-1
The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 22, 2001 - 5B
MINISTERS OF DEFENSE
*ichigan junior defenders Carly Williamson and Andrea Kayal
have different personalities that reflect their play on the soccer
field. One is quieter and leads by example while the other com-
bines strong defense with strong words for teammates and opponents. But
they both play physical, aggressive soccer.
They will play clean but their opponents should not be surprised if they
get knocked down, losing possession of the ball - and they better not
expect a helping hand to get back up.
"You're not going to call Andrea or Carly finesse players. They'll run
through a brick wall if you ask them to," Michigan coach Debbie
Rademacher said about the two captains.
Standing at 5-foot-2, opposing players and referees have made the mis-
take of overlooking Carly Williamson. That's fine with her; she has found
that her height gives her a "weird advantage," as it also allows her to be
physical without officials noticing.
"I'm not someone who. will use my moves to get around someone,"
Williamson said. "I'd rather push them out of my way. I think that helps me
sometimes because another player might not be expecting it. Sometimes if
I go for a ball and they fall down, the referee won't call it because he is not
expecting something like that."
As her opponents discover once they have been knocked down,
Williamson is not a weak player. Rademacher said that Williamson can
outlift most of the other players on the team. Williamson said she doesn't
max-out while lifting, but benches 110 pounds in a set of 30 repetitions
and can lift 240 pounds on the leg press. Her strong lower body is very evi-
dent on the field.
"She's not a small person. Carly is as strong as a bull and can outjump a
lot of people," Rademacher said.
Goalie Suzie Grech has noticed Williamso'n's tough style of play but also
complimented her ballhandling.
"Carly is definitely one of those players that doesn't care - she sacri-
fices her body every time she goes in," Grech said. "She has great vision
of the field and she is able to distribute the ball where she wants it, when
she wants it. She's a major, major force for us back there."
Williamson's ball handling skills can be partly attributed to her high
school coach Joe Avila, who played her at every position but goalie for two
reasons. Avila realized the importance recruiters place on versatility, and
Williamson was so talented that he wanted her all over the field.
"It was the type of team that whenever they needed help sometimes, she
was the plug," Avila said.
Williamson also developed into a leader during high school, where she
was named a captain during her junior year. Avila said she is the type of
captain he loves: "Someone that sets an example and leads by that exam-
ple."
This style was adopted by Williamson because there were about 10
seniors on the team that wanted to be captains themselves and they might
not have liked being told what to do by a junior - so she let her play do
the talking instead.
Williamson has noticed opponent's frustration grow as she and the rest
of the defense have improved.
Yesterday, an Oakland coach could be heard screaming, "they're con-
stantly beating you to the ball!" to the player Williamson was guarding.
She has also witnessed opposing players and coaches swearing at each
other as the Wolverines laughed at them.
Williamson has also encountered dirty play during Michigan's shutout
performances, such as an elbow in the face that she received during the
Wisconsin game.
Although Williamson was primarily a center midfielder during high
* school, she doesn't get many scoring opportunities these days. Through 16
games, Williamson has a single goal and has attempted only 14 shots. In
comparison, team leader Abby Crumpton has taken 48 shots despite miss-
ing a couple games due to injury. But Williamson doesn't care to be an
offensive threat, for she has always been more suited to play defense.
"I just have the defensive mentality," Williamson said. "You don't get the
glory of scoring goals and in a sense it's a lot tougher because if you make
one mistake they target it. So you have to be consistent the entire game. It's
almost more of a challenge, but I love it."
Like Williamson, Kayal has played a variety of positions prior to coming
_ to Michigan. She played forward in high school and still enjoys offense,
Andrea Kayal and Carly Williamson are the heart of Michigan's defense
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
With Andrea Kayal (left) and Carly Williamson (right) in its backfield, the Michigan women's soccer team has recorded a school-record nine shutouts.
but she feels it is in the best interest of the team to play defense.
"I'm more valuable on defense because I'm not prepared to play Divi-
sion I forward," Kayal said. "I feel like I have a lot more control of what is
going on playing defense."
Kayal said she also runs over the competition, she just does it more spar-
ingly.
"I like to pick my moments," Kayal said. "Normally, I don't run through
(people) like Carly - I like to step in front or pick it away from them."
She is also a more vocal player than Williamson and likes to talk to her
teammates and her opponents. She is constantly directing and encouraging
her own teammates with her play and words.
"Watch right Car(ly), watch right," Kayal could be heard saying during
yesterday's game in order to help Williamson mark an Oakland player.
"Laurie (Peterson), Sully (Amy Sullivant), we need possession from
you" she yelled to the front line, attempting to boost the team's offense.
But what couldn't be heard against Oakland was the comments she made
to the opposing players, which she likes to do.
"It is a lot of sarcasm, just telling them about their skills," Kayal said.
Goalie Suzie Grech isn't far from Kayal on the field and can sometimes
hear Kayal's words for an opponent. Grech said that these words make the
other team think and successfully takes them out of their game. But Kayal
isn't all talk, as she and the rest of the Michigan defense back up these
words by shutting down opponents.
"People we play are used to being the stars all their life, and when you
play defenders like Vicky (Whitley) and Carly and Shannon (Reid) and
Sully who will just take the ball from you every time, it is very frustrat-
ing," Kayal said.
AFTER ADJUSTMENT, DEFENSE LEADS TEAM TO RECORD
Williamson and Kayal deserve even more credit for their defense after
adjusting to a new system this season. After playing last season in a
"sweeper-stopper" formation in which there were three backs and a sweep-
er, the defense is now aligned in a "flat-back-four" formation that utilizes
four backs.
