2B - September 29, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Strong defense
not enough in
Big Ten openers
0
Coach Ryan's return
to Big Ten spoiled by
lack of offense
By JACK FERNBACHER
For The Daily
CANTON - Michigan coach
Greg Ryan returned to Big Ten
play this weekend for the first
time since he coached Wisconsin
in 1993, and it.looked like there
was still some rust to shake off.
The Michigan women's soccer
team didn't muster a single goal
the entire weekend.
"For me, the only thing dif-
ferent is the style of play," R'yan
said. "It's a very physical and hard
game - it's more physical than
finesse. For me, tonight was a
learning experience."
Michigan (0-1-1 Big Ten, 3-5-3
overall) tied Iowa Friday night
0-0 in double overtime and lost
1-0 to Minnesota Sunday after-
noon at Plymouth-Canton High
School.
Against the Gophers, the
Wolverines played impressive
defense, but the offense couldn't
connect on its opportunities.
Michigan's best scoring chance
came with five minutes left in the
game when sophomore Amanda
Bowery beat a Minnesota defend-
er, leaving her alone with the
goalkeeper, who charged into her
to block the shot.
"In the first half, we weren't
able to control theball up front, so
we weren't able to attack," Ryan
said. "The backs played great, but
they were outnumbered the entire
half. They had shots because we
couldn't control the ball.'
The Gophers' (1-1-0, 11-1-0)
lone score came in the 22nd min-
ute with a shot from senior Kait-
lin Wagner, who curved the ball
from the right side outside of the
box into the left post.
Minnesota outshot Michigan
15-6 in the match.
On Friday, the Wolverine
defense held the Hawkeyes (0-1-
1, 5-5-1) scoreless for 110 minutes,
but the offensive performance
was just as lackluster in Michi-
gan's third consecutive overtime
game.
Freshman Natalie Horner had
the best opportunities to score
with two shots from inside the
box, but was unable to connect.
"We had great chances right in
front of the goal, but we aren't hit-
ting the target," Ryan said. "The
defense is playing great - they
aren't giving up anything."
Michigan limited the goals
scored against them by forcing its
opponents into taking shots from
outside the box. And the chances
that did get past the defense,
senior goalkeeper Madison Gates
did a great job stopping.
"I have never seen a more
improved group of players in my
life," Ryan said of the defensive
unit. "They are learning how to
playas a group. They didn'tunder-
stand howto play as agroup atthe
beginning of the season, but just
knew how to play individually.
Right now, Madison (Gates), the
back four and the two midfield-
era are doing a fantastic job of
closing down the other team's
chances."
CLIF REEDER/Daily
Michigan coach Greg Ryan
didn't register a win in his first
weekend back after a 15-year
hiatus from Big Ten coaching.
0
6
CLIF REEDER/Daily
Senior Mike Holody converted on a late penalty kick to send Michigan into overtime against Wisconsion. The game ended in a tie after two extra periods.
,Holody's ast-mnmute goal
p Savoid oss on rodr
0
Senior captain's
penalty kick forces
tie in conference
opener
By EMILY FREILICH
For the Daily
With just 24 seconds remaining
in regulation against Wisconsin,
the Michigan men's soccer team
was down one goal and about to
start the Big Ten season 0-1.
But junior forward Mauro
Fuzetti, receiving a pass from
junior forward Peri Marosevic,
was high tackled from behind by a
Wisconsin defender while taking a
potentially game-tying shot. Now,
the Wolverines had a shot, with a
penalty kick and a chance to tie
the Badgers..
Senior Mike Holody was chosen
to take the shot which. exploded
into the left side of the net, soaring
past the diving Wisconsin goalie.
The goal tied the ganie at one, and
ultimately gave Michigan (0-0-1
Big Ten, 5-2-2 overall) key confer-
ence points.
"It looked like we ripped the
heart out of them with that goal,"
Michigan coach Steve Burns said.
Though Michigan fought hard
against Wisconsin (0-1-1, 4-2-2)
for 110 minutes, Burns was not sat-
isfied leaving Madison tied.
"We're looking for wins in the
Big Ten," Burns said. "So truly we
are disappointed."
The Badgers struck early, scor-
ing on a corner kick 27 minutes
into the game. The kick ricocheted
off traffic in the box and spun to
the left of the goal.
The Michigan defense couldn't
clear the ball, and Wisconsin mid-
fielder Kenny Dix converted.
In the second half, the Wolver-
ines came out aggressively and
loaded their offense to try to get
on the scoreboard.
"We wanted to force [them] to
play without a rhythm," Burns
said. "We had to chase the game
at that point. Going into the first
overtime, Wisconsin really looked
like they wanted to tie."
But the game was still tied after
10 minutes, requiring a second
overtime for the exhausted teams.
"We continued to tell our guys
that [the win] was there for the
taking," Burns said. "Their fitness
was paying off and they should
continue to press. We didn't come
to Wisconsin to get a tie. We came
to get a win, and we continued to
go after it."
Michigan had a chance to score
two minutes into the second over-
time. Senior forward Jake Stacy
received a pass from the left side
of the field behind the Badger
defense. Stacy took a powerful
shot on goal, but the Wisconsin
goalie was there to knock it away.
The ball was knocked around until
the Badger defense successfully
cleared it, ending the Wolverines'
hopes for an overtime win.
"Both teams looking into the
coaches' eyes at the end of the
game had looks of disappointment
on their faces," Burns said.
