6E - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - Fail 2004 SPORTS 4 MEN'S SOCCER Blue defeats Notre Dame in shootout December 1, 2003 By Ellen McGarrty Daily Staff Writer SOUTH BEND - "You spoiled everything!" lamented a melan- choly Notre Dame fan yesterday afternoon. Her grief was directed toward senior Mike White, just after he slipped a ball past Notre Dame's goalkeeper in the Mc___AN __ fifth round of a game-ending shootout. White's NTRE__AME__ goal had clinched the. win for 12th-seeded Michi- gan in the third round of the NCAA men's soccer tournament. Seldom do soccer games come down to a shootout - they only occur after two 10-minute sudden death overtimes have been com- pleted. Yet it seemed a fitting end for yesterday's intense game between the Wolverines and the Irish. Neither Michigan nor Notre Dame had scored since the beginning of the first half of regulation play, and it seemed as if the two would have played on for hours without a winner if there were no shootout. In a shootout, if the first team scores, the other team must match that or the first team will win. This system puts tremendous pressure on the goalkeepers, putting the fate of the game into their hands. However, Michigan goalkeeper Peter Dzubay, who ended up blocking two penalty kicks during the shootout, admitted that it was what he'd been hoping for all along. "(Saturday) at dinner, I told three or four kids, 'I hope we go to PKs,' Dzubay said. "And they were like, 'You're crazy, what are you talking about?' " But Dzubay got his wish. During the first three rounds of the shootout, senior Kevin Taylor, sophomore Adam Bruh and freshman Brian Popeney all put the ball past the Notre Dame goalkeeper. The Irish players tallied the same against Dzubay. In the fourth round, Michigan nearly triumphed after Dzubay blocked his first Notre Dame shot. But the Wolverines' next kicker, sophomore Michael O'Reilly, sent the ball up over the net. But with an amazing block by Dzubay in the next round, Michigan was given another chance. He divulged later that he had a good feeling about where both Irish kickers were aiming the ball before they kicked it - one gave it away with his eyes, the other Dzubay guessed about after hearing a scouting report. "That's why I play goalie," Dzubay said. "PKs - you can't lose in that situation. If I don't make any saves, no one really cares, but if I make one or two, everyone loves it." The game's fate then fell onto White's shoulders. "I was thinking, 'I make this and we're going to the Elite Eight. This is my chance - the stuff you dream about,' " White said. His kick was good. "I saw a Michigan player (White) true and true, and I just put a smile on my face because I knew that he was going to make that shot," Michigan coach Steve Burns said. In celebration, White ran around the goal, tearing off his Michigan jersey and waving it high above his head for Notre Dame fans to see. Some might think this kind of ending to a soccer game is unfair - even those on the winning Michigan team. "After the second overtime, I went up to their team and congratu- lated them, because, when it comes down to PKs, it's not necessarily the best team that wins - it's the team that executes," Taylor said. But Taylor did add that he thought the game's outcome was fair. "I don't know if we played better, but we definitely played with more intensity," Taylor said. "That's what did it for us today." 4 TONY DING/Daily Players fight for possession during the Wolverines' NCAA Regional Tournament second round match against Michigan State on Nov. 16, 2003. Top-ranked Wake Forest puts an end to Michigan's season with hard-fought 1-0 win November 24, 2004 By Megan Kolodgy Daily Staff Writer By now, they were getting used to it. The Wolverines spent the first two games of the NCAA field hockey tournament defying rankings, step- ping over teams that were statisti- AE E cally superior. Then, it finally happened. In the semifinal round, the Wolverines were forced to take on the ultimate challenge: They were to butt heads with top-ranked Wake Forest. According to coach Marcia Pankratz, Michigan entered the match with the confidence that comes with repeatedly beating the odds. Repeating this feat, however, was not in the cards, and the Demon Dea- cons edged out the Wolverines, 1-0. "We had a difficult (tournament) draw," Pankratz said. "We played the number-4 team, then the number-5 team, and beat them back-to-back. Then, to keep the number-1 team at bay for so long is quite an accomplishment." Although the game did not end in Michigan's favor, the performance' showed just how far the team had come from the first weeks of the season. In the'ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Wake Forest had a slightly more lopsided victory by the score of 