Scoreboardft. COLLEGE Toronto 7,. WFOOTBALL BOSTON 5 (8! VIRGINIA TECH 31, DETROIT 7, Clemson 11 Cleveland 5 NEW YORK 5, AMERICAN Chicago 2 L.EAGUE NATIONAL (1) Oakland 9, LEAGUE BALTIMORE 6L (2) BALTIMORE 12, FLORIDA 2. Oakland 4 Montreal 1 ATLANTA 6, New York 2 MILWAUKEE 11; Philadelphia 6 CHICAGO 8, Pittsburgh 6 San Francisco at LOS ANGELES, Inc. n+ SPORTS Tracking 'M' teams Check out the Michigan field hockey and volleyball teams this weekend. Both play two games at home each. Check today's sports section for a preview of all the action. Friday September 24, 1999 15 Soccer tries to crumble Big Ten rivals By Dan Dingerson Daily Sports Writer Now is the chance for the Michigan women's soc- cer team to step up and announce itself. After drop- ping out of the national rankings early in the season, the Wolverines have regained their standing and moved to No. 22 in the NSCAA/Adidas national r kings. fter a scoreless tie with then fourth-ranked Penn State, Michigan finds itself tied for second in the ultra-competitive Big Ten. The lone team that sits ahead of the Wolverines - No. 15 Illinois - is Michigan's opponent today. The game will pit two of the top three teams in the Great Lakes region against each other, and will deter- mine who controls the Big Ten in the early season. It is-a perfect chance for the Wolverines to firmly estab- lish themselves as one of the nation's best teams. - o far, the Wolverines have been led by two play- S.Wat the opposite ends of their careers. Upstart fresh- man Abby Crumpton leads Michigan in both goals (4) and points (9). She is followed closely this season by senior Emily Schmitt, the team leader in assists. Each has taken nearly twice as many shots as any of their teammates, and have clearly established their place on the team as scorers. Schmitt has been a key determinant for the Wolverines. In the four games in which she has recorded a point, the Wolverines are 4-0. In Michigan's other three games, it is 0-2-1. Schmitt has had to step up her game to account for the loss of senior Amber Berendowsky. "We're a really gritty team," Michigan coach Debbie Belkin said. "When we're on, we play really good team defense." Junior goalie Carissa Stewart has given Michigan a defensive edge, recording two shutouts and a 1.49 goals-against average. Illinois, in only its third season of varsity play, has jumped to its best start and its first national ranking with a 7-1 record. The Fighting Illini are led by Emily Brown and Lisa Baldwin. The duo is first and second in goal scoring this year, and both are at the top of Illinois' all-time scoring list. Illinois' defense has been outstanding as well, allowing only six goals in their eight matches while outshooting their opponents by more than double. "We're going to get our opportunities," Belkin said. "What Illinois does best is play a very aggressive, high pressure game. We need to be able to withstand that pressure." On Sunday, Michigan will battle Iowa in Ann Arbor. The Hawkeyes are also entering their third year of varsity status. They find themselves ranked seventh in the Great Lakes region, their first time cracking the rankings. The Hawkeyes' 4-3 record doesn't tell the whole story, as they suffered two close losses in double overtime. The Hawkeyes have players amongst the leaders early in the Big Ten season, highlighted by points leader Sarah Lynch and saves leader Missy Wickart. Michigan sports a 2-0 record against both Illinois and Iowa. "If you.are going to win the Big Ten you can't lose any games, otherwise you have to rely on someone else," Belkin said. "I think that every game is a must- win for any team in the Big Ten." The Iowa game also marks the first Parents Day of the fall. The Michigan players' parents will be hon- ored before the game. FREE FOOD: Come to Friday's game to see the Wolverines take on the Illini. Even if you aren't the biggest soccer fan, come to get some free food from Keebler. The snack company is sponsoring the game and will give free snacks to the first game. 500 people at the MICHELLE SWELNISDaily Emily Schmitt hopes to get around Ohio and California this weekend. She can also enjoy some snacks with the fans, which are being given away by Keebler. ot a cupcake this time -.. "-- I. Offense can't sputter against Badgers Andy Latack DatIy Sports Editor Suddenly, people are fleeing the Wisconsin bandwagon like the Titanic. Going into last weekend, all eyes were on this Saturday's showdown between No. 4 Michigan and No. 17 Wisconsin. Both teams would likely be undefeated, with the winner having a leg up in the race for the Big Ten title. So.much for that. sually, the Badgers wait until the f Ten season to prove that they're oerrated. But this year, reality struck early on - in the form of a crushing, 17-12 loss to Cincinnati. Yes, the same Bearcats that lost to Div-1-AA Troy State the week before. So, what does that mean for the Badgers? Well, it certainly hurts their national title hopes - if anyone outside of Madison had them to begin with. Ay if Wisconsin is going to use its e conference schedule- Penn State is the heavyweight the Badgers skip this year - to stumble backwards into the Big Ten race, it has to start Saturday against Michigan. For the Wolverines, this game could be trouble. Opening the Big Ten season on the road is always tough. And if Wisconsin uses last weekend as a wake- up call, then it could be more than