10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 29, 1997 'M' field hockey looking to clinch first-ever league title By Kurt New For the Daily The Michigan field hockey team has existed for 25 years, yet in this season alone it has managed to exceed all of the accomplishments of the previous teams com- bined. It has been a season of record-setting for the No. 11 Wolverines. For starters, their win over Ohio State this weekend was their 14th victory of the season, eclipsing the previous Michigan record of 13. That win also insured that Michigan will finish over .500 in conference play for the first time in school his- tory. A win over Michigan State in the Wolverines' reg- ular season finale on Sunday would also clinch at least a co-Big Ten championship, which would also be the first in school history. Earlier in the season, Michigan also got its first-ever win over Iowa, which it followed up with a second vic- tory over the Hawkeyes almost a month later. INDIVIDUAL HONORS: Aside from their various team accomplishments, the Wolverines also have several players who are strong contenders for individual awards. Senior Julie Flachs, who has set Michigan records for career and single-season goal scoring, is a strong con- tender for Big Ten Player of the Year. Flachs has gone back and forth with Iowa's Kerry Lessard for the Big Ten scoring title all season, and the winner of that battle may very well capture Big Ten Player of the Year honors. Forward Kelli Gannon is in the running for Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Her game-winning goals agair Penn State and in overtime against Ohio State this week- end have certainly strengthened her chances for the award. Senior Sandra Cabrera is also a strong candidate for Defensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten. Players are not the only Wolverines in contention for post-season awards. After putting Michigan in position to win its first- ever Big Ten title in only her second year on the job, Coach Marcia Pankratz will surely be given serious consideration for Coach of the Year in the Big Ten. HOME SWEET HOME: Playing for the Big Ten title I home should bode well for the Wolverines, who are 8-1 at Phyllis Ocker Field this season - with eight consec- utive wins. Much of the reason for this dominance lies in the fact that Michigan's success has parlayed into larger crowds, which have given Michigan a definite home field advan- tage. Barring disastrous weather, this Sunday's game, with its championship implications, could very well be the largest crowd in Ocker Field history. PAUL TALANIAN/Daily With a win on Sunday, the Michigan field hockey team will clinch a share of the Big Ten title - for the first time ever. Buckeyes need Bowl' help, for a change COLUMBUS (AP) - Ohio State is ninth in the country but no better than fifth in its own conference. Heading into Saturday's game at No. 21 Michigan State, the Buckeyes need a lot of help to make a return appear- ance at the Rose Bowl. Whether they get that help, at least this week, will likely be determined even before the kickoff at Spartan Stadium. Unbeaten Michigan hosts Minnesota, No. 2-ranked Penn State travels to Northwestern and surprising No. 18 Purdue is at Iowa - and should be finished by the time the Spartans and Buckeyes square off at 3:30 p.m. "If they're flashing that score up there and announce it on the PA sys- tem, I'm probably aware of it," Ohio State coach John Cooper said. "I don't try to make it a point to look for it or listen for it, but usually you know what's going on." What's going on is that the sand is sifting through the hourglass on the 1997 season. And the opportunities to steal a championship are dwindling, particularly if the favorites continue to win. "It's no danger looking at the score- board," tailback Pepe Pearson said. "You like to see what's going on in your conference. We have a tough con- ference this year. A lot of big teams are going to knock each other off. So it's an interesting race." Wide receiver Dee Miller said, "The scores are going to be flashing, but our primary focus is going to be Michigan State. We can't worry about what everybody else does. As long as we win out, that's the only thing we can do." But winning out still doesn't mean much without some help. Since Ohio State ( 3-1 Big Ten, 7-1 overall) lost its head-to-head matchup with Penn State 31-27 on Oct. 11, the Nittany Lions would win any tie-break- er. For Ohio State to make it back to Pasadena, Penn State must lose twice. Should Penn State lose to Michigan in two weeks and then the Buckeyes whip the rival Wolverines in the regu- lar-season finale - creating a three- way tie for the title - Michigan would go to the Rose Bowl. Under the Big Ten tie-breaker, th team that most recently went Pasadena is eliminated (Ohio State) with the nod going to the Wolverines based on their head-to-head meeting with Penn State. The champion will be "the team that avoids the big upset," Cooper said. He cited the close calls -- both survived - by Penn State against Minnesota and Michigan against Iowa two week- ends ago. Regardless of who wins the Big TO or goes to the Rose Bowl, Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan are also in the race for a spot in the Bowl Alliance. That would mean playing in either the Orange. Sugar or Fiesta bowls. Here's what the stretch run looks like for the top contenders after this week: Ohio State plays three of its last four games on the road, playing at Minnesota, home with Illinois, then at Michigan after the trip to East Lansir* Penn State (3-0 in the Big Ten) hosts Michigan, plays at Purdue, welcomes Wisconsin, then closes at Michigan State. Michigan (4-0) takes to the road for games at Penn State and Wisconsin before its bash with the Buckeyes in Ann Arbor. Purdue (4-0) entertains Michigan State and Penn State, then travels to Indiana. Wisconsin (4-1) hosts Iowa and Michigan, then closes the regular sea- son at Penn State. Asked if he spent any time looking at the Big Ten schedule, Cooper said, "Oh, yeah. All the time. Particularly this late in the year." In Michigan State (2-2, 5-2), the Buckeyes take on a team that was ranked 12th just two weeks ago - before losing to Northwestern 19- and Michigan 23-7. Ohio State, meanwhile, is coming off a 49-6 rout of Northwestern, which Cooper called the best game his team has played so far. MEDIA Continued from Page 9 throughout the week. Many names sur- faced, some of which were probably correct, and at least one that wasn't. One Detroit newspaper reported early last week that Goss had flown out to his California home to interview two candi- dates, and that one of them "might" be Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar. The next day, an Ann Arbor paper, not The Michigan Daily, reported that "sources" said Goss was interviewing Romar. It was true that Goss was in California. I know this because I reached him on the phone at his home near Oakland. The Romar part, however, did not quite check out. "Has anyone ever told you that you were up for the job of President of the United States?" said Romar from his office in Malibu, Calif. "That's how this feels. I've been getting calls about this all day and I have never talked to Tom Goss in my life. Who started this?" The media, that's who. After coming back to Ann Arbor and then leaving again to conduct more face- to-face interviews, Goss returned for good on Wednesday night. But he still had one last candidate to talk to, and that was Reid. Goss had not kept Reid's name a secret since he is not currently employed. would be hired the next day. By the time the local evening news- casts took the air, the story read, "It looks like Michigan has found its man. Roger Reid is expected to be nam head basketball coach tomorrow." From there, things deteriorated through the rest of the night, to the point where UPN reported on its 10 p.m. news that Reid would "be named Michigan's head coach in a press conference called for tomorrow." Interestingly enough, no press confer- ence was even announced until, oh, 2 p.m. the next day. But the night was not over y Channel 4 reported on its 11 p.m. ne that Reid had "spent the day in Ann Arbor" and could be named head coach the next day. Now that's incredible, considering Reid was still in Utah at 2 p.m., and not scheduled to arrive in Ann Arbor until after midnight. Now that would be a good reason to hire the man. If he can be two places at once, imagine what he could do with t Michigan basketball team - maybe them to play to their potential, of all things. Finally, the day had come. The press was gathering at the Crisler Arena press lounge for a 4 p.m. press conference, where Goss was expected to announce his decision. The media had convinced A-u-minP PvP -fh,-c 1vPC tnt RP n n n n