SJbe APirbigrnxuil POTS .. Monday December , 2002 SECTIONB Iii: 1 a l i: I I ;!::! i 1 1: 1: 1 :: ft : 1: 1: --------- - MICHIGAN 52 G 4e Give Cagers-falter against MAC opponent By Chris Burke Daily Sports Writer At the beinning of this season, when Michigan coach Tomnmy Amaker began talk of laying a foun- dation for the rebuilding basketball program, no one could have envisioned that the project would require this many bricks. Saturday, for the fourth straight game, the Wolverines were dismal shooting the ball, finishing at 36.5 percent from the field and 12-for-21 from the free-throw line en route to a 56-52 loss at Crisler Arena to Western Michigan (3-1). The performance from the floor for Michigan (0- 4) was actually an improvement over the Paradise Jam tournament, as the Wolverines raised their sea- son shooting percentage to 35.5. The Wolverines also turned the ball over 21 times, leaving the offense to scratch and claw its way to any points. "I think you look at two stats: free-throw shoot- ing and turnovers - that's the difference in the game," Amaker said. "To shoot that poorly from the free-throw line and turn the ball over 21 times, we're not going to beat too many teams with those kind of numbers." Even with the offensive ineptitude, the Wolver- ines were in a position to pull out a come-from- behind victory over the Broncos. Michigan trailed 52-45 with just over a minute remaining in the game, but pulled within two and had possession of the ball with nine seconds left. Senior guard Gavin Groninger drove into the lane and kicked a pass out to forward LaVell Blanchard in the left corner. Blanchard was open enough to get a potential game-winning 3-pointer off, but the shot rattled around in the cylinder and popped out, allowing Western Michigan guard Robby Collum to grab the ball and the victory. See BRONCOS, Page 5B us a break Dream ends for women's soccer, 3-1 WOMEN'S SOCCER SANTA CLARA, CALIF. By Michael Nisson Daily Sports Writer It takes months of practice and hard work to build a championship team. It can take as little as two minutes to destroy one. Such was the case for the Michigan women's soccer team on Saturday as it fell 3-1ito No. 6 seed Santa Clara (19-4-1) in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament, ending its season. With 10:32 remaining in the first half, the Broncos won a corner kick. Aly Wagn- er, last year's National Player MICHIGAN 1 of the Year, sent the ball into the box and it found the head SANTA CLARA 3 of senior midfielder Devvyn Hawkins, who redirected it into the Wolverines' goal. Michigan had little time to think about what went wrong because Santa Clara struck again two minutes later. Junior Veronica Zepeda collected a loose ball in the Michigan half of the field and then proceeded to blow by three defenders before finishing off the play with a left foot shot to the near post. The Wolverines (16-7-1) would never recover. "The turning point (of the game) was the first goal," Michigan coach Debbie Rademacher said. "We were playing well, and then they scored and then they scored (another) one right away." "I don't think that we were lacking (intensity)," Michigan senior defender Andrea Kayal added. "I think that scoring made them more focused on getting anoth- er one and really got them going." It was evident that the Broncos were hungry for another goal because instead of sitting on the 2-0 lead and playing more defensively, Santa Clara began to apply even more pressure offensively. "Their best defense was their offense," Rademacher said. "They sent their outside backs forward, and that (forced) our wing players to track back. So a lot of times we had one forward up front who needed to hold the ball against a very good defense"' The continued pressure paid off for Santa Clara, which would eventually go on to outshoot the Wolver- ines 19-6. At the 82:35 mark, Zepeda created more havoc for the Wolverines' defense when she was tripped inside the Michigan box. Wagner converted the penalty kick and pushed the score to 3-0, putting the game out of the Wolverines reach. Kate Morgan scored Michi- gan's lone goal off a corner kick from defender Amy Sullivant at the 85:23 mark, but it was too little too late. "Santa Clara played their best game to date, but they are the (defending) national champs," Rademacher said. "They are an unbelievable team with unbelievable players. They were on their game." Although the loss means that the season is over, the Wolverines will not be hanging their heads. By reaching the quarterfinals, this year's team went far- ther in the NCAA Tournament than any other team in Michigan history. It dominated on both sides of the ball, outscoring opponents 45-20 and recording an astounding 10 shutouts, including three in the NCAA Tournament. "I couldn't be prouder (of the team)," Rademacher said. "The biggest characteristic of our team is that we are fighters. We play hard to the end." Michigan will have to replace six seniors, including Big Ten Player of the Year Abby Crumpton and