The Michigan Daily- New tudent Edit ion - September 8 1998 - 9E soccer takes first tournament title By Jacdb Wheeler Daily Sports Writer Fgur years ago, Debbie Belkin took over a Michigan soccer team with no histry and an uncertain future. But no1 ivJth a Big Ten tournament cham- * ip under their belts, the W cjnes stand on the threshold of a solii.,pst, a bright future and an even mos citing present. Michigan claimed its first-ever post seasoretitle last fall in Blaine, Minn. with a 1-0, double-overtime victory over Northwestern. For-the Wolverines, who knocked off Ohio State and Penn State on their wayle)their victory over the Wildcats, thegu hrough the tournament could- *gyg been any sweeter. 'v>epever had a greater moment in my life, said Michigan forward Amber Bernlowsky, who netted the game- wiquing goal in the second overtime. "It a1 great feeling." 4Ewas only fitting that Berendowsky, who set the Big Ten record for points in a season with her performance in the &tickers m holes as F] IHelber gr By Rnck freemu tpWrts Witer ,eportable black-and-white TV sat on the bleachers, ignored. The sights of the1997 Michigan-Penn State football gamehtlashed in silence, unseen. The hundreds of pairs of eyes were focused on ,a more engrossing game. MUichigan vs. Ohio State was the gan of the day . And Michigan had justwdn its first-ever Big Ten title in fiela Eockey. And that day, they 6*nced to the title game of the Big en towrnament in Iowa City, before fallg, 2-1, to Penn State. Ittook 25 years for the Michigan fiel hockey team to win its first Big Tengitle. Ad when they did, the NCAA pow- ers-#atyVere didn't feel that the title, alor; with a one-goal loss in the tour- nannt, were enough to award an at- large bid to an upstart midwestern L And Michigan coach Marcia Pf 4atz's season came to a "highly disa~ponting" end. But Pankratz remembered her sec- ond 'ason at Michigan as a success, anei last year's perceived snub, not ju4 of the Big Ten (she played her col- leg ball at Iowa) but of her team will prgide an "awful lot of motivation," fodghe upcoming season. .hey might need it. Whe Wolverines have lost some offnsive firepower in the form of their int~nidator and All-American, Julie Flhs. hat's always difficult to replace," Pa kratz said. "We'll see who blos- sor~s." Phe expects a scoring bloom from soihomores Kelli Gannon and Courtney Reid, but maybe the biggest Nines to fill will be the well-padded oni'tht patrol Michigan's crease. Amy Shrenjoyed a spectacular four-year at Michigan. Helber's departure w'~ leave the net in untested hands. 'uors Katie Oakes, who backed up tournament, was the deciding factor in the tournament's decisive game. Berendowsky was Michigan's catalyst all season, leading a high-powered offense that blew out opponents inmost conference games. The forward amassed 18 goals and 17 assists for 53 total points this season. She led the Big 'Ien in each of those cat- egories and was the third-leading goal scorer in the nation by season's end. After only two season's of college soccer, Berendowsky is tied for Michigan's all-time points record with Debbie Flaherty, a captain and graduat- ing senior on the team this past fall. How good is Berendowsky? Just nine games into the year Berendowsky shattered the Michigan single-season points record of 19 - a mark she set the previous year as a freshman. So it should come as no sur- prise that her middle name is Star. But amidst Berendowsky's season of records, her feats were overshadowed by those of the team which, in only its fourth year of existence, already won a ust fill in Lachs, iduate Helber her first two years, "has the inside track," Pankratz said but is far from being the automatic replacement. "I just want someone to keep the ball out of the net, whoever does that, will play," Pankratz said. Maureen Tasch, who kept the ball out of the net well enough to win her high school a Michigan state championship, will have a short journey to her new locker at Ocker Field. The Wolverines' new facility is a couple slap shots away from her former field -- at Pioneer High School. The other freshman goalie, Adrienne Voutta, had a longer trip. The Colorado Springs native kept balls out of nets in the German Indoor League. But the longest journey for any play- er will be for the 5-foot-5 defender from Happy Valley, Catherine Foreman. But she's no Penn State fan. She's from Happy Valley, Australia. And Foreman will make an early homecoming Aug. 15-27 when Pankratz takes the Wolverines down under for an eight-match pre-season warm-up. Australia is the defending world champi- on in the sport so Pankratz expects the trip to be a baptism by fire for Wolverines new and old. The trip will be good preparation for the double-round robin Big Ten season. The six teams play each other twice, and, Pankratz said, "every year it's a battle." Especially with Penn State, where "a nice rivalry is developing," Pankratz said. And a fan base is also starting to grow, something that has been a rarity for the field hockey team. A record crowd - and the band - turned out to see Michigan polish off Michigan State in the final regular sea- son game at Ocker Field and clinch the Big Ten title. Even more might show up this sea- son. Especially if they can bring a TV Big en championship and attained the No. 15 ranking in the country. The Wolverines finished with a 7-1-1 record in Big Ten play, their regular sea- son title hopes thwarted only by one subpar weekend. Michigan lost a 4-3 overtime heartbreaker at Minnesota on Oct. 3 and then battled to a scoreless tie with Penn State two days later. Belkin's squad more than redeemed itself in November at the Big Ten tour- nament. Michigan emerged as the favorite to win the fiesta after Northwestern upset the hometown Gophers in the second round. The Wolverines never got a shot at revenge against Minnesota, but they will this season. And by then, Michigan might be all alone at the top of the con- ference. Only two significant seniors depart this record-breaking Michigan squad - Flaherty, who has led the Wolverines as long Belkin has, and Poulin, who provided plenty of extra punch as the team's second-leading point scorer. Poulin and freshman Kacy Beitel were the benefactors of most Berendowsk y passes as they combined to score 28 goals ihis past sea son. falaherty's offensive role shrunk a little with the coming of young stars like Berendowsky and Beitel, but she was still the team's field manager. Fittingly enough, the last g oal Flaherty ever scored for Michigan came in the final minutes of the final uname a 5-1 loss to No. 7 Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA tournament '1he loss was humbling, to say the least. But it also represented how tar Michigan had come since the beginning of Flaherty's career. In their inaugural season, the Wolverines won only one conference game and didn't approach respectability until finishing 3-3 in 1996. "This was my goal,' said Faherty after winning the Big Tben tournament "When I first came to this program, I knew it would start out slowly and hopefully end like this. We've already done a lot of firsts this year, but I want- ed to go out with something like this." 1-II[POTO The 1997 season - ust M gans four on the varsity eve - was definitely the most successfu th on the Big Ten toumrament title. ., 'V >N s <, b _ K/N>, .. 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