be £idligan Thilg RTSMD 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 'I