a handful. ICHIGAN RUSHING OFFENSE VS. WTSCONSIN RUSHING DEFENSE: If Michigan's offense were perform- ing up to its potential, this would be a no-brainer. Anthony Thomas would rur. for days behind the mammoth offensive line, opening things up for the passing game. But so far this season, we have not seen the Michigan offense of old.. Michigan has been sputtering lately, and the running game has been one of twain problems. Thomas has been consistent, but has yet to break for any big plays in the past two weeks. The lack of a second back - Thomas has 79 of Michigan's 114 rushing attempts this season, and the rest have come dur- ing garbage time - will also be a con- cern as the grueling Big Ten season wears on. Wisconsin's defensive line lost anchor Tom Burke, but return a solid e, led by defensive end John Favret. Aet lacks size (6-foot-4, 238) but may be able to beat Michigan's hefty linemen off the ball. Wisconsin is not overly impressive against the run but, unless Michigan finds its running game, this will be a stalemate. Advantage: EVEN MICHIGAN PASSING OFFENSE VS. WISCONSIN PASSING DEFENSE: Thought Lloyd Carr would have decided on a quarterback by the start of the Big Ten season? Wrong. Carr will continue the routine he has used for the past three games, starting senior Tom Brady, playing sophomore Drew Henson in the second quarter, and then having the two shoot 'rock-paper-scis- sors' to decide who gets to play the rest of the game. For the first time last week, Carr went with Henson in the second half,, and he battled a tough Syracuse defense as Michigan held on for a win. The passing game, like the running game, has struggled mightily of late, and Michigan will need to improve to win on Saturday. ,The Wisconsin secondary will undoubtedly be the toughest Michigan has faced so far this season. The Badgers have the eighth-best passing defense in the nation, led by sophomore cornerback Jamar Fletcher. Last sea- son, Fletcher led the NCAA in inter- ceptions as a redshirt freshman. Fletcher, a preseason nominee for the Jim Thorpe Award, should take away an entire side of the field. Senior safety Jason Doering is a punishing hitter. Advantage: WISCONSIN WISCONSIN RUSHING OFFENSE VS. MICHIGAN RUSHING DEFENSE: There's no other way to say it. Ron Dayne is a load, and could pose a lot of problems for a defense that has yet to. face a dangerous power running attack. Wisconsin is averaging a whopping 291.7 yards per game on the ground - fifth in the nation. But these stats were compiled against the likes of Murray State, Ball State and the Bearcats. Dayne has a habit of pulling a Houdini in big games, and the Michigan front seven is one of the most See MATCHUPS Page 17 SCOREKEEPERS Sfte Ca a~ d "on-Home fames $1,50 CALL 1 MS 0 DRINKS FibTnAV Wisconsin tries to exact revenge By Josh Kleinbaum Daily Sports Editor When Michigan plays Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium tomorrow at 3:30, the playbill should say in big letters: Immovable Object meets Irresistible Force. The Object, of course, is Michigan's rush defense, a fast, hard-hitting bunch that deserves most of the credit for Michigan's 3-0 record and its No. 4 ranking. The Michigan front seven dominated Notre Dame, Rice and Syracuse, holding them to a combined 287 rushing yards (that's just 95.7 per game, or 2.3 per rush, or 1.7 per Troy Nunes bone- head play.) The Force, of course, is Ron Dayne, the 252-pound run- ning machine in cardinal red. Dayne dominated Murray State, Ball State and Cincinnati, amassing a combined 524 yards (that's 174.7 per game, or 6.6 per rush, or 3.1 per cheese factory in the state of Wisconsin). And the asterisk, of course, is the Big Game-itis Indicator, a warning sign to anyone reading the playbill that Dayne isn't playing Podunk State School of the Blind any- more. Dayne, who may well break Ricky Williams' all-ime college football rushing record by the time the season's out, has a peculiar habit: when it comes to a big game, he comes up little. Against Michigan last year, with the Badgers rolling and Michigan still reeling from two early-season losses, Dayne came into the Big House and amassed a whopping 53 yards. Apparently, his ear hurt. This time, don't expect to see Dayne roll over so easily. The big man lost some weight during the offseason and is in the best playing shape of his life. And after sleeping with a football for the past week (after a fumble on the five-yard line cost the Badgers a game against Cincinnati last week), his grip on the ball should be tighter than ever. Speaking of last week, the Badgers were embarrassed by the Bearcats. This is their chance to prove that they really are a good football team. "They're going to be a formidable opponent," Michigan linebacker Ian Gold said. "They're going to be looking at this game, like, 'This is Michigan.' Regardless of who Wisconsin played in the past, they're going to be ready for us. If they are ready, Dayne will have to be ready. The Heisman hopeful is the centerpiece of a relatively pre- dictable offense: run, run, run. On third-and-long, maybe throw, but maybe run. "Once he gets his legs going, he's tough to bring down," See BADGERS, Page 17 DANA LINNANE/Daily Michigan running back Anthony Thomas will need a big performance against Wisconsin, If the Wolverines hope to earn their Big Ten opener. . rr . 0 0 9 00 0 m m m m - -.. -.. - r - - FM9 a AM " ____- - - -__