No PLACE LIKE HOME
The Michigan men's golf team makes the most
of hosting the Wolverine Intercollegiate.
PAGE 3B
September 26, 2005
IAN HERBERT:
Is Michigan transforming from a
powerhouse team to mediocrity?
PAGE 3B
The SportsMonday Column
PERSERVERENCE IN BLUE
Fate dealt Ashley Buckingham an unfortunate hand,
but the former volleyball star rolls with the punches.
PAGE 8B
SPORTS C7 AY
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Michigan 20
sour
Calhoun runs
wild, tramples
over defense
By Stephanie Wright
Daily Sports Editor
MADISON - Michigan officially lost when Chad Henne
slipped on the wet turf as time expired. But the game was
over long before that.
The Badgers called a timeout from the Michigan four-
yard. line with 38 seconds left on the clock. After the
pause, quarterback John Stocco threw two incomplete
passes - the second of which Michigan cornerback
Leon Hall nearly intercepted in the back corner of the
end zone.
But Stocco made up for those miscues with a four-yard
quarterback draw that put the Badgers ahead for good. Michi-
gan lost to Wisconsin 23-20 - the first time it opened the Big
Ten season with a loss since 1981.
"It was hard-hitting football," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr
said. "It was a great football game, but from our standpoint,
it's certainly a great disappointment."
Seconds after Stocco crossed the goal line, fireworks
shot up from the southeast corner of the end zone, in spite
of Wisconsin's impending extra-point attempt.
As it turns out, the Badgers' celebration was premature by
just 24 seconds. Michigan's offense sputtered in its last-sec-
ond comeback attempt, culminating in Henne's stumble on
fourth-and-20.
"It's hard," Michigan nose tackle Gabe Watson said.
"You always try to keep your 'head up and think that
if the offense is not doing it, the defense is going to
pull it out, and then if the defense is not doing it, the
offense or special teams ... We're always looking for-
ward for the best. But it's hard to see. They haven't
beat us in the last eight years, and it's tough just to
lose to them."
Stocco wouldn't have been in position to make the play if
tailback Brian Calhoun hadn't chipped away at the Michi-
gan defense throughout the second half. In the final 30 min-
utes, Calhoun gained 111 yards on 23 carries and caught
five passes for 48 yards.
See BADGERS, page 5B
JASON COOPER/Daily
(From left to right) Roderick Rodgers, Allen Langford and Jack lkegwuonu of Wisconsin celebrate over Michigan tight end Tyler Ecker during Saturday night's loss to the Badgers. The game
officially came to an end the very next play when quarterback Chad Henne slipped and fell when trying to convert on fourth-and-20.
N WOMEN' SOCCER
High-octane
Wolverines
sink Buckeyes
By Daniel Bromwich
Daily Sports Writer
In college athletics, there are some rivalries that transcend
their original sport. Duke-North Carolina,
UCLA-USC, and Florida-Florida State ' H A
come to mind. But there might be none G o
bigger than Michigan-Ohio State.
Case in point: the Michigan women's soccer team. The two
teams fought to a draw during the regular season in 2004 and
in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, the Buckeyes
(0-2-0 Big Ten, 3-4-2 overall) topped the Wolverines (1-0-0,
5-2-2) 5-2. But on Sunday Michigan avenged its oust from last
year's tournament with a convincing 4-2 win.
"Last year in the Big Ten Tournament they really handed it
to us," coach Debbie Rademacher said. "We were motivated
and excited to have a chance to redeem ourselves. Everybody
remembers how they felt after a big loss last year, so we were
definitely up for this game."
In the Big Ten Tournament, the Buckeyes started the game
off hot, scoring three goals in the first 20 minutes of the
game. And on Friday - even with most of the game being
played in Ohio State's end - it was beginning to look like
ddja vu. From 10 yards out, Ohio State sophomore Lara Dick-
enmann headed a free kick from teammate Melissa Miller
past Michigan junior goalkeeper Megan Tuura for the first
goal at the 9:57 mark.
But Michigan continued to dominate possession of the
ball, and, when all was said and done, they came out with
a vengeful win. Michigan could not convert any oppor-
tunities to open the game, failing to score on six corner
kicks in the first 20-plus minutes. But at 24:07, junior
Judy Coffman passed the ball from the left sideline to
senior Therese Heaton, who turned and quickly crossed it
to sophomore Melissa Dobbyn. The forward then placed
it in the lower right corner of the net to tie the game at
one.
T1hP Wn1L-d ne enntinne r to~ not nre zp e nn the Rncee
On muddy field,'M'inches past Wildcats
By Jamie Josephson
Daily Sports Writer
Torrential downpours. Mud-stained uniforms. Crater-
sized puddles. U-M Soccer Field turned
into a water war zone.
This was yesterday's scene at the
Michigan men's soccer team's Big Ten
home opener against Northwestern. With the clock winding
down, emotions running high and players slipping and slid-
ing all over the soaking-wet field, Michigan - in addition to
the elements - rained on Northwestern's parade with a 1-0
drowning of the Wildcats.
"Last year, Northwestern gave us a beating at the Big Ten
Tournament," sophomore Tolu Olowolafe said. "It was on
our home field, and (we suffered) a 5-0 loss. It was horrible.
We just wanted to rebound from that and pay them back.
Luckily, we did."
With a few minutes remaining in the heated contest,
Michigan coach Steve Burns sent in Olowolafe off the bench
in hopes of trying to break the 0-0 stalemate. With just a
little over one minute remaining in the game, freshman Jake
Stacy served the ball ahead of Olowolafe on the right side of
the goal box. It looked as if the ball was kicked just out of
Olowolafe's reach when Northwestern's goalie came out of
the goal to grab the loose ball. But with a little help from the
elements - and a little bit of "luck" - the ball slipped out of
the goalie's hands, and Olowolafe tapped it in for the game-
winning goal, his first tally of the season.
"This was unfortunately a game that, based on the condi-
tions, was probably going to be capitalized on by someone's
mistake," Burns said. "Luckily, we held tight and found that
mistake. And Tolu capitalized on it."
With about five minutes left in the game, Burns hoped to
inspire his drenched and exhausted players by shouting from
the sidelines, "Do it for the seniors!"
And the Wolverines did just that.
"We've got five seniors who have been through a lot,"
Burns said. "Their record against Northwestern is 3-3. We
really challenged all of our non-seniors to play for those
ALl OLSEN/Daily
A group of Michigan players attempt to block a free kick against Northwestern during their 1-0 win over the Wildcats on a
rainy Sunday afternoon.
guys, who have done so much to pull this team together and
so much in terms of leadership. And it was done."
For most of the first half, Michigan (6-2-0) was able to
control the possession time and momentum of the game. But
the Wolverines couldn't get on the scoreboard.
"While it looked good, and we did have some good combi-
nations, we never really got in behind Northwestern," Burns
said. "With that, they were setting up their counterattack
- which is very good. We could never get around or behind
their defense to create anything real dangerous. Even though
we (controlled) the possession, Northwestern was still look-
ing very dangerous, and the game could have been anybody's
at that point."
Northwestern's David Roth was one such dangerous play-
er for the Wildcats (4-3-0), finding holes in the Michigan
defense several times. But Roth was unable to convert.
In the middle of the first half, mother nature unleashed
See WILDCATS, page 3B
N FIELD HOCKEY
Goalie Riley surpasses all-time win mark