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SECTION B
FRIDAY: MICHIGAN 4, FERRIS STATE 1 SATURDAY: FERRIS STATE 5, MICHIGAN 4
Split decision: 'M'
can't KO Ferris
By Arun Gopal
Daily Sports Writer
BIG RAPIDS - As the
buzzer sounded on Saturday
night at Ewigleben Arena,
the first two rows of Ferris
State's "Dawg Pound" cheer-
ing section jumped out of their
seats and began pounding on the
glass, and with good reason.
The Bulldogs had just knocked off
No. 3 Michigan, 5-4, in a game that started
out a Ferris State rout but ended up a thriller.
The win saved what had been a disastrous
start to the season for Ferris State, which
entered the contest with a 0-4-1 CCHA
record, including Friday night's 4-1 loss to
the Wolverines at Yost Ice Arena.
While the Dawg Pound has gained notori-
ety throughout the CCHA as one of the top
student cheering sections, there was some-
thing electric about Saturday night's atmos-
phere.
This was fitting, considering the aggres-
sive nature of the two games played. After a
third-period fight on Friday night that result-
ed in the four game disqualifications for Sat-
urday, the next night's game featured rough
play throughout.
The fury was capped off by a bench-clear-
ing, postgame brawl highlighted by Michi-
gan goalie Kevin O'Malley and his Ferris
State counterpart, Vince Owen, duking it out
at center ice - much to the delight of the
Dawg Pound.
"It seems that every time we play these
guys, something happens," defenseman Bob
Gassoff said. "It was one of those things
where it was at the end of the game, and
everybody was getting on the ice. I'm glad it
happened - I'm glad we came in here and
showed that they can't push us around."
The Bulldogs jumped all over the Wolver-
ines from the opening face-off, generating
numerous odd-man rushes and quality scor-
ing chances.
In the face of tremendous pressure, Michi-
gan goalie Josh Blackburn played his worst
game of the season. Blackburn, who turned
aside 14 of 15 shots in Friday night's game,
let in three goals on the first five shots he
faced on Saturday.
Blackburn let in two more goals in the
second period before being pulled for
O'Malley.
"I played like shit, basically, as anyone can see"
Blackburn said. "On a normal night I figure I can
stop those shots. I played horrible and I'm taking
See BULLDOGS, Page 68
Home
stan
Field hockey
season ends, 3-2
By David Roth
Daily Sports Writer
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest field
hockey team had been waiting a year for this. A Michigan
penalty stroke in double overtime last year halted Wake For-
*st's NCAA run. This year, a Wake Forest penalty stroke
sent Michigan home with its own 3-2 overtime loss.
"Ironic, huh?" Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said.
No. 5 Michigan (19-4) ends a season where it won both
the Big Ten regular season and Big Ten tournament for the
first time in school history.
The Wolverines thought they had the game well in control
when Jessie Veith scored with 25:19 left in the second half to
put Michigan up 2-0.
But holding onto victories has been a struggle for Michi-
gan all season. Less than a minute after Veith's goal, Wake
Aorest's Kelly Doton rebounded the ball into the net after it
t the crossbar.
See FIELD HOCKEY, Page 7B
MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
Jeff Backus (left) and Bill Seymour (right) block a Penn State defender in Saturday's 33-11 victory over Penn State.
No miracles for
iwomen' s soccer
Notre Dame eliminates 'M,' 3-1
By Rohlt Bhave
Dily Sports Writer
SOUTH BEND - At halftime, it seemed possible. Tied 1-1
with overwhelming favorite No. I Notre Dame, No. 25 Michi-
gan appeared poised to do the unthinkable -upset a team that
hid only given up five goals all season.
'Yet, the Wolverines' hopes were extinguished quickly. After
bht minutes of physical midfield play, Notre Dame pounced
on the Michigan defense. The Irish blitzed the Wolverines with
two second-half goals, winning 3-1 and advancing to the third
rdund of the NCAA soccer tournament.
The tie-breaker was a thing of beauty. Following a sequence
of well-coordinated passes down the right wing, freshman
Amanda Guertin gathered a pass from Ashley Dryer and beat
M~ichigan goalkeeper Carissa Stewart with a low shot to the
right side of the net.
Even though Michigan trailed 2-1, Guertin's goal signalled
* beginning of Notre Dame's dominance. From that moment,
the Fighting Irish repeatedly assaulted Stewart and company.
:"They moved really well off the ball," Stewart said.
