the evening before her team was squashed by the Wolverines, speculated upon the in- trastate matchup. "The teams are very different - in terms of size - and Michigan has better athletes who are better in all areas of the game." Tonight's game marks the first of two designated "State Pride" matches. The second is scheduled for Oct. 28 in Ann Arbor. KAPPA SIGMA m 0 I N T E R N A T IO N A L F R A T E R N I T Y REAL PEOPLE. REAL FRIENDS. REAL BROTHERS. S - 0 1992 LATE RUSH SEDUL' TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 29h' 7-10 P.M. MARGARITAVILLE NIGHT Come for open rush and cheeseburgers in paradise. Jimmy Buffett is a Kappa Sigma, how about you? -~- WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 301h 7-10 P.M. B&B NIGHT -r THURSDAY OCTOBER11" 7-10 P.M. LOLLAPALOOZA NIGHT The Brothers of Kappa Sigma are a mixed bunch. Anything goes and we like it that way. d^ ' 4, 1' , 1 S I * . i .a 9 Stop by the house for barbecued brats and beverages with the Brothers. I 'I r- I Advantages of Kappa Sigma One of the largest fraternities in the naon- Vu cn visit anv of our 210 Famous Alumni Jimmy Buffett Dan Dierdorf I IN I 1 0 South University ?M~UUdIII WMU UMJILI ULD I TIILU 1 LLLLI ILFi 6U UIIH UUI1LJHI M9Qt-kI SI Uf Uu IJ1N U'U IU rUUl 11W ~ ltlu~l vr, t2 wuw ......fmmm iii 1ii1. A0 hcmg nrn pirnium nflap ir t Il f A DflDCDT itI1VU) 1 1({ ' UPMfl A.. Iy~ltI ~ PIP11IRF V A. i