This zone defense requires the backs to communicate with each other in
order to pick up opposing players moving across different areas on the
field. The adjustment wasn't easy for the Wolverines. They came out flat
in their first couple of games, starting the season 0-3. In those games, the
team gave up nine goals on 41 shots.
In yesterday's 0-0 tie, the team got its ninth shutout of the season - a
team record - behind a defense that has dramatically improved from those
first couple of games. In the nine shutouts, Michigan has kept opposing
teams from putting much pressure on goalie Suzie Grech. The team has
outshot its opponents by an almost two-to-one margin, 146-76, during that
span. Grech would also be without one of her shutouts if it weren't for a
brilliant play by Williamson against Northwestern.
With less than 18 minutes remaining in the first half, the Wildcats were
poised to take the lead as Kristen Pearce fired a shot on goal that was miss-
ing Grech. But Williamson stepped between the ball and the net to make a
save of her own.
'Frustrating' tie for women's soccer
GRIZZLIES
Continued from Page 1B
taining possession most of the way. With
fewer than four minutes left in the final
overtime, forward Abby Crumpton sent
the ball across the field to freshman Liz
Dosa, who was left all alone in front of
the net. But Dosa misjudged the ball and
wasn't able to get a shot off. Oakland
goalie Sarah Buckland rushed over and
made the save on the last good scoring
opportunity for either team.
Michigan captain Carly Williamson
summed up the.game in one word: "frus-
trating."
"It's tough when we work so hard and
then come out with a draw, especially
with some of the opportunities we had
right at the end," Williamson said.
On Friday, the Wolverines got on the
scoreboard when Andrea Kayal recorded
her third goal of the season on a penalty
kick.
Dosa made the score 2-0 at 62:51 with
her first career goal by knocking in a ball
that was bouncing around the box.
Grech had to earn her record-breaking
shutout, as she laid out to block a sec-
ond- half shot by the Golden Gophers.
"I didn't want to get scored on because
I knew this was an easy game for Min-
nesota to come back if they got momen-
tum," Grech said.
The fans were obviously impressed by
the save, letting out a giant roar immedi-
ately afterward and rushing up to Grech
after the game for autographs. Grech
even left her teammates in awe.
"It was phenomenal," Kayal said.
"That was a sick save. I definitely
thought it was going in, but she got there
and I am so proud of her - that was
amazing."
Grech's solid goaltending will have to
continue as Michigan heads into the cru-
cial stretch of the season. The Wolver-
ines solidified their position in second
place in the Big Ten, but still trail the
Nittany Lions by a game-and-a-half.
But Michigan has two of its final three
games at home, which should help as it
makes its late season drive to clinch the
No. I seed in the upcoming Big Ten
Tournament on the weekend of Nov. 8.
Big Ten standings
Team Big Ten Overall
W L T W L T
Penn State 8 0 1 12 2 1
Michigan 7 2 0 9 5 1.
Illinois 5 3 1 7 6 1
Michigan State 4 4 1 7 6 2
Ohio State 4 4 1 7 7 1
Iowa 4 4 1 6 8 1
Purdue 3 3 3 7 5 3
Indiana 3 5 1 6 6 1
Minnesota 3 7 0 4 10 0
Northwestern 2 6 1 4 9 1
Wisconsin 1 6 2 4 8 3
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Freshman mldflelder Theresa Dwyer and the rest of the Wolverines posted two shutouts this weekend
but could only manage one victory.
'M' rolls Badgers in home finale
w Wolverines in fourth place after beating Wisconsin on senior day
By Chris Burke
Daily Sports Writer
After his team's 4-2 loss to Michigan State on Oct. 14,
Michigan men's soccer coach Steve Burns said that while
he hated to hope for losses, he wouldn't mind if his team
slipped back into sixth place in the Big Ten standings so it
could get another crack at the Spartans in the Big Ten
Tournament.
Consider the mission changed.
With a 2-1 win over Wisconsin yesterday at Varsity
Field, the Wolverines guaranteed that they would finish no
lower than fifth in the Big Ten. A win in the conference
finale at Ohio State on Nov. 2 would put Michigan in posi-
tion to tie Michigan State for third in the Big Ten, should
the Spartans fall at Wisconsin next weekend.
"I would have loved to play Michigan State again, but
any Big Ten win that our young program can get is great,"
Burns said. "To beat a team that won the national champi-
onship six years ago on our home field is great for us -
now we've j'ot two conference wins with one game left
Big Ten standings
Team , Big Ten Overall
W L T W L T
Indiana 6 0 0 10 3 0
Penn State 4 1 1 8 3 1
Michigan St, 3 2 0 8 3 1
Michigan 2 3 0 8 4 1
Ohio State 1 2 1 8 3 2
Wisconsin 0 3 0 7 6 1
Northwestern 0 5 0 0 11 2
left in the first half. Midfielder Knox Cameron led a break
by sending a pass down the right side of the field to
Turpin. Cameron then found himself all alone when
Turpin fired a return pass to him in front of the net.
Cameron beat Baker to give Michigan a 2-0 lead.
Freshman goalkeeper Bryan Lau made the second goal
stand up in his first career start. Lau recorded three saves
in the game while filling in for Joe Zawacki, who was
ineligible due to a red card he received in the Michigan
I
. :..}s.. ..:.a ..fi4n.. .... .. .s"+t. .:.t?::: ....f ... as;h:$:>cis..:... ::..::yM .; :.. 2; :k::ro":'t.. C.:::.< ':{'f),::.
.. .:: 2':.n ..Jt ..v. v. r. $, .... h.C :.+:. s ...::5}?.il.; " : Jn": ii >::s.':v}:::.:}:l.h: \..Nyy....::.:. {,. ;::. :: F2::....{:..:: 4; :%:i:':. } - ..:.
I