fellow All-Big Ten first teamer Amy Sullivant next year. "We have a strong class coming in and a strong sup- porting cast," Rademacher said. "Every team goes in a cycle, we'll certainly have a different team next year than the one this year, but they will find their identity." TONY DING/Daily After an 0-4 start, including Saturday's 56-52 loss to Western Michigan, LaVell Blanchard and the rest of the Wolverines are searching for answers. Harrell readfor increased role By Charles Paradis Daily Sports Writer TONY DING/Daily Graham Brown and the Wolverines finally out rebounded a team, but it was Western Michigan and they still lost. Michigan freshman Sherrod Har- rell could have been on the other bench when the Wolverines faced Western Michigan on Saturday. Har- rell, a Kalamazoo native, passed up the chance to play for the Broncos on scholarship, to walk on for the Michi- gan basketball team. Being a freshman and a walk-on was two strikes against Harrell. With the dismissal of Avery Queen from the Michigan basketball team, coach Tommy Amaker has only one scholarship player at the point guard position - freshman Daniel Horton. While the blue-chip recruit has shown flashes of brilliance in his first few games as a Wolverine, he is still very raw. The loss of Queen also hurts because he was projected to backu p Horton at the point. Enter Harrell, who will now be forced to contribute minutes immediately so that Horton can sit for a few minutes each "I think that with the situation we are in right now, I thought (Harrell) did an admirable job of coming in and spelling Horton and giving us quality minutes and taking care of the basketball and try to get us into things and defending," Amaker said. "I was very pleased with how he per- formed for us and we anticipate that we are going to need more of that See POINT, Page 5B ----------- Icers avenge 2002 Frozen Four defeat k By Courtney Lewis Daily Sports Writer MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota attacked Michigan's net from beginning to end yesterday, outshooting the Wolverines 39-33, but it was an accidental shot that put the game out of reach MICHIGAN 3 for the Gophers. Trailing 2-1 with MINNESOTA 1 less than a minute to go, Minnesota was deep in its offensive zone when a pass back to the point missed its mark and slid the length of the rink into the Gophers' own empty net.. Sophomore defenseman Brandon Rogers was credited with the goal, which secured Michigan's 3-1 victory. Rogers called the tally the "luckiest" goal he has ever scored. "It's the first time I've ever scored without taking a shot," Rogers said, adding that he didn't realize at the time that he was the last Wolverine to touch the puck. "I was just so excited - we saw it go in the net and it gave us a 3-1 cushion - that we were going to close out the game with 40 seconds left. So we were all just pretty happy about that." "No question," Berenson said. "It's the biggest win of our year so far, because it was the strongest opponent in a great environment, in a well-played game in a game that we were on our heals a lot." Freshman Danny Richmond opened the scor- ing 6:33 into the first period on a Michigan powerplay. The defenseman's hard shot from the left cir- cle sailed wide, but moments later he got the puck back in almost the same spot. He rifled his second chance by Minnesota goaltender Travis Weber. Michigan took advantage of its opportunities all afternoon, as it came out of the second period with a 2-1 lead despite being outshot 16-7. Minnesota's Keith Ballard knotted the score at one early in the period. Left winger Thomas Vanek got the puck on the right side of the crease, skated behind the net and banged a wrap-around shot off Michi- gan goaltender Al Montoya's right pad. The puck caromed to Ballard, who was waiting on the right side of the crease and sent it into the open net. Less than three minutes later, sophomore for- ward Dwight Helminen put the Wolverines Michigan's zone and raced in on Weber, bury- ing a little wrister. Montoya held off the Gophers the rest of the game finishing with 38 saves, including several in the closing minutes, and the Wolverines turned it on in the last period. The Wolverines outshot the Gophers 16-11 in the third. "We had a good team period in the third peri- od," Rogers said. "We played good systems and we played road hockey - what we want to do to close out a team." This was Michigan's first chance to face Min- nesota since falling to the Gophers in last year's Frozen Four, and that made the win even sweeter for the Wolverines. "We could see their banner hanging up at the end of the rink that said 2002 National Cham- pions, and we hated that feeling to end our sea- son last year on a losing note," Rogers said. "So to come back this year and be able to play them again, we wanted to beat them ... get some revenge." But the Wolverines have put last year behind them and Rogers said that this game was "a turning point" of this season. "It's a defining moment for our team," Berenson said.