Page 20 THE MICHIGAN DAILY, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1994 I 'M' women open inaugural campaign .t By ANTOINE PITTS Daily Sports Editor For years the Michigan athletic de- partment has been known as one of the nation's best. However, until recently, it lacked the world's most played sport. Last Saturday marked the historic debut of varsity women's soccer at Michigan as the Wolverines tied Wis- consin-Green Bay, 1-1, at Mitchell Field. Michigan christened its home turf - Elbel Field - Monday with a 3-1 defeat of Northern Illinois. "I thought we played well," Michi- gan coach Debbie Belkin said. "We put our chances in the net today. The girls were pretty frustrated about Saturday's game because they thought they performed so well." The Wolverines dueled the Phoe- nix to a scoreless tie through regula- tion. Freshman midfielder Debbie Flaherty notched the first goal in Michigan history to give the Wolver- ines a chance to win their opening game. However, Kim Marx scored to tie the game for Wisconsin-Green Bay with 30 seconds left in the period. Monday's game saw the Wolver- ines take a three-goal lead into half- time. Senior forward Alicia Treadway got credit for her first goal of the season as her crossing pass deflected off a Northern Illinois defender into the net just three minutes into the game. Eight minutes later, Flaherty's shot from just outside the penalty box got past Huskie goalkeeper Rachelle Danekas, giving Michigan a 2-0 lead. Just before the half, sophomore forward McKenzie Webster knocked a rebound by Danekas for Michigan's final goal. Northern's only tally came one minute into the second half. Michigan goalkeeper Jory Welchans stopped a penalty shot by Debbie Huston, but Huston reached the re- bound first and stuck it in the net. Michigan's first women's varsity soccer team features a good mix of recruits to go along with nine players from last year's club team. Among those 15 recruits are four players who have transferred from other programs. Sophomore midfielder Whitney Ricketts, who played high school soc- cer at Ann Arbor Huron, jumped at the chance to transfer from Temple. "In high school, I always had thought in the future that Michigan was going to get a team," Ricketts said. "When things went wrong with the program atTemple that's when I knew I wanted to come 0 EVAN PETRIE/Daily The women's varsity soccer team earned its historic first victory Monday with a 3-1 defeat of Northern llinois. back and play at home." Other transfers include Welchans, from Detroit Mercy, sophomore midfielder Clare Loftus from Hart- ford and sophomore midfielder Kim Phillips from Butler. "Michigan was always in the back of my mind," Ricketts said. "Pretty much all the transfers were just wait- ing for the program to go varsity." The freshman class features de- fender Carrie Povilaitis, the 1994 Miss Soccer Michigan, and defender Jaime Ross, a member of the Olympic De- velopment Program. The returning club players will try to provide experience and leadership for the young team. "We have a lot of new talent but also players who have Division I ex- perience as well as a club team that has played at a national level," Ricketts said. "The club team worked hard to get to this point," said Treadway, a mem- ber of the club team for three years. "For us to go varsity was overdue." Until a permanent facility can be constructed for them, the Wolverines they will use Elbel. The former intra- mural soccer field was resodded last year and a short restraining fence was erected to deter anyone from using it. "It's a nice central location," Belkin said. "We just hope people respect the signs and the fence. We just need to use it for two months." Michigan begins its Big Ten sched- ule Sunday at Indiana before return- ing home next Wednesday against Detroit Mercy. "We have areal tough schedule ahead ofus," Belkin said. "We're going tokeep working on team defense andkeepwork- ing on putting the ball in the net." to North Campus Bursley Hall - Vera Baits Houses- At & Architecture - Engineering - Music wmwfU Ne 'a c, CARRY OUT HRS. M-F 6am-9pm Sat 7am-9pm Sun 7:30am- 4pm /: t ( ' i P k ^ tiY , C3 # ; ,,, , s . :_, w swa-:..:.: ...,. { ;., s . ..... . t t iY k . : -.xa,..,.. . ,~ x i+ Mn4' z . Live Leonardo Free Jazz Sunday - Also com Dancingt th Camps C(monsArt & Programs @ Leonardo's unCommon Mini Courses s is proud to present Registration through September and classes & Folk music this Fall will begin in October. Friday from 8 to 10 pm " Bartending * Massage " Origami # Scottish Country e and join us for Folk " Swing /Jitterbug Dancing every other Tuesday! " Tai Chi - Womyn's Self 0 Yoga Defense 01 ::.. : ,, -;,sue R " 4 C « r r y .:: lrv "T *SOUPS *SALADS SANDWICHES . Other Essentials " Art Exhibits " Group & Programs Consulting " Tacky Art Sale, Poster Sales, Valentine Balloon Sale For Information or to Get Involved call 764-7544 Single Hamburger cheese & tax not included Valid at 1655 Plymouth Rd. Ann Arbor (North Campus Courtyard Shops) limit 2 Expires October 31,u1994 chese& a otind Vaid a lt1 6oA 1.................................d....... 3586 PLYMOUTH RD In the Plymouth Green shopping center next to Holiday Inn =mop, INDEPENDEN P Your complete business, mail & packaging center 1 7-A;6 Prrnufb Ril " Ann uA rnr As you head up to North Campus, w m I