But if it weren't for Holody's late
game-tying goal, the Wolverines
would have been the only ones dis-
appointed.
Club sailors challeige
easteril varsity powers
By ALEX PROSPERI
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan club sailing team
has the perfect escape from the
rigors of school.
"I look forward, every Tuesday
and Thursday, to get out on the
water," Michigan junior and club
sailor Alex Bogatko said. "You
have school all day, then you get to
go sailing."
Members of the Michigan sail-
ing team travel to Dexter two to
three times a week to practice for
four hours on Baseline Lake. And
though members of the sailing
team are fortunate to sail several
times per week after a long day of
class, the team has had plenty of
success.
Michigan is consistently one of
the top-five teams in the Midwest
Collegiate SailingAssociation, and
part of the reason for the team's
repeated success is its difficult
out-of-conference schedule. The
MCSA is one of seven sub-con-
ferences in the Inter-Collegiate
Sailing Association of America,
and Michigan often travels east
to compete against top teams like
Harvard, Yale and Saint Mary's.
"When you go out east it's a
different story,- because they're
all varsity sports," Bogatko said.
"They have coaches, team meet-
ings and practices every day.
These kids are really competi-
tive."
The 40-man team competes
in the MCSA along with 29 other
teams from across the country.
Each weekend, the team sends six
sailors to as many as three regattas
while using a variety of dinghies
on the water, mostly 420s but also
FJ's and Lasers. With more bodies
than spots available, the executive
board, which consists of eight of
the move devoted Michigan sail-
ors, decides who travels based on
the amount of time the sailor has
committed to the team and their
success in practice. The sailors
who commit the most time and
energy to the team and best prove
themselves in practice will be
rewarded by traveling to Nation-
als.
"How much time you put into
it is how much you get out of it,"
Bogatko said.
Though the team doesn't have
an official recruitment like the
varsity teams, competing requires
a hefty time commitment. Aside
from the eightto 12 hours of prac-
tice per week, each weekend, the
team travels Friday night for its
competition and doesn't return
until Sunday morning..
The fact that the eastern teams
recruit their sailors is the rea-
son why Michigan has difficulty
matching up with them. So in
order to stay competitive on the
national level, Michigan challeng-
es itself in regattas against those
top teams. The Wolverines made
the trip two weekends ago, when
they set out to New York to face
some of the top teams in the coun-
try. Michigan was the lone MCSA
team, and its conference domi-
nance didn't show on the national
stage, as Michigan finished last
out of the 20 teams.
But regardless of the results
against national competition,
Bogatko and the rest of the sailors
have a good time.
"It still is pretty competitive,
but we all have a good time,"
Bogatko said. "You get out on the
water and you sail all day, but once
you get out the water, everyone's
all friends."
Wolverines upset by Spartans for first loss
No.21 Michigan
struggles with
gameplan as 13-match
win streak is snapped
By KATHERINE SHER
For theDaily
EAST LANSING - The Michigan
volleyball team had a great start,
but all good things must come to an
end.
After starting the season with a
13-game win streak, No. 21 Michi-
gan lost 3-1 at Michigan State Sat-
urday in front of a record-setting
crowd of 5,335 fans. It was the Wol-
verines' first loss of the season.
The Spartans took control early
and never let up, winning the first
set 25-19.
"I thought State played outstand-
ing and they did everything that
we wanted to do," Michigan coach
Mark Rosen said. "That's frustrat-
ing. I think we knew what they
were goingto do, and I think we had
plans of what we wanted to do to try
and counter what their style is, and
we didn't execute."
The Wolverines showed signs of
life during the second set. Junior
right-side hitter Megan Bower tal-
lied seven kills and sophomore set-
ter Lexi Zimmerman registered
nine assists and five digs to silence
the near-capacity crowd. Michigan
won the set 25-15 to tie the match.
"I thought we got our game back
to our game plan (during the second
set)," Rosen said. "We served tough,
we passed much better and we sided
out consistently."
I
I
Junior Megan Bower collected seven kills in the second set against Michigan State on Saturday.
The success, however, was short-
lived. Coming out of the locker
room, the Wolverines (1-1 Big Ten,
13-1 Overall) had high hopes to pull
ahead of the Spartans, but noth-
ing seemed to work. Michigan
State (2-0, 10-3) rallied back after
the break to take a close third set
25-21 and get the crowd back in the
match.
"Once they were being successful
we just got frustrated," Rosen said.
"As an athlete or a coach those are
just the most frustrating situations,
because you feel somewhat helpless
and someone who is competitive
doesn't want to feel helpless."
The fourth set had a promising
start, with the Wolverines holding
close at 9-9, but a series of attack-
ing errors and a service ace from
Spartan sophomore libero Allyson
Karaba helped Michigan State win
16 of the last 22 points.
"We didn't side out well," Rosen
said. "We didn't pass the ball well,
so we couldn't side out well on the
offense, and when we got back to
serve, we served, I thought, very
soft and let them put in a system we
couldn't defend."
TheSpartans won the fourth and
final set 25-15 for a 3-1 victory over .
the Wolverines.
The firsftloss of a season is always
tough, especially when it comes at
the hands of a rival.
"They're stinging, but in some
ways that's a good thing, because
we didn't play very well," Rosen
said. "We shouldn't walk out feeling
very good about it. (We've) got to
make sure that feeling motivates us
so hopefully, it doesn't happen next
time."