4-2. "We've just had lots more game experience since then," Pankratz said. "It's tournament time, and we played as well as we could play." The play was somewhat hesitant throughout the score- less first half. Each team managed to pull off only one shot on goal, and though the Wolverines had two break- away chances, they were unable to capitalize. The teams emerged from their halftime talks driven by the dream of a bid to the national championship, which hung in the balance over the next 35 minutes. The Demon Deacons received multiple corner opportunities, giving them many chances to take con- trol of the game. And indeed, these shots led to the Wolverines' demise. Just over 10 minutes into the half, Wake Forest was awarded its first corner of the game. Three consecu- tive corners later, it was finally able to put a shot past Michigan goalkeeper Beth Riley. The Wolverines fought back for the remaining min- utes, but it was to no avail. Their only hope for a trip to the championship came with less than a minute left, when defender Stephanie Johnson slipped the ball in for what would have been a game-tying goal. The shot was ruled too high, though, sealing Michi- gan's fate and assuring them a spot in the stands instead of on the field in the finals. Pankratz felt that her team had a great deal to be proud of. Junior Katy Moyneur was named to the All- Tournament team. "One of their best players, Kelly Dostal, was not a factor at all, thanks to Katy's defense," Pankratz said. "She will definitely be a leader of the defense next year." There will be quite a bit of turnover for the Wolver- ines next year. They are losing seven seniors, includ- ing star captains Kristi Gannon, Stephanie Johnson and April Fronzoni. "The three captains are some of the best players we've ever had," Pankratz said. "It's a big graduating class, but the juniors will step up and be great seniors, and we'll be right back here, battling for the championship." The Wolverines finished the season with a 17-6 overall record. While this speaks to the team's ability on the field, Pankratz maintains that it is their copious talents in other realms that make this team stand out from those of years past. "They are all fantastic students," Pankratz said. "They are selfless, take care of each other, train hard, are responsible ... really, they do everything right. They epitomize exactly what you want in a student- athlete. I am very proud of them." m m Sports Apparel Giftwear Nike Apparel A portion of all sales at the Michigan Union & Pierpont Common Bookstores go back to support U of M student services. UAVID I UMAR/ Daily The Michigan volleyball team defeats Ohio State 3-0 on Sept. 9, 2003 at Cliff Keen Arena. Spikers swept by California, sent home from NCAA tournament " The Michigan Union & Pierpont Commons Bookstores are the only book stores contracted by the University of Michigan. * A wide variety of our best selling items like gifts and apparel for all students, alumni, family, friends and kids available for purchase on-line. December 8, 2003 By Eric Ambinder Daily Staff Writer The Michigan volleyball team is going on a long vacation - not to Hawaii for the third round of the NCAA Tournament but back to Ann Arbor for final exams. California MC__GAN ___ swept the Wolver- ines 3-0 at Haas Pavilion in the seCHdGANn o second round of AFONA 3 the NCAA Tour- nament in Berkeley, Calif. Despite playing its best volley- ball on the road recently, Michigan ran out of luck against the Golden Bears on Saturday night. inched closer, California turned to the "Croatian Sensation," Mia Yerkov, who led the Golden Bears with a match-high 29 kills. The Golden Bears countered Michigan rallies all evening, respond- ing with a strong stretch-run late in game two, winning 30-23. "Cal did a really good job in crit- ical points of the match," Michigan coach Mark Rosen said. "We'd be right with them, and they'd do a great job of pushing away and sep- arating from us, and that's the sign of a good team." Down two frames, the Wolver- ines played their best volleyball early in the third game. Senior Erin Moore, sensing the impending end of a brilliant are athletic," California coach Rich Feller said. "I just think we execut- ed very, very well. We were real focused and played at a high level right from the very beginning. That was a great match for us. It was some pretty incredible volleyball." The Wolverines played incredible volleyball on Friday night when they defeated Colorado in the first round, 3-0. The victory marked the fourth time in five attempts that Michigan reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Erin Moore, an All-Big Ten selection for the second consecu- tive season, capped off a brilliant career, retiring as Michigan's all- time leader in kills with 1,384. A