SPORT, Blue loses to Indiana to end its The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - Fall 2005 - 5E season in the NCA By Anne Uible NOVEMBER 24, 2004 Daily Sports Writer BLOOMINGTON - The Michigan men's soccer team isn't used to playing under the lights. And when they shone down brightly on Armstrong Field, the Wolverines ended up __HGAN___ just a little bit short. NAnALT Michigan's tumul- tuous season concluded in a 1-0 loss to No. 2-seed Indiana in the second round of NCAA tournament play. "We'd heard the rumors that playing under the lights in Bloomington was spe- cial," Michigan coach Steve Burns said. "And it was everything we thought it was going to be." "I am extremely proud of the way this team has played all year long. Five years ago when this program started, I didn't have this vision in my mind of playing in the NCAA second round, and to see these guys play as they did is a testament to a rising program. Michigan didn't lose this game, we just ran out time." The Hoosiers' (15-4-1) winning goal was scored by forward Kevin Robson at 86:10. Robson broke away from his defender and was able to get the ball past Michigan goalie Peter Dzubay. "He caught me leaning a little to my right," Dzubay said. "He shot it and it took a nice little skip and it went right underneath me. I guess this just was not my night." The defense played tougher than it had in previous games, and Dzubay realized this right from the beginning of the game. "Our defense played wonderful tonight," Dzubay said. "I thought I was going to come in here and make 10-12 saves and have a big night, but they were ready for this game. We played with heart and energy the whole year, and especially in this game." The Wolverines (11-8-4) opened the first half with a similar aggressiveness to that of their first-round win over Akron. They outshot the Hoosiers 3-2 and collected 11 fouls by the end of the half. Most of the fight during the game was found in the midfield, where the play- tourney ers became the most aggressive. Hoosier Danny O'Rourke - one of Indiana's two Hermaan Trophy candidates - caused the Wolverines the most difficulty. "One of our philosophies is to control the midfield," Burns said. "We haven't had an answer to Danny for four years and he's a difference maker on their team." One problem with trying to gain an advantage in the midfield was that the field itself was extremely slippery due to a steady misting that refused to let up throughout most of the game. The wet- ness of the field caused the players to fall after most quick turns and fakes. The conditions also enabled the ball to roll more quickly on the grass and hindered many of the passes and shots that the players made. The Wolverines concluded a season packed with injuries and emotionally- charged games. And while it seemed like they had just started to hit their stride in the past two games during the NCAA tournament, like the theme of the game last night, they just ran out of time. Sophomore Tral Blanks fought hard in the midfield, but Michigan lost to Indiana in the second round of the NCAA tournament. In Its short five-year history, the men's soccer team is 0-5 against the Big Ten rival. Stickers wi By James V. Dowd NOVEMBER 8, 2004 Daily Sports Writer EVANSTON - Having played a grueling regu- lar season during which any secret weapons were forced out into the open, the Big Ten Tournament is a time when teams are forced to rely purely on heart and talent. All seven teams had played w u each other by the time they reached the Leonard B. Thomas Sports Complex , so there were no dark horses to be revealed. In the end, top-seeded Michigan pre- vailed, using lessons learned from its sole confer- ence loss at Iowa City to defeat the second-seeded Hawkeyes 3-2 in the tournament final. "There weren't too many surprises out there," Iowa coach Tracey Griesbaum said. "It was just a matter of who would capitalize on them. In the first game of the year there might be surprises, but at this point we have played them once and seen them play other times. It's just a matter of execution." Iowa capitalized early, taking a-lead when Deb- bie Birrell put one past Michigan goalkeeper Beth Riley. Hawkeyes forward Sarah Dawson worked the ball deep into the circle and shot. Birrell found the rebound amongst heavy traffic in front of the Michi- gan goal and tipped it past Riley. Though her team fell behind early, Riley had confidence that her defense would help her keep the game within reach. n Big Ten tournament "I've got the best defender in the Big Ten year against Iowa. (junior Lori Hillman) right in front of me," Riley After trailing 3-0 at halftime of their regular- said of Hillman, the tournament's most valuable season meeting, the Hawkeyes stormed back for a player. "I'm pretty confident with her, and every- 4-3 overtime win. Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz one else on the team, that it's not even going to was confident that there would be no repeat of the get back to me." collapse at Iowa City. The teams continued to battle in the midfield "I don't know about the players, but me, I was and Michigan caught a break when it was awarded comfortable and confident," Pankratz said. "(My a penalty corner 27 minutes into the match. After mind) didn't go back to (Iowa City) at all. We did a sophomore Kara Lentz put the ball into play, Jes- little bit better at time management of the clock. We sica Blake took a shot from the left side, but Iowa made some changes and learned some things from goalkeeper Barb Weinberg turned it aside. Lentz that loss at Iowa City. So it was nice to see that the was waiting in the corner and tried again to put it team grew and learned from previous games." in, but Weinberg again got a piece of it. This time, Hillman felt the pressure that comes with a however, Wolverines' forward Katie Morris was one-goal lead, but had faith in herself and her waiting on the doorstep and lifted the ball into the teammates. top right corner of the net - her third goal of the "It's nerve-wracking," Hillman said. "But I have weekend - tying the game at one. confidence in all of my teammates. I know that Just before halftime, Michigan took its first they are going to do all that they can to keep the lead when sophomore Mary Fox tapped in another ball up there." rebound. Lentz again took a shot from the corner, The win gave all but two of the Wolverines their but after the ball made it past Weinberg, it clipped first conference tournament victory. Only fifth- the post and bounced out to a wide-open Fox. year seniors Kate Dillon and Molly Maloney were While Michigan's defense continued to hold around for Michigan's last win in 2000. Pankratz strong in the early parts of the second half, the was thrilled for her departing seniors who had fall- offense became stagnant. Once again, a penal- en short several seasons in a row. ty corner was the spark Michigan needed, and "It is a hard tournament," Pankratz said. "It has Blake bounced a shot off of an Iowa defender kind of escaped us for the last four seasons, so I am and into the net. really happy for (the departing seniors)." Though Iowa managed to pull within one just five With the win, the Wolverines earned an automat- minutes later, the Michigan defense took control of ic berth in the NCAA Tournament, where they lost the match, refusing to collapse as it did earlier in the to Michigan State in the second round. JOEL FRIEDMAN/Daily Junior defender Lori Hillman was named most valuable player of the Big Ten Tournament. &I Hockey Band The tradition continues... C' Ya there! Rehearsals will be on Thursdays beginning at 7:30 PM M '.. . Men's Basketball Band Be a part of the Amaker Era... On the road to victory with the Men's Basketball Band. Rehearsals will be on Tuesdays beginning at 7:00 PM Auditions will be held at Revelli Hall Sunday, September 18, 2005 through Wednesday, September 21, 2005 Audition will include scales and sight reading. 7 To schedule a time for an audition Woren's seb Band please call 764-0582. 6 I