The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 15, 2003 - 3B
Blue quiets Cyclones,
wins first of season
Carr & Co. planted seeds
for Saturday on chessboard
1 011%
By Melanie Kebler
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women's soccer
team's record (0-3-2) entering yester-
day's game reflected a young team's
struggle to come together as a cohe-
sive unit. And after enduring two dou-
ble-overtime ties and two one-goal
losses this season, the Wolverines
finally found what they were looking
for- a win.
"We felt because we competed well
and played realMJG4
hard, we'd get a L
win at some
point, and today was our day," said
Michigan coach Debbie Rademacher.
Sunday was definitely the day for
Michigan's offensive unit, as it put up
four goals - as many as the Wolver-
ines had scored in the last five games
combined.
Senior forward Therese Heaton got
her first point of the season and was
one of four different Wolverines to
score against Iowa State (2-2-1) in the
4-2 win.
"We had a lot of people that had
good games," Rademacher said, citing
the play of her mostly new back line
of defenders. "The more you play, the
more comfortable you get with each
other. I think that's starting to happen.
We're finding those good lineups."
On Friday, the Wolverines played to
their second double overtime tie of
the season against Nebraska (2-2-1).
With one minute remaining in the
final period of play, the Cornhuskers
were awarded a penalty kick, but
freshman goalkeeper Megan Tuura
made a big save to avoid the sudden-
death loss for Michigan.
"Most of those are saves you have
to make," Tuura said of penalty kicks.
"If it would have gone in, we would
have lost, and it would have been
awful."
Still, the tie was the continuation of
a frustrating season for Tuura and her
teammates, even though they did
manage to score before the end of the
1-1 tie.
"I think Friday's game was really
hard-fought, and it was against a real
physical and big team," Rademacher
said. "But to hold them the way we
did and (the fact that) we played a lot
better than last weekend gave us the
confidence going into today's game."
"It was tough because we tied
twice and had some close games,"
Tuura said. "(In those games) we had
so many chances and just couldn't
score. We just had to get tough and
get the win."
Confidence and physicality were
on Michigan's side against Iowa
State. The Wolverines recorded 18
fouls to Iowa State's nine, indicating
that they were being more aggressive
than the Cyclones. On Friday, the
fouls were even on both sides, signi-
fying the two different styles of play
that Michigan faced this weekend.
"(Sunday) was more of passing
and position game," Rademacher
said. "We were generating offense
on Friday, but because their goal-
keeper played out so far, she was
already breaking up the play before.
JASON COOPER/Daily
Sophomore Colleen McAndrews and the Wolverines earned their first win of the
season yesterday with a four-goal offensive outburst against Iowa State.
we could get the shot off. We had a
couple of great opportunities we
couldn't finish."
But Michigan did finish those
opportunities against Iowa State,
and just in time to reinvigorate its
season. The 0-3-2 start before Sun-
day's game was the worst the
Wolverines had recorded in the past
five years, when they never went
more than three games into the sea-
son without recording a win. But
this weekend's win could help the
team move forward.
"Definitely after our win today, I
think things are starting to click,"
Tuura said. "We've been ready for
everything, and now that we've (got-
ten the win), things are going to
come together."
J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH
The SportsMonday Column
This summer, I read an analysis of
current college football coaches
at College Football News's web-
site. Lloyd Carr was ranked as the No.
17 head coach in America.
The website gave this description of
Carr: "Carr's a little like that 12-year-
old Chevy resting in your driveway. It
isn't the sexiest wheels on the block,
but it has a habit of consistently getting
you where you want to go. Carr's a
steady hand as opposed to the dynamic
leader who'll carry a program to new
altitudes."
This summer, I agreed with the 12-
year-old Chevy comparison. I may
agree again after next weekend's game
against Oregon. But after watching
Michigan play a nearly perfect game
against Notre Dame, there isn't a criti-
cal thing I could say about Carr.
After three years of critiquing Carr
and his staff's every move, this 21-year-
old who has never coached football at
any level is finally going to shut up.
The play calling was superb. The
Wolverines aren't self-destructing with
stupid penalties, and they're tackling
like a Michigan team should. For the
first time since 1997, the Wolverines
are actually playing like a legitimate
national title contender.
Let me tell you something: This did-
n't just happen out of the blue on Satur-
day. Carr and his staff have been
planting the seeds for Saturday's per-
formance for the past few years,
through their tireless recruiting and
player development.
Whether Carr and any of his staff
would admit it or not, this past offsea-
son was one filled with urgency.
When's the next time Carr will have his
top three offensive players returning, as
well as the entire offensive line? He
knew that his offense would be able to
put a lot of points on the board.
But to avoid the plight of the 2000
Wolverines, who failed to win a title
despite being armed with Drew Hen-
son, Anthony Thomas and David Terrell
because of a sieve-like defense, Carr
and defensive coordinator Jim Her-
rmann knew they needed to fix up
Michigan's "bend, but don't break"
defense of last season.
So they went into the war room.
They looked at what defensive players
were coming back and picked them
apart. Eleven spots, how can we best
fill them? Herrmann described it as a
chess match. Back and forth they
moved, and with each move on the
board, criticism came.
Freakish defensive end Pierre Woods
to linebacker? Marlin Jackson, the best
lockdown corner in the Big Ten, to
safety? Defensive tackle Pat Massey to
defensive end?
