* The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com September 8, 2009 - 7B Tauro leads Michigan in season opener Junior defender Jackie Carron scored two goals and tallied three assists on the weekend, leading Michigan to a 4-1 win over Eastern Michigan. Carron brings leadership to young Wolverine ine Jack constan Two women middle tion. N Ryan w But ker wit defense The ed all 1 freshm last sea of Grei arrival. unior anchors "It's critical," Ryan said of Car- ron's presence on defense. "Jackie's back line for the one player that can cover for everybody else. And she can cover xperienced 'NI for all three other (defensive) posi- tions on the field. Just having a By TIM ROHAN player like her gives you that sense Daily Sports Writer of security that it's like if somebody makes a mistake, she's going to be ie Carron was the one clear there to cover it up." at. The security that Carron brings years ago, the Michigan her coach could be necessary for an 's soccer team was in the inexperienced Michigan team this of a major coaching transi- fall. The Wolverines have started ew Wolverine coach Greg the season slow out of the gate with as making changes. a 3-3 record, but Carron is already one thing he didn't tin- making her mark on the team th was starting Carron on offensively. . And he still won't now. In Michigan's 4-3 win over Cen- Rochester Hills native start- tral Michigan on Sept. 3, Carron 8 games she played in her tallied one goal and one assist. Ryan an year, started another 19 also has the junior quad-captain son and has been a stalwart taking free kicks and corner kicks g Ryan's defense since his for the team - and it was off a cor- ner kick that she was able to loft the ball into the back of the net for her first goal of the season. Carron added another goal and two assists in the Wolverine's win over Eastern Michigan Sunday. She had one career goal entering the season. "(Ryan has) just pushed me to be best that I can," Carron said of her coach's impact. "Every day, he works on something new, and I work at itcuntil I get it right." Ryan also thinks Carron canplay professionally and for the national team. He pushed her to play for the top women's club team in the coun- try this summer, the Pali Blues. With Carron's help, they won the United Soccer Leagues' W-League championship. Carron's potential to play profes- sionally is something Ryan thinks will.bring girls to Michigan's soccer program. He pointed to the fact that five of next year's recruits are cur- squad rently playing atthe youth or senior national team level. Their sights are set on college and beyond. "A lot ofkids are comingto Mich- igan now because they wantto play in the pros," Ryan said. "They want to come here because they want to have a coach and a coaching staff that has international experience." While Ryan is developing the young talent he has at Michigan, Carron is roaming the field as the last line of defense for the Wolver- ines. And as the team continue to have growing pains, Carron can be a calming force on the team. "I just don't know what we would do without Jackie Carron, and I know about 26 other girls over there that feel the same way," Ryan said. Runners sweep top three spots in Michigan Open By KEVIN RAFTERY For the Daily Last week, the Michigan wom- en's cross country team returned to Ann Arbor from a grueling week of camp. Less than 24 hours later, the Wolverines competed against Eastern Michigan for their first meet of the year in the 5,000-meter Michigan Open at Hudson Mills Metropark in Dexter. But Michigan showed few signs of fatigue as eight runners finished in the top 10. Junior Danielle Tauro led the pack, finishing first with a time of 18:00.5. Tauro, who will be counted on as the Wolverines' leader this year, said that it was more important for her team to gain experience than to finish with impressive times. "This meet is definitely low- key," Tauro said through the Ath- letic Department. "We got back yesterday, and then it was move-in. So with this meet, our top prior- ity isn't really to run fast, it's more about getting a race under our belt before the big meets get going." Taura's performance was closely followed by freshmen Jillian Smith (t8:11.4) and Raitlyn Patterson (18:11.8), who finished second and third, respectively. The freshmen will be a big part of Michigan's suc- cess this year, since 16 of 27 athletes on the Wolverines' roster are fresh- men. Michigan Coach Mike McGuire was happy with his team's perfor- mance, particularly the freshmen. "We've got a good group," he said. "We're in a position this year where we're going to need help from the freshmen. They're defi- nitely going to be called upon, and I think they'll be equal to the chal- lenge." It was a promising start for the Wolverines, who will look to build on that in preparation for the Spar- tan Invitational on Sept. 18. "We've established the bench- mark," McGuire said, "and we've just got to get better from here." I I CLEAN SWEEPS OF MICHIGAN KEEP THE FIRE FROM STARTING THE YOU WANT ONE YOU DON'T. .....Have your chimney cleaned today and take advantage for Fall savings. Call our office today for an aplpointment. 734468-4780 or 800-42843741 Have your chimney cleaned and inspected by a Certified sweep Save $20.0 on chimney cleaning thru August 31st TH ANKU TO: MERYL HULTENG ELENA BELAYA (WHO DOUBLED AS LAYOUT MANAGER) MICHAL SCBOIENBDER MATTIHEW TIHOMPSON DIANA MENDELSON GJON JUNCAJ FOR WORKING HARD THIS SUMMER AS ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES! Here's how... 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