I
The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - September 29, 1997 - 78,
Maturity, teamwork has
M'
soccer off
to record start in conference play
By Andy Latack
Daily Sports Writer
If the Michigan soccer team were a
bottle of wine, it would be described as
aged. To perfection.
Midway through their Big Ten sched-
ule, the quickly maturing Wolverines
have amassed a perfect conference
record, placing them atop the Big Ten
standings at 4-0.
Michigan, ranked No. 15, has already
surpassed its regular-season conference
win total from last year, and its seven-
game win streak is unparalleled in the
program's four-year history.
The reason for such an impressive
turnaround?
"Maturity," Michigan coach Debbie
Belkin said. "We are definitely a more
mature team right now. It takes a year (to
mature), and we had a lot of new players
last year."
Indeed, in the Wolverines' 6-0 spank-
ing of defending Big Ten champion
Wisconsin on Friday, eight of Michigan's
11 starters were underclassmen. A
promising mix of youth and experience
combine to make the Wolverines espe-
cially dangerous this year. Coupled with
a small crop of incoming freshmen, this
blend allows the team to maintain the
same nucleus as last year.
"We're finally an older team," senior
captain Debbie Flaherty said. "In the
other years our recruiting class has been
around nine, which is usually a hard tran-
sition to make.
"This year, we've mended all of our
problems and are more united as a team."
Junior captain Jessica Jones, who has
compiled a 6-1 record as Michigan's
goalkeeper while allowing an average of
one goal per game, also points to the
small freshman class as beneficial to
team cohesiveness.
"We didn't get a lot of new people in,
so we have basically the same core of
players we've had in the past couple
years;' Jones said. "We've all picked it
up a level because we were so close last
year."
And the rest of the Big Ten is taking
note of the new-look Wolverines.
"They're big and they're fast,'
Northwestern coach Marcia McDermott
said. "Michigan had great talent last year,
they were just very young. But now that
they've grown up, they're the most tal-
ented team in the Big Ten."
High praise from a team that finished
13-8-1 and reached the semifinals of the
Big Ten tournament last season.
Yet it is well deserved praise. In its
four conference victories, three were
against teams that owned winning
records versus Michigan.
But this year, Michigan dispatched
those teams with ease, by a combined
score of 16-3. In last weekend's homes-
tand, Jones only needed to make five
total saves over two games, while the
Wolverines forced the opposing goal-
keepers to make 30.
Michigan appeared to have the physi-
cal advantage over Wisconsin and
Morthwestern. Nearly every loose ball,
every header and every possession was
controlled by the Wolverines.
"We're a very fit team, and we train
hard during the week," Flaherty said. "I
think this shows up in the games, when
the other team is starting to die down and
we start to pick up."
The Wolverines utilized their condi-
tioning this weekend, as forwards Amber
Berendowsky and Jessica Limauro
slashed in and out of defenses, scoring
and creating opportunities for the rest of
the team. Berendowsky notched three
goals and two assists on the weekend,
while Limauro tacked on a goal and an
assist.
The Wolverines have already defeated
the defending conference champion and
runner-up - Indiana and Wisconsin.
Could this be the year for Michigan?
Time will soon tell. With trips this
weekend to face fellow undefeated oppo-
nents Minnesota and Penn State, the Big
Ten title picture will be much clearer by
a week from now.
"Its tough to say who the best team in
the conference is" Flaherty said. "We
definitely have momentum, but so do
they. It's going to be a big weekend."
Regardless of how they fare this week-
end, one thing is clear, according to
Jones: the time is now for Michigan.
With the program's first-ever senior class
soon departing, the junior goalkeeper
and the rest of the Wolverines look to
make the most of their unique team
chemistry.
As Jones said: "We've got all the good
players we need, and now is the time to
do it."
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Whomever says opponents can't get cozy with each other didn't get the business
end of this Northwestern player's defense, as Kacy Beitel did yesterday.
jIRST PLACE
inued from Page IB
within a minute of the first, cut-
ting Michigan's lead to 4-2.
But a four-goal deficit proved too
much for the Wildcats.
Michigan junior Jessica Limauro
put the momentum and the match
back in Wolverine territory when
she followed through with the sec-
ond of two breakaway attempts.
naujo's goal with 35 minutes left
in the game once again gave
Michigan an insurmountable three-
goal lead.
"That fifth goal helped out,"
Belkin said. "1 really didn't feel
comfortable in the second half with
how quickly they were scoring."
Despite Michigan's player advan-
tage and giant lead, Northwestern
refused to go quietly into the night.
J ior Kristen Palmer turned a
ct ;kick on goal into a pretty
banana shot, curving the ball around
defenders into the net with 27 min-
utes left in the game.
The Wildcats played even soccer
with Michigan the entire second
stanza. But, ultimately, the first half
made the difference. The
Wolverines amassed an incredible
34 shots on goal - most of them
ing before the break.
Iichigan senior captain Debbie
Flaherty opened yesterday's scoring
on a penalty kick, 10 minutes into
the match. That score and events
leading updto it set the tone for the
entire day because it was
Northwestern defender Christina
Crawford's handball in the box that
set up Flaherty's free kick.
Crawford's mistake was ruled
intentional and the senior took an
y seat with a red card.
The Wildcats played with only 10
players on the field, which con-
tributed to Michigan's onslaught of
It as a little bit overwhelming
for us when we lost a person and
they got that first goal," McDermott
said. "But it was my fault that I did-
n't prepare my team to play a man
dli'ke its risky second half strat-
egy, Northwestern played reserved,
defensive soccer and the Wolverines
took advantage of it. Michigan
knotted three more goals within the
next 18 minutes, courtesy of for-
ward Amber Berendowsky and mid-
fielders Kacy Beitel and Mari Hoff.
Appropriately, the Wolverines
opened Sunday's game rightwhere
they left off on Friday. Berendowsky
'*ed twice to go with goals from
Hoff, Shannon Poole, Ruth Poulin
and Jen Stahl, against the Badgers.
Berendowsky's score on Sunday
marked her third goal of the week-
end and ninth of the season-- a new
Michigan record. As if that wasn't
enough, the sophomore set
Michigan's single-season assist
record tj minutes later on a feed to
B tel - Berendowsky's eighth
ast of the season. The catalyst
now holds all of Michigan's single-
season offensive records.
But the Wolverines showed no
signs of a one-person team. Eight
different players scored in
Michigan's two wins this weekend
and six different players assisted in
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