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SPORTS
Sports desk: 76 - DAILY
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Amaker finds his
in-state connections
Good
e nough
By Joe Smith
}Daily Sports Editor
New Michigan basketball coach
Tommy Amaker said when he was first
hired this past spring that he wanted to
"make a presence within the state."
According to high school coaches
around Michigan, including the Detroit
Public School League, he's doing just
that - one letter of commitment at a
time.
"You've got to definitely work
Detroit if you want to get in here," said
Detroit Cooley coach Johnny Goston,
who has coached in the area for 18
years. His players have included mega
prospects like Steve Smith, former
Wolverine Willie Mitchell and Todd
Burgan. "And he's doing that. He's
very hands-on, gets in the mix and can
relate and communicate with all the
coaches."
Hitting the recruiting trail has high-
lighted a busy summer for Amaker,
whose main concern has been to nab
some of the top prospects in the state
away from a popular haven at Michi-
gan State.
Knowing that it won't be an easy
battle, Amaker is willing to work and
do the little things that will help him
build relationships with coaches
around the state. Making phone calls,
shaking hands and appearing at several
AAU Camps and St. Cecilia (a church
where players with Detroit ties play
during the summer) have only been
part of Amaker's plan.
Amaker has also sent handwritten
letters to coaches on a weekly basis,
illustrating his personable nature while
also displaying the new direction of the
Michigan basketball program. Included
in the letters are newspaper clips of
former and current Michigan players,
along with notes on Michigan's style
of play.
What has impressed many coaches is
that the letter-writing campaign has not
been limited to schools with the top
prospects in the state - it extends to
every school.
See AMAKER, Page 8B
After long
week, team
moves on
ichiganbeats up on another
MAC team. Who cares? It's
supposed to beat teams like
Western Michigan and Miami (Ohio).
But after losing to Washington the way
Michigan lost, then dealing with the emo-
tionally-draining events that took place
on September 11, it
was good for this
team to get back on
the field and win.
Even if it was
just against West-
ern Michigan.
It was good for a
couple of reasons: RAP
First, sports has a
way of diverting
attention from more My Kingdom
important events. In for a Voice
this case, it was
nice not to think about what happened,
what will happen, what should happen ...
For three and a half hours, Michigan was
playing football. And though there were
reminders of what's happening and will
happen, for the most part, the fans were
entertained.
And secondly, winning has a way of
soothing a team's soul after a tough loss.
Michigan's goal of winning every game
was blocked - and taken 74-yards the
other way - two weeks ago. So after get-
ting dumped by Washington, Michigan
took advantage of the Broncos.
And in football, that's the way love
goes.
So now that everyone is starting to
move on, Michigan needs to prepare for
Illinois, because another sloppy perfor-
mance will result in another loss - and
regardless of what the score might indi-
cate, Saturday's performance was sloppy.
While losing at Washington was tolera-
ble, few will be satisfied if Illinois beats
an unprepared Michigan.
Last year, Michigan could get away
with playing sloppily because Drew Hen-
son came to the rescue - well, Henson
and the referees' definition of what a
fumble is.
This year, Drew Henson won't be com-
ing to the rescue, and the referees won't
be as forgiving.
So what does Michigan need to do to
beat Illinois?
It needs to find a passing defense.
If Jeff Welsh can throw for 374 yards,
how many yards will Illinois' Kurt Kit-
tner throw for?
While Kittner is not a Heisman con-
tender - regardless of what ESPN the
Magazine would lead you to believe -
he's better than Welsh, and Illinois'
receivers are better than Western's.
What's even more absurd abot
Welsh's passing performance is that
Michigan's front seven played really,
really well again. They got to the quarter-
back often, and when they didn't, pres-
See GOODSTEIN, Page 4B
MIYON OH/Daily
In a tightly-called game that got more physical as the day progressed, Michigan
was fortunate to notch the game-winning goal In the 72nd minute.
Netters earn 1-0 win
over NOrthwestern
MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
After an injury to Chris Perry, B.J. Askew filled in as the Wolverines' principle ball-carrier. He led the team with
three touchdowns, highlighted by a dive Into the endzone from three yards out.
Askew's high-flying caies M
By Rohit Bhave
Daily Sports Writer
Time and time again, Northwest-
ern goalkeeper Ryan Pederson
would deny Michigan of seemingly
sure goals.
A header in the box from lanky
Kevin Taylor- punched over the
goal by a leaping Pederson.
A low, wide Tom Gritter shot to
the right corner- stopped by Peder-
son's one-handed save.
A laser-sharp half-volley from
STaylor - stuffed again by the
undaunted Wildcat.
Despite the natural frustration
arising from these near-misses, the
Michigan men's soccer team (1-1
Big Ten, 5-1 overall) continued to
methodically break down the packed
in Northwestern (0-2, 0-4-2)
defense, en route to a 1-0 victory.
Using an indirect style that
involved pushing the ball up the
flanks, the Wolverines controlled
most of the game.
Their patience would be rewarded
with 16 minutes left in the game.