.By stretching the Wolverines' defense wide, Notre Dame
x/s able to match its skilled forwards one-on-one with Michi-
gan defenders. With plenty of space on the offensive end to
o rate, the fleet Irish forwards were able to generate numerous
"-L n.-1E onn-c
Blue rocks
hapless
Lions, 33-11
By David Den Herder
Daily Sports Editor
In a traditionally high-profile battle
with very little tradition, No. 20
Michigan defeated unranked Penn
State for only the fifth time Saturday
- to the scrutinous eyes of very few
outside Ann Arbor.
At kickoff, both teams were out of
the Big Ten race and struggling to
define a rivalry to date fed only by
national title implications.
When the clock expired - or rather
with 14 seconds remaining - neither
was true. Because at that point, with a
27-11 lead, Michigan coach Lloyd
Carr called for a 1-yard run from
Chris Perry with the clock ticking,
and added one more touchdown.
The victory ended up giving Michi-
gan (4-2 Big Ten, 7-3 overall) an
improbable share of the Big Ten lead.
The touchdown may have given the
rivalry a reason to flourish.
"The Big Ten is almost like an NFL
situation, where any given week you
can lose," Michigan safety DeWayne
PatmAn said.
THE RACE CONTINUES
Team i n veal
Ohio State 5 2 8 2
Purdue 5 2 7 3
Northwestern 5 2 7 3
Michigan 5 2 7 3
Saturday's games
Michigan at Ohio State, noon, ABC
Illinois at Northwestern, 3:30
Indiana at Purdue, 3:30
Who will go bowling in Pasadena?
Purdue: Has tiebreaker over all three.
teams. A win~ over Indiana and
they're in. If they lose, they need
everyone else to lose.
Ohio State: Needs a win over Michi-
an and a Purdue loss. The Buckeyes .
Fiave the tiebreaker over Northwest-
ern due to their better overall record.
Northwestern: Must win at home
against Illinois and needs both Pur.
due and Ohio State to lose.
Michigan: The Wolverines need to
toppie the Buckeyes, along with loss-
es by Purdue and Northwestern.
two top teams - Purdue and North-
western - lost to the two worst
teams, Michigan State and Iowa,
respectively. And as a result of their
33-11 victory Saturday, the Wolver-
ines will play Ohio State this weekend
for a part of the Big Ten champi-
onship.
"It was one of our goals to win all
of our games at home," senior co-cap-
tain Eric Wilson said. "We've got to
straighten up some things on defense
that we didn't do today."
After a sluggish first quarter that
landed Michigan in a 3-0 hole. Carr
Forget the Rose Bowl hopes,
let's get through Ohio State
U( -M back in Rose Bowl race."
- Headline in yesterday's
Ann Arbor News
Yeah, and Pat Buchanan still has a shot
to be our next president.,
Under highly improbable circumstances,
the parity of the Big
Ten conference has
kept Michigan's Rose
Bowl chances alive
until this Saturday's
final day of the regular'
season.
A Michigan trip to
Pasadena requires the
unlikely trifecta of a MARK
Wolverines victory at
Ohio State and second
straight losses by both TheCuttg
Purdue and Northwest-_
ern to underdogs.
Oh sure, the Wolverines could tie Pur-
due and/or Northwestern for the Big Ten
championship with a win over the Buck-
eyes, but if you're not smelling Roses or a
BCS bowl, who cares?
Regardless of the possibility that North-
western will falter to Illinois in Evanston,
and the whimsical prayer of Antwaan Ran-
dle El running for 300 yards and passing
for 400 to beat Purdue in West Lafayette,
Michigan has the most difficult task of all
-- conquering Ohio State on the road.
T
6-0 at home, the Wolverines are 1-3 away
from the Big House - and the one win
was a gift victory at Illinois when a couple
of Big Ten officials decided to forget what
constitutes a fumble.
At home, Michigan has allowed an aver-
age of six points - sounds like a champi-
onship defense.
But in its four road games (at UCLA,
Illinois, Purdue and Northwestern), Michi-
gan has allowed an average of 35 points.
And Ohio State, as usual, is no
pushover. The Buckeyes' two losses came
by four points at Purdue and by 12 points
at home to Minnesota - a game where the
then-unbeaten Buckeyes gave the Golden
Gophers a 30-minute head start.
Believe me, Ohio State won't repeat that
lifeless first-half effort this Saturday.
Besides playing at home, the Buckeyes
have too much at stake to fold against the
Wolverines.
FIRST: The Buckeyes are 5-2 in the con-
ference, tied with Purdue, Northwestern
and Michigan for first place heading into
the final week of the season.
SECOND: The .Buckeyes can make it to
the Rose Bowl easier than Michigan can.
They only need a win over the Wolverines
and a Purdue loss to Indiana. Unlike
Michigan, Ohio State doesn't need North-
western's help thanks to having a better
overall record (8-2) than the Wildcats (7-
I
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