Friday September 22, 2006 sports.michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com SPORTSe lculgan 8A A Blue plays ,. 'kickballi m upset loss By Alex Prosperi For the Daily Wake-up calls are no fun. And this one wasn't any different. To many people's disbelief, the Michigan women's soccer team lost 2-1 to Oakland Uni- versity. No one in attendance would have thought twice about the final outcome after watching the first 15 minutes of play. The Wolverines absolutely dominated it. They attacked on offense, played tough defense and out-hustled the Golden Grizzlies. Michi- gan capped it off with an arching shot from senior captain Judy Coffman that found the top right corner of the goal. But it was obvious after that point that the game was beginning to shift. For the remaining 75 minutes, Oakland was the attacking team. Michigan's defense, which looked like a version of the steel curtain during those first 15 minutes, began to crumble. The Golden Grizzlies then took advantage of their opportunities, and goals in the 48th and 68th minutes put Oakland up for good. In the second half, Wolverine junior Melissa Dobbyn had two great opportunities to find the back of the net, but came up short on both tries. One of those shots hit the left post after slipping under the goalie. And with nearly 10 minutes to play, Coffman slipped her way through the Golden Grizzlies' defense but couldn't capitalize. The Wolverines (4-3-2) had the most scoring chances, but it was Oakland (3-6-0) who made the most of its limited opportunities. "We played well for the first 15 minutes," Varsity hopes to avoid slip-up against Badgers Senior Judy Coffman scored Michigan's lone goal in its 2-1 defeat to Oakland. Michigancoach Debbie Rademachersaid. "Then we just sat back and started playing kickball." Rademacher described this frustrating loss as a turning point in the season. A team can have a hard time bouncing back from these types of shocking defeats. But Rademacher is sure that this group of players is mature enough to bounce back the right way. And the Wolverines will not have much time to mope about this loss anyways. No. 9 Penn State is the next opponent on Michigan's sched- ule, in a game that serves as the Wolverines' conference opener. This game may be the big- gest of the season for the Michigan, which wants to avoid missing the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. "We are ready to start the Big Ten;' Radem- acher said. "We play Penn State, and how can you not be ready to play Penn State?" The Nittany Lions will be the third ranked opponent the Wolverines have faced this year. With a loss to No. 1 Notre Dame and a victory over No. 17 Arizona, a win over Penn State would put Michigan over .500 versus ranked opponents. Although the Nittany Lions are a highly skilled team, Coffman is confident that the team will be mentally ready. "Come tomorrow, it's a new day, and a new focus;' Coffman said. "We have to put this game behind us and look ahead to Penn State." Coffman made it clear that in order to beat Penn State, the team can't play the way it played tonight and must come out with more intensity. "This game is a reminder to respect our oppo- nent;' Coffman said. "And to not be satisfied with a 1-0 lead" The Wolverines will be ready to play the Nit- tany Lions come Sunday afternoon. And they will try to give Penn State a wake-up call of its own. By Stephanie Wright Daily Sports Editor Big wins tend to bring big let- downs. The Wolverines TomoR certainly notched a big victory last No.6'Mi Saturday when Noo they demolished Michigan then-No. 2 Notre Dame, 47-21, in Eps South Bend. Tomorrow No. 6 Michigan (3-0) will try to avoid the letdown when it kicks off its Big Ten schedule against Wisconsin. At Monday's press confer- ence, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said he has been prepar- ing his squad for this challenge since before the season started. Win or lose, Carr knew the Notre Dame game would be an emotional one for the Wolver- ines. If Michigan won, it would have pulled off the greatest upset of the young season. If the Wolverines lost, they would have to listen to another chorus of critics claiming the program isn't what it used to be. THE POWER TO TEXT FREELY WITH SPRINT. So Carr warned his players that they would need to work harder to regain their focus heading into their matchup with the Badgers, and the RW7M Wolverines seem to have heeded his ch.gan advice. n "We are definite- tdm ly focused," corner- back Morgan Trent said. "We have a lot to prove. (Wis- consin) beat us last year, and that is enough right there. We proved a lot on Saturday to the coun- try that we can do it, but we are still not there yet." Last season's 23-20 loss to the Badgers continues to loom large for the Wolverines. Michigan led 13-6 after three quarters before collapsing in the fourth. Wisconsin tailback Brian Calhoun rushed for 155 yards, including 111 in the sec- ond half, and helped keep the Badgers' offense on the field for more than 20 minutes after halftime. It was the first time in 24 years Michigan dropped its Big Ten opener. "Certainly every guy on our football team knows what hap- pened a year ago," Carr said. "We couldn't move the football, and we couldn't stop them. So we know what Wisconsin will bring." Not exactly. Although many of Wisconsin's key players are back, including quarterback John Stocco,a lot has changed for the Badgers (3-0) over the past year. Long-time coach Barry Alvarez gave up his coach- ing duties to work full-time as Wisconsin's athletic director. His replacement, Bret Bielema, is no stranger to the program: He spent two years as defensive coordinator. But the new coach is still adjusting to the demands of being a head coach in the Big Ten. On top of that, the Bad- gers feature a young offense. The most notable newcomer is freshman tailback P.J. Hill, who replaces the graduated Calhoun. A big, physical back, Hill has impressed in his first three games, amassing 415 yards and five touchdowns. But coming off an easy nonconfer- ence schedule, Hill, like many of Wisconsin's starters, hasn't been tested - yet. "Anybody that was a part of that game (against Michigan) a year ago needs to try to share that experience as much as pos- sible with our younger kids, the guys that haven't been in this type of situation or taken a snap against Michigan," Bielema said. Mix the Badgers' inexperi- ence with the national hype Michigan is currently receiving, and you get a recipe for distrac- tion capable of derailing even the most disciplined squad. But the Wolverines' desire to get revenge might be just enough to prevent that letdown. "(Wisconsin) beat us last year," right tackle Rueben Riley said. "We do not need any more motivation than that." I 4 I New ultra-thin Katana"" by Sanyo" Available in 3 colors Bailt-in camera BluetoothWtechnology Get 300 free text messages a month for 12 months. In-store exclusive offer for students wi da ai ' e T After 12 months, pay the regular rrithyf. Take pictures, listen to music and text, text, text8 on Sprint's slim new phones. These new phones start at $79.99 after instant savings and mail-in rebate. Requires activation on a new line of service and two-year subscriber agreement. Calling plans start at $29.99. Other monthly charges apply. See below." Requires two-year subscriber agreement E 1-800-Sprint-1 CLICK sprint.com to the nearest Sprint or Nextel retailer Operadores enaEsparol disponibles. MP3 Phone Fusic"' by LG' Built-in MP3 Player *iuetoothWtechsolog Built-i . 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