Off a beautiful through-ball from
midfielder Mike White, forward
Jody Keeling blasted a shot from the
18-yard line that beat Pederson
high. Following the well-timed feed,
Keeling had plenty of time to size
up and crank the game-winning
shot.
What made the goal even sweeter
for Keeling was that his parents
made the long trip from Florida this
weekend to see him play. Hobbled
Friday by an ankle injury, Keeling
was grateful for the opportunity to
give them something back yester-
day.
"They've been watching me since
I was very little," Keeling said.
"They're very happy when I suc-
ceed."
Michigan goalkeeper Joe Zawacki
had a strong outing as well. Faced
See WILDCATS, Page 6B
By Arun Gopal
Daily Sports Writer
It certainly wasn't pretty, but it still counts as a 'W.'
This oft-used sports axiom is one that the Michigan
football team might be reciting to itself after Satur-
day's less-than-impressive 38-21 victory over Western
Michigan. Paced by three touchdowns - two of them
rushing - by B.J. Askew, the Wolverines completed
their nonconference schedule with a 2-1 record.
Still, Saturday's victory left a lot to be desired, a
fact Michigan coach Lloyd Carr was all too willing to
point out after the game.
"If the nonconference schedule is supposed to pre-
pare you for the Big Ten schedule, then we've got a
lot of work to do," Carr said.
Western Michigan's first possession of the game
was an indication that this would be a tough day for
Michigan. Led by quarterback Jeff Welsh, the Bron-
cos' spread offense caused all sorts of problems for
Michigan's pass defense.
Starting at his own 26-yard line, Welsh completed
four of five passes for 52 yards as Western Michigan
drove into Michigan territory. But Victor Hobson's
sack of Welsh at the Michigan 27-yard line forced the
Broncos' Robert Menchinger to attempt a 44-yard
field goal, which he left five yards short.
Michigan's offense took advantage of the missed
opportunity by driving 73 yards in nine plays. With
the ball at Western's 41-yard line, Michigan quarter-
back John Navarre tossed a screen pass to Askew,
who raced down the left sideline for the touchdown.
"You never know exactly what I'm going to do
back there," Askew said. "Every time I was out there,
they were yelling 'Screen! Screen!' but I was running
and the blocking was awesome."
Michigan extended its lead to 10-0 before Western
Michigan scored. Following a Michigan punt, Bron-
cos tailback Phillip Reed took a handoff on a draw
play, cut to his left and rumbled 37 yards. On the next
play, Welsh hit wideout Micah Zuhl for a 17-yard
touchdown, cutting the Broncos' deficit to 10-7.
But, the Wolverines snuffed out any momentum the
Broncos had by driving 78 yards in five plays on the
ensuing possession. The big play came when Navarre
connected with Calvin Bell for a 47-yard gain down to
the Broncos' 13-yard line. Three plays later, Askew
See BRONCOS, Page 5B
Field hockey answers offensive questions
By Brian Schick and Brian Steere
Daily Sports Writers
I
Webbmaster
U Alan Webb captured the
imaginations of track fans dur-
ing his four-year career at
South Lakes High School in
Reston, Va. He broke legendary
Jim Ryun's high school record
for the mile- a feat which
thrust him onto the national
scene.
The new Michigan freshman is
coming off a summer in which
he appeared on national televi-
sion and magazines. Now he
readies himself for college and
beyond.
After scoring just eight goals in its first six games,
there were certainly some questions about the
offense of the Michigan field hockey team.
But those questions were immediately put to rest
as the fourth-ranked Wolverines (1-0 Big Ten, 6-2
overall) drilled Massachusetts and Indiana 6-0 and
10-1, respectively, this past weekend at Ocker Field.
"I told you the offense would come arpund,"
coach Marcia Pankratz said.
In yesterday's game against Indiana (0-1, 0-6), the
Wolverines received goals from seven different
players, led by sophomore defender Stephanie John-
son, who recorded her first career hat-trick.
"Our team has the mindset to always look to
score," Johnson said. "We are very scrappy and try
to put the ball in any way we can."
Michigan's 10 goals represents a season-high and
the most since the 1998 season when it steamrolled
past Central Michigan, 11-0.
Senior goalkeeper Maureen Tasch nearly earned
her sixth shutout of the season, which would have
lone Hoosier goal.
In the game against Massachusetts (2-3), a 30
minute rain delay before the game added to Michi-
gan's anticipation of returning to competition after
nearly two weeks off.
"It's good practice to handle adversity, and focus
on what we were doing," Pankratz said. "We went
on to play and not worry about all the things we
can't control. It was good practice for us."
Once the game finally began, the Wolverines
dominated the flow of the game and kept the pres-
sure in the Minutewomen end. For the first five min-
utes of the game, Michigan allowed no shots on
goal, while managing to pummel Massachusetts's
goalie Ashley Egland with five quick shots.
Early in the game, the pressure became too much.
Sophomore defender Kristi Gannon scored off a
penalty corner, blasting the ball from the top of the
circle past Egland.
The Minutewomen goalie wasn't out of the woods
yet. Ten minutes later, Molly Powers received a
cross-field pass and ran down on a break away.
Egland managed to stack the pads and make a great
save, and then proceeded to stop several rebounds.
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