Thursda October 5, 2006 sports.michigandaily.cam sports@michigandaily.com Gabe iibigan Eaild SPORTrS Nowhere to run: Varsity run defense dominates By Stephanie Wright Daily Sports Editor When Alan Branch was told after Saturday's game that Min- nesota had gained more than 100 yards on the ground, the defen- sive tackle seemed a little disap- pointed. Branch's slightly dejected reac- tion begged the question: How many yards would have been acceptable? Eighty? Fifty? Ten? "We really do not want anyone to rush for any yards," sophomore Terrance Taylor said. It's an indication of just how dominant the Wolverines' run defense has been. Even after counting the 108 yards amassed by the Gophers, Michigan has allowed just 182 net rushing yards this season. The Wolverines' 36.4 yards per game average continues to be the best in Division I-A. Just as impressive, they haven't given up a rushing touchdown. Michigan's run-stopping abil- ity represents a major turnaround Michigan struggled to finish from last year's squad. The Wol- games, the Wolverines are con- verines finished last season with fident they can stop opposing the nation's 41st-ranked run offenses when it counts. defense, yielding an average of "Last year, we were afraid to get 137.3 yards per game. tired," Taylor said. "You can't be Perhaps even more significant, afraid to get tired, because when Michigan often gave up long runs you're afraid of getting tired, you in big games - contests it often won't run to the ball, you won't lost. give it your all. We have people So what changed? The Wolver- laying out and just out there gasp- ines offer a number of explanations ing for air." for their revitalization under first- Michigan's lone slip-up in this year coordinator Ron English. area came against the Gophers "Everybody knows what they're last Saturday. Minnesota running supposed to do," defensive end back Amir Pinnix gained 91 yards Rondell Biggs said. "Everyone on the ground. knows their gaps - simple things. The Wolverines let Pinnix and Everybody knows their jobs." the rest of the Gophers' backfield Said Branch: "Since I've been outside for big gains. here, I had never seen guys watch- And for the first time all season, ing film as much as they are this Michigan's defense let an oppo- year.... I think we are a smarter nent back in the game instead of defense." finishing it off. In addition to being better pre- Coach Lloyd Carr dismissed pared, Michigan's defenders have most of that criticism, limiting his improved their tackling. Espe- ire to the plays that led to Minne- cially in the Wolverines' first four sota scores. games, it was common to see as "No defense is going to be many as seven or eight defenders invincible," Carr said. "That's not around the ball. going to happen. Some people And unlike last season, when See DEFENSE, page 11A 4 MIKE HULSEBUS/Dail Alan Branch, David Harris and LaMarr Woodley have led the charge against the run this season. Offensive woes continue for Kickers By Andy Reid For the Daily With tired legs resulting from three con~ -N_______2 secutive dou- ble-overtime games prior to last night, the Michigan men's soccer team tried to upset No. 8 Notre Dame at U-M Soccer Field. Unfortunately for the Wolver- ines, they came up short. The 2-0 loss is part of a four- game winless streak, including two ties. The contest remained tight until Notre Dame junior forward Joseph Lapira got a pass down the middle from sophomore midfielder Cory Rellas and took it to the back of the net to put the Irish up, 1-0, at 29:31. He scored again at 72:40 after Michigan goalkeeper Pat- rick Sperry mishandled the ball. Lapira - who was tied nation- ally for goals scored coming into last night's contest - brought his tally up to 17 on the season. It was the fourth straight match in which Lapira notched two goals. Michigan (0-1-1 Big Ten, 5-6- 2 overall) continued to struggle offensively. Despite taking sixty shots in the last three games, including a team-record 34 against Detroit, the Wolverines haven't scored over that stretch. "We have been creating chanc- es for scores over the last couple of games, but we haven't been tak- ing advantage of them." Michigan head coach Steve Burns said. "We have to do a better job of recog- nizing our position on the field and knowing what to do in certain situations.' -i L Bla~tcklight Casino M Friday Oct 6 nd loo0r CO!7CERf "If you look at the stats, we were pretty even with Notre Dame. The difference was that they took advantage of what we gave them. We didn't take advantage of what they gave us." Michigan's three games leading up to the contest against the Irish (5-2-0, 8-3-2) were all double- overtime games. The Wolverines played a total of 223:29 min- utes over that time period, which forced Burns to change the team's routine. "We have to balanced things out because we've been playing so many minutes," Burns said. "We had to cut practices down to 90 minutes and start relying more heavily on the bench." Sophomore Daniel Grey is one of the players the team has been looking to for a boost. The mid- fielder made his first start of his See IRISH, page 11A ATXjLA T A dam OSS Mv'cigan Da y Ac r ount Exec e Sophomore Jake Stacey fires a shot duing last night's game against Notre Dame. The Wolverines lost 2-0. Tuura act as a brick wall for Blue 4 SCHOOL OF EDUCATION Graduate It lmpr Day SO~ 'i-61Eiinii Learn about our.. 0 kribg 14109 + variety af degree- MA D * 'eseare) aP'aCrans + areas of sludv + Profess ;-al a c r'oss m %4 15 eM but or , A *@fl80 sVtuaet 555 d Cgt)S Fa pl mI 11111fc tICfm I Kf80 S~y By Robert Kaitz Daily Sports Writer Four shutouts in 10 starts. A miniscule 0.45 goals against aver- age (GAA) that ranks first in the Big Ten. A dependable 5-2-1 record more than halfway through the season. Oh, and don't forget to throw in an assist on a game-win- ning overtime goal. Any believer in the clich6 that stats don't lie can only be impressed with the contributions of senior goalkeeper Megan Tuura to the Michigan women's soccer team. "She's a rock back there," Mich- igan coach Debbie Rademacher said. "It comes with all her experi- ence." Tuura, a four-year starter, arrived in Ann Arbor as part of a highly touted recruiting class. Four years later, that group is still thriving on the pitch. Redshirt junior defender Lindsey Cottrell, who joined the team along with Tuura, has used their time together to establish a unique rapport. "There is a great deal of confi- dence and comfort between one and another," Cottrell said. "We have an unspoken understanding." As a sweeper, Cottrell's job is to eisure that Tuura is tested as little a possible during the game. The fmiliarity between the duo has ben a significant factor in Mich- ipn's defensive success - Tuura hs yielded just four goals this sea- sO. Hailing from the suburbs of Alanta, Tuura attracted the atten- tin of numerous Southeastern Cnference and Atlantic Coast Cnference schools as well as Stan- fed, but in the end, she decided to ply for the Maize and Blue. "Michigan is a great school atdemically and athletically, and audemics were of paramount irportance to me," Tuura said. Much of her time in Ann Arbor ha been a success, but last season bth Tuura and the team saw some u:expected troubles. The team filed to qualify for the NCAA Turnament for the first time in seen years, and Tuura posted her worst numbers ever. She had a gals against average over 1.8 and reorded just one shutout during th season. 'We struggled defensively as a tem and showed a lot of inexperi- ene," Rademacher said about last yer's difficulties. See TUURA, page 11A " LBGTA Trivia Game "Salsa Dancing NOT A FAN OF CONTRIVED, SCHOOL-SPONSOFED TAILGATES? NEITHER ARE VE. So COME WATCH THE MICHIGAN DAILY PLAY THE STATE NEWS AT PALMER FIELD FRIDAY AT 5 P.M. HAPPENING I featuring Hard Lessons I REE ruAwh4D! A t'A ,i Y No i> 3. fgt.