6B - Monday, September 10, 2007

The M

Eagles' defense
too much 'M'

Robles helps Mi
in return to Wes

By CHRIS MESZAROS
Daily Sports Writer
With a 1-0 lead, the Marquette wom-
en's soccer team was feeling generous.
Michigan just couldn't capitalize.
As Marquette goalkeeper Laura Boyer
took possession of the ball at the side of
the penalty box, Michigan senior Katie
Bohard swooped in and swiped it from
her.
"It was very exciting to get (the ball)
away from her and get her to stop being
quite so cocky," Bohard said with a smile.
But Michigan's luck soon ran out.
Just as quickly as Bohard stole the ball,
the Marquette defense came to the aid of
its goalkeeper, clearing away Michigan
freshman Jill Ferree's redirection attempt
and dodging the Wolverines' best scoring
chance of the day in a 2-0 Marquette win.
"It was really frustrating when we
weren't able to put it away because it
would have been a complete momentum
changer," Bohard said. "We probably
could have come back and got another
one after that."
The situation was eerily reminiscent
of Michigan's play on Sunday, allowing
Marquette to control possession of the
ball at U-M Soccer Field.
Marquette (4-0) applied constant pres-
sure to the Michigan defense throughout
the first half, onlyto be thwarted by goal-
keeper Madison Gates. The junior made
her best save off a high shot, leaping to tip
the attempt over the Michigan goal.
RUBGY
From page 3B
chance to offer you a job. It's that
one step in the door. It's always
hard for college kids to (step
across) into the working world."
That type of social networking
doesn't just exist between Michi-
gan's past and present.
University life is often billed
as the quintessential transition
into adulthood. At a campus with
more than 25,000 undergrads,
it's easy to see oneself as a pan
fish in Lake Huron. But for Dodd,
being a collegiate athlete has
helped solidify his identity.
"Rugby is something you look
forward to every day," Dodd
said. "It's by far the best sport
I've ever played, and I think it's
the best sport that there is. You
play rugby, and you meet another
rugby guy out in the world, and
you automatically have a friend.
It's definitely helped me get in
touch with people who had simi-
lar interests to me. Otherwise, I
think I would be somewhat lost
in college."
SPLIT
From page 1B

"She has come up absolutely huge for
us," Bohard said. " She's so confident and
makes the big and smaller saves. She's so
consistent so we can always know that
even if we break down she's there with
her best."
Michigan (1-1-1) came into the second
half looking re-energized, controlling the
ball in the Marquette end in what looked
like a whole new match.
But the Wolverines' momentum evapo-
rated quickly, when Marquette's Ashley
Bares' shot soared past the sprawling
arms of Gates, notching the first goal of
the game at the 68 minute mark.
"It's really frustrating (to lose) because
this is a team we compete with in our
region that is ranked right above us,"
Bohard said. "It's hard to come out and
play as hard as we did, especially after our
big win on Friday and come up short."
The Wolverines' late-game despera-
tion landed them several promising scor-
ing chances, including Bohard's. But with
the seconds ticking down, Marquette's
Christy Zwolski juked past Gates near
midfield and added an empty net tally.
Michigan coach Debbie Rademacher
praised the aggressive play of Marquette
while also offering advice for her players.
"They outmatched us," Rademacher
said. "They were very quick and aggres-
sive and beat us to the ball. We have a lot
of new and young players and you've got
to realize you've got to play with the same
energy and intensity every game."
The loss did not completely ruin Mich-

By COURTNEY RATKOWIAK
Daily Sports Writer
Julian Robles had rehearsed this moment.
He would score his first career goal in
front of his family and friends and karate-
kick the corner flag in celebration.
But when it actually happened, instinct
took over.
In the 51st minute of Friday's game against
Cal State-Northridge at Titan Stadium in
Fullerton, Calif., the sophomore defenseman
from Los Angeles headed a corner kick from
junior forward Jake Stacy to score Michi-
gan's first goal. Running wildly in celebra-
tion, Robles slid into the sideline and was
mobbed by his teammates.
So much for planning ahead.
"He just absolutely forgot what he wanted
to do," Michigan coach Steve Burns said.
"Obviously, even the best-laid plans go
awry."
Robles's goal helped the Wolverines defeat
the Matadors, 2-1, a victorythat made Michi-
gan 3-0 for the first time in three years.
The teams combined for just five shots in
the scoreless first half, but both squads' offen-
sive production increased after Robles' goal.
Stacy scored on a breakaway in the 66th min-
ute to put the Wolverines up two. Cal State-
Northridge (1-1) tallied its first goalin the 79th
minute and controlled the ball for much of the
last 10 minutes butcouldn't force overtime.
"In the first half, we really kept the ball
going forward," junior goalkeeper Patrick
Sperry said. "We had some chances, and we
knew the goals were coming. The second
half was more of a battle. They came after us

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ard the rest of the game, and it was a
us to buckle down."
Wolverines don't begin Big Ten play
more weeks, but Burns said Friday
ontest was similar to a conference
ecause of the Matadors' talent and
erformance in past seasons.
State-) Northridge is ateamwe knew
tg to play us like a Big Ten opponent
s, go toe-to-toe and try to force you
town physically," he said. "We made
playersawould play the way they will
vember in East Lansing (for the Big
rnament), and we did a great job of
also said that winning early season,
ference games against consistent
ontenders like the Matadors will
Michigan's chances for an at-large
ent bid at the end of the season.
Volverines played last night at10p.m.
Cal State-Fullerton in the second
their West Coast trip.
gan will play Kentucky at home on
continuing a series that has ended
Wolverine overtime wins in three
cluding last year's upset against the
h-ranked Wildcats.
starting the season with three
wins, the Wolverines believe they're
confidence intheir offense.
kes a lot of pressure off the defense
our offense is scoring goals, and
eeping the ball and playing intelli-
Sperry said. "The offense can take
without worrying about rushing
forcing chances. It's all really com-
ther well."

Freshman Amanda Bowery heads the ball dur-
ng a 2-0 loss to Marquette on Sunday.
igan's weekend. Besides a 30-minute
weather delay, the Wolverines dictated
play against the Cincinnati Bearcats in a
3-0 win, its first of the season.
The two games this weekend couldn't
have been less alike.
The Wolverines controlled possession
of the ball on Friday making easy work
for Gates, who wasn't tested the entire
game. Instead it was senior Emily Kalm-
bach and freshmen Amanda Bowery and
Stephanie Crawford who acted the hero,
scoringtheir first career goals against the
Bearcats.


up the field because we had
numerous three-on-one opportu-
nities but didn't pass the ball soon
enough and allowed their defend-
ers back in the play," Cox said
Michigan also failed to meet
their corner-conversion-rate goal
of25 percent. The team's lone goal
came 12 minutes into the game
with Belassi (two goals and two
assists on the weekend) nailing
the score from just inside the top
of the circle.
Despite the disappointment of
just missing upset opportunities,
Michigan is making significant
improvements as the Big Ten sea-
son approaches.
Before Friday's Old Dominion
game, the Wolverines had mus-
tered just one first-period goal
and 18 first-period shots in their
first four games.
They're a much more balanced
team now from half to half, which
was a goal of theirs this past week.
Michigan scored four first-period
goals off of 15 shots the past two
games. The team also tripled its
penalty corners on the season.
"We were sort of getting the
reputation of being a second-half
team," fifth-year senior co-cap-
tain Kristen Tiner said. "I think
this first half we came out and
matched them and came out
stronger than we have in other
games."
Belassi added: "We still have to
figure out how to finish and score
some goals before the other team
does, but other than that, I think
we're getting better at starting
from the get-go."

i
4

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