Friday October 29, 2004 sports.michigandaily. com sports@michigandaily.com Re T SBang 10 10 Icers ready to take on Ferris By Ryan Sosin Daily Sports Writer For a Michigan hockey team that has shown flashes of brilliance all season - but struggled to keep moments of futility from dotting its play - worry- ing about consistency and self-improve- ment has become top priority. Before the team can start to worry about its weekly opponents, the Wolverines (2-0 CCHA, 4-1-1 overall) need to continue to shore up their own game. "We're trying to get our team (to be) more consistent," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "Whether it be period- to-period or shift-to-shift." Instead of creating a unique prac- tice program to cater to their next foe, Berenson and his coaches have been working on a laundry list of issues with the team's game. Work- ing on things ranging from the power play and penalty kill to breaking out of their own zone, it seems as though Ferris State is the furthest thing from their mind.4 "Then there is a work ethic part of it," Berenson said. "You're looking for players to start playing a little bit bet- ter. Whether it's working hard, playing better with the puck or playing better without the puck." There are no special drills designed to thwart Ferris State's No. 1 forward line or to find holes in it's solid penalty kill. Berenson, who has led the Wolverines to 14-straight top-two finishes in the CCHA reg- ular season, knows that his team can't win on trick plays or special schemes. "There's no gimmicks in this league," Berenson said referring to the CCHA. "There's no one gimmick that you're going to change for (an opposing) team - we've got to keep building on the things that we need to do better." Michigan is not ignoring its oppo- nent all together. The Bulldogs - who set a school record for wins in 2002 en route to a CCHA regular season WOMEN'S SOCCER Blue drops fourth in a row By Seth Gordon Daily Sports Writer Just two weeks ago, the Michigan women's soccer team was ranked No. 13 in the country and appeared to be primed for a huge matchup with then-No. 1 Notre Dame. But entering yesterday's game, the Wolverines (6-3-1 Big Ten, 9-7-2 overall) had lost three straight games, while the Fighting Irish dropped to No. 2 after tying Rutgers 1-1. Which Michigan team showed up when Notre Dame came to Ann ArborNOTRE DAME 4 yesterday? MIIGAN i The one that has now lost four straight, as the Fighting Irish domi- nated the Wolverines, 4-0, yesterday at the Michigan Soccer Field. Notre Dame (9-0-1 Big East, 16-0-1) moved the ball easily and effectively against Michigan from the opening kickoff, scoring just 4:54 into the game. "We've been good at ball movement all year," Notre Dame coach Randy Waldrum said. "We spend a lot of time in our training working on that. We've created a lot of those same kind of chances in a couple of games, but we haven't finished that well. We didn't (finish) a lot of those chances last Sunday, so it was good to see that we did it (yesterday)." The Fighting Irish were able to penetrate the Michigan defense with precision passing and aggressive dribbling. "They are the No. 2 team in the country, so they're going to move the ball," Michigan coach Debbie Rademacher-said. "We've played them before, and it's all about being organized defensively. We didn't play good individual defense, which would make us orga- nized. You've got to play your best to beat the No. 2 team in the country." The Wolverines continued to struggle offensively and only registered one shot on goal for the entire game -and that didn't come until 12:27 in the second half. "I don't think the end of the season is really indicative of (the quality of our play)," Michigan tri-captain Laura Tanchon said. "The results haven't shown how well we played, with the exception of (yesterday). We've been playing well. We've been playing hard. We just haven't been able to score goals. Defensively we weren't on the same page, and they scored four goals. I'm definitely not surprised, but more disappointed in the end of the season." Notre Dame easily could have scored four more goals, but sophomores Brenna Mulholland and Katelin Spencer made several goal-saving tackles on Irish breakaways. Sophomore goalkeeper Megan Tuura made many diving saves, but was otherwise helpless to defend shots from inside the box by unchecked Notre Dame players. Notre Dame took a 2-0 lead into halftime after Fight- ing Irish junior Katie Thorlakson was able to get to a deflected pass into the box and redirect it past Tuura. In the second half, Notre Dame added goals by Candice Chapman and Thorlakson to make the final score 4-0. While the Fighting Irish will head into the Big East Tournament on a high note, the Wolverines will finish regular season play tomorrow, when they travel to play Western Michigan. "I think (a win versus Western Michigan) will give us confidence," Tanchon said. "Definitely, it'd be great if we went in there and popped in five or six goals. That's defi- nitely the confidence we'll need going in (to the Big Ten Tournament). Especially playing Wisconsin - a team we lost 3-1 to, pretty badly. So, definitely that confidence would help." Two weeks ago, it was all but assured that Michigan would contend for a Big Ten title and be guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Now, the Wolverines must bounce back against the Broncos and give a strong showing in the Big Ten Tournament next week. "Right now we need to get back some fire," Radem- acher said. "We certainly have an opportunity to (get into the) postseason, but we have to play better." TONY DING/Daily Jeff Tambellini scored the winning goal against Ferris State last year at home. championship - still have a lot of fire- power. Led by seniors Matt York, Mike Brown and Jeff Legue, Ferris State has the experience and the top-line skill to challenge Michigan. "They've got some really good play- ers on paper," Berenson said. "I don't think they're as physical - in terms of size - as they used to be, but they still play a gritty game." When the two teams have bumped heads in recent history, the games have been tight. Last season, the teams split a home-and-home series with the visit- ing team coming up short by one goal in both contests. The Bulldog's 1-5 start doesn't play a role in Michigan's employment of a self-concentration tactic. "We had a meeting today about being aware of their team and their strength and how they've played against Michigan in the past," Berenson said. "They're a lot better team than their record." During last year's game in Big Rap- ids, a Michigan penalty in overtime led to the Bulldogs' game-winner. Beren- son expects special teams to play a pivotal role again this weekend. In an overtime loss to Ohio State two weeks ago, Ferris State stopped the CCHA's top-ranked power play cold. The Buck- eyes capitalized just once out of a stag- gering 19 chances. "I think you're going to see close games (this weekend)," Berenson said. "Unless one team gets the upperhand in power plays or special teams." After hosting Ferris State today, Michigan will head to Big Rapids for its second meeting tomorrow. 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