The 2001 defensive recruiting class
(Jackson, Woods, Massey and safety
Ernest Shazor) was the best in the
country. Carr and Herrmann had no
choice but to find a way to get them all
on the field if they wanted the Wolver-
ines to have a chance at a national title.
After three games, Carr and Her-
rmann are well on their way to a check-
mate. Jackson's move to safety allowed
the Wolverines' best playmaker to roam
the field and take care of any loose
ends. Herrmann's scheme moves Jack-
son around from play to play, forcing
the opposing quarterback to pay atten-
tion to where Jackson is before every
play. Jackson joins Shazor to form one
of the fastest, most athletic safety duos
in the country. Markus Curry and Jere-
my LeSueur have answered the call at
cornerback, thus far. The top four defen-
sive backs are starting, and that would-
n't have been the case if Carr had not
made the gutsy call to move Jackson.
Woods' move to linebacker has revo-
lutionized Michigan's linebacking
corps. They're faster, stronger and with
a freak like Woods blitzing on some
plays and dropping back into coverage
on others, he's just one more player
offenses will have to think about.
Massey's move to defensive end pro-
duces a four-man rotation between
Larry Stevens,Alain Kashama, Massey
and Jeremy Van-Alstyne. It also allows
the mammoth Gabe Watson - the
quickest 300-plus pounder I've ever
seen - to mix into the rotation at
defensive tackle.
When talking about player moves, we
can't forget about Stevens, who came to
Michigan as a safety. How could a safe-
ty move to the defensive line? I sure
don't know, but Carr and Herrmann saw
something in Stevens that has definitely
shown up in his performance this sea-
son. He's got three sacks for a combined
loss of 35 yards and a safety.
Not only do Can and Herrmann have
enough confidence in their judgment to
make these moves and radically alter a
player's career, but the players seem to
trust them, too.
A good eye for talent and a selfless,
team-first attitude has this Michigan
team headed to the "new altitude" that
has seemed so elusive in recent years.
Sure, Carr isn't sexy. And maybe he
is that ole' Chevy pickup. Just don't
make the mistake of thinking there isn't
anything under the hood trying to
achieve optimtim performance.
'W proves to be worthy foe of North Carolina
By Jeremy Antar
Daily Sports Writer
A tough loss is often looked at by athletes and
coaches as a learning experience. In the case of
the Michigan men's soccer team, the grueling 1-0
loss suffered to No. 5 North
Carolina on Friday is a lesson HG
the Wolverines (4-2) are near-
ly ready to teach. Yesterday,
Michigan rebounded with a 4- N",___Ar__NA__
3 overtime victory versus
UNC Greensboro (3-2) in the second game of the
Nike Carolina Classic.
On Friday, the Wolverines competed in a 90-
minute battle with the highly-ranked Tar Heels
(4-0-1), standing eye to eye with the fiercest
S erveT'competition for 85.58, before surrender-
ing the only goal of the game.
"This kind of game helps us realize what it
i take e to win," Michigan coach Steve Burns
said.
What the Wolverines realize is that they have
the skill to compete with anybody out there.
"Our special players went toe-to-toe with their
special players, and our role players really
stepped up," Burns said.
Despite the loss, sophomore goalkeeper Peter
Dzubay set a program record with nine saves.
The lone North Carolina goal came when jun-
ior Ray Fumo lifted the ball to Tim Merritt, who
headed it past Dzubay and into the net with less
than four minutes remaining.
"There is a very thin line dividing our team
from North Carolina," Burns said.
Burns also knows that the line will not be
crossed with a victory against a squad that is not
as skilled as Michigan. It can only be crossed
when the Wolverines play in a game in which
their skill is matched and it is their heart and
relentless effort that pushes them over the edge
to victory.
Having a short memory is essential for any
team that does not want the outcome of one
game to affect its performance in another game.
Burns and the Michigan squad were well aware
that they had to move on from Friday's heart-
breaking loss and prepare to face UNC Greens-
boro yesterday.
"It was a tough pill to swallow, but we need to
stay focused on what we have to do," Burns said.
Against the Spartans, junior forward Mychal
Turpin had a career day. His sparkling four-goal
performance set a program record and propelled
the team to its fourth win of the season. Con-
tributing to Turpin's performance was junior
Knox Cameron, who netted three assists in the
victory.
Michigan battled back from an early 2-0
deficit and scored three unanswered goals to take
the lead, 3-2, before the Spartans fought back to
tie th'e game at 3-3 and force overtime.
In overtime, Turpin put the game-winning and
record-setting goal through the net to secure a
victory for Michigan.
The Wolverines' are getting used to come-
backs, as they have not scored a goal in the first
half this season.
"Our team didn't panic when we went down 2-
0," Burns said.
Out of everything that went on this weekend,
one of the things that pleases Burns most is how
well the Wolverines arepaying like a team.'
"We're not a collection of individuals, we're a
team that understands how to play together,"
Burns said.
"We're winning like a team and losing like a
team."
J Brady McCollough didn't actually shut
up, but he did change his tune. He can be
reached at bradymcc@umich.edu.
I I
The University of Michigan
Department of Recreational Sports.
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SPORTS www.recsports.umich.edu SPORTS
INTRAMURALS 734-763-3562
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taken online Mon 09/22
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