The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com November 5, 2007
A- HEAD OF STATE
Dejavu:
No title
for Blue
again
By NICOLE AUERBACH
Daily Sports Writer
Last year, the Michigan field
hockey team lost to Iowa in the
first
round IOWA 4
of the MICHIGAN 1
Big Ten
Championships. Iowa went on to
win the whole thing.
This year, much to Michigan's
disappointment, the results ended
up eerily similar. Exceptithis time,
the Wolverines lost in the finals.
No. 5 Michigan fell to No. 6
Iowa, 4-1, yesterday in the final
of the Big Ten Championships in
Columbus.
But the Wolverines say the lop-
sided score was misleading.
"We played toe-to-toe with
Iowa the entire first half," Michi-
gan coach Nancy Cox said. "We
had many more opportunities
to finish than they did. We just
couldn't finish today, and they
could."
The Hawkeyes scored goals in
the 17th and 22nd minutes to take
an early 2-0 lead into halftime.
Michigan came out in the see-
ond half with constant offensive
pressure, taking two penalty cor-
ners and four low shots on Iowa
goalkeeper Lisa Munley in the
first 10 minutes of the half.
Iowa responded with a loose-
ball goal in the 46th minute,
but Michigan struck back with
its only goal four minutes later.
Senior forward Ashley Lenning-
ton scored off a reboundin front
of the net.
The Wolverines didn't give up,
hut the Hawkeyes never relented.
Iowa scored an insurance goal
with fewer than two minutes left
in the game to seal the victory.
As the Big Ten regular season
champion, Michigan earned a
bye and didn't play its first game
until the semifinal round, a 3-2
overtime win over Penn State on
Friday.
After going 3-for-4 on penalty
corners in 'the semifinal game,
Michigan was unsuccessful on all
of its penalty corners in the final.
"Our shots just weren't falling,"
senior Kristen Tiner said. "Iowa
has a really solid corner defense.
We just didn't execute well."
In Friday's semifinal, Michigan
defeated Penn State in a defensive
See BIG TENS, Page 3B
Senior quarterback Chad Henne threw for a school-record tying four touchdowns in Saturday's comeback win at Michigan State.
Defense answers call against No big blue ox, but Henne comes
Big Ten's top tandem through once again
By DANIEL BROMWICH
Daily Sports Editor
EAST LANSING - Prior to Saturday's
game against Michigan State, much of
the talk centered on the Spartans' vaunt-
ed ground attack - the best in the con-
ference, averaging more than 210 yards
per game.
Pundits questioned whether Michi-
gan's run defense could hold up against
the tandem of Jehuu Caulcrick (thun-
der) and Javon Ringer (lightning) after
five straight weeks against spread-based
teams.
After the first half Saturday, those
questions appeared answered. The
Wolverines held Michigan State to just
29 rushing yards (not counting sacks)
before halftime, and facing a 14-3 deficit,
it looked as if the Spartans would have to
take to the air.
But after a Michigan three-and-out to
open the half, Michigan State pounded
the Wolverines. And pounded them and
pounded them and pounded them. Of
the 14 plays the Spartans ran on the 75-
yard drive that culminated with a one-
yard Caulcrick touchdown, 13 were runs.
Michigan State converted all three of the
third downs it faced on the drive, all with
short Caulcrick runs.
"I think that we just kind of relaxed a
little bit," defensive end Brandon Graham
said. "We had to get our heads together.
We got a lead, and everybody just kind of
died down a little bit. (Michigan State)
See DEFENSE, Page SB
EAST LANSING -
n a game in which the two teams
competed for a
trophy named
after a legendary
myth, one Wolver-
ine wrote his own
real-life tall tale.
There was the
shoulder injury.,
The ankle injury.
The drive. The JACK
second drive. The
audible. And the HERMAN
pass. On Top
Had just one
happened in
Michigan's 28-24
comeback win over its intrastate rival, it
would have been remembered. A combi-
nation like that, though,.will be hard to
ever forget.
"If you wantto define courage, one
way to do it is to mention (Michigan
quarterback Chad) Henne," Michigan
coach Lloyd Carr said. Later lie added:
"Every quarterback I've had since I
started as a head coach, (they've been)
tough guys, smart guys. But there isn't
anybody tougher than Henne."
Certainly not during this season - or
during the second half of the fourth
quarter of Saturday's game.
Early on, Henne overthrew receivers,
his passes lacked zip and he even tossed
an interception.
But with 7:35 left, it no longer seemed
See HERMAN, Page 5B
Third-period comebacks
erase second-period woes
By4COURTNEY RATKOWIAK
Daily Sports Writer
OMAHA - The Wolverines rallied to win
twice this weekend.
But without los-
ing leads in the MICHIGAN 6
second period of UNO 3
both games, they
wouldn't have had MICHIGAN 3
to come back in the UNO 2
first place.
Despite being outshot 29-10 and allow-
ing four of Nebraska-Omaha's five goals in
the middle frames combined, No. 3 Michi-
gan extended its win streak to six games by
defeatingNebraska-Omaha 6-3 on Friday and
3-2 on Saturday at the Qwest Center.
Michigan (4-0 CCHA, 7-1 overall) came
back from a 2-1 deficit after 40 minutes on
Friday with a five-goal third period. The
comeback started with captain Kevin Porter's
on-target slapshot from the point on the first
shift of the period. Less than three minutes
later, senior Chad Kolarik's goal gave the
Wolverines a 3-2 lead.
After another Maverick goal tied the score
at three, sophomore defenseman Steve Kamp-
fer put Michigan aheaei for good 7:24 into the
third period.
Friday's game was the first in which one
of the Wolverines' 12 freshmen did not score
a goal, and Porter notched his first hat trick
since last November's series against Nebras-
ka-Omaha (0-4,1-4). Senior leadership proved
to be the difference in a game that Michigan
coach Red Berenson said his team was "for-
tunate" to win.
"(Kolarik and I) are the two old guys, and
we're supposed to be the .top guys," Porter
said. "We had to step up, and I think we did
today."
After Friday's slow first period and sloppy
second period, the Wolverines knewthat they
had tocome out strong on Saturday.
See MAVERICKS, Page 6B
7-1? Who
r would've
thought?
OMAHA -
W~hen Michigan's hockey
schedule was released
in early June, itcaused
alot of wide eyes.
With four
games against
NCAA Tourna-
ment teams
from last sea-
son, along with
four conference
road games in
the first four / .
A weeks;low NATE
hopes for the NA
early season SANDALS
were under- Enter
standable.
Calling the Sandman
JEN NLFER K RONDaly opening stretch
Senior Kevin Porter notched four goals on the weekend, including a hat trick Friday night, to propel challenging would have been an
Michigan to a weekend sweep at Nebraska-Omaha. He leads the nation in goals See SANDALS, Page 6B