0

2B - October 212009

2B - ctobr 21,2009The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

ZIPS
From page 1B
to junior forward Justin Meram
who streaked into the opposing box.
With a clear shot at the goal, Meram
was blanked by the keeper.
"He certainly could have put the
score at 1-0 for us," Michigan coach
Steve Burns said. "You score early,
and suddenly, the game takes on a
whole different flavor."
But the Wolverines didn't score
first, and the only flavor Burns's

NITTANY LIONS
SAIDALSALAH/Daily From page 1B
Redshirt freshman Brandon Smith crushes the Hornet punter as heblocks the kick, It turned into a Michigan touchdown.

team would taste for the remainder
of the contest would be sour. The
Wolverines allowed three goals ina
five-minute span and trailed 3-0 at
halftime. Meram netted Michigan's
only goal in the 48th minute, but the
Zips quickly quelled any hopes for a
comeback by scoring on the ensuing
possession.
While the Zips joined their
rowdy fans at the edge of the field to
celebrate their 14th consecutive vic-
tory, Michigan players circled their
disgruntled coach. Frustrated, they
shook their heads as they reflected
hitting errors.
One of the biggest improve-
ments from last year may have
been the Wolverines' .191 attack
percentage.
With that, Michigan showed it
could compete against the nation's
best. Rosen's team responded to
a challenge but came up a punch
short of defeating Penn State.
"(Friday) night was a huge turn-
ing point for us, just in terms of
the Big Ten," sophomore middle
blocker Courtney Fletcher said.
"Basically, we're just going to go
out and treat everyone with respect
and we're goingto play hard. We're
going to stay together - we're a
close team - we just want to stay
together in every set and take it to
whoever we play."
The following night, Michigan

on the woes of the game. The Wol-
verines had not been so handilyout-
played since a humbling 5-0 loss to
Notre Dame in the season opener
back on Sept. 1.
They responded to that defeat
with seven straightwins.
"Sometimes a thorough ass-kick-
ing cleanses your soul," Burns said.
"And sometimes that's what your
team needs. I think we'll be a team
that responds to that because now
you get to pay attention to some of
the little details that slip away from
you."
squared off against Ohio State.
After the Buckeyes (3-5, 15-6)
defeated the Wolverines in the first
set, Michigan responded by win-
ning the next three sets to salvage
the weekend split.
Michigan had four players with
double-figure kills. Sophomore
right side Alex Hunt led the offen-
sive attack with 11, while junior
setter Lexi Zimmerman notched 37
assists in the winning effort.
"Ohio State was good coming out
of the gate early," Rosen said. "We
competed well tonight. Coming
off (Friday) night's match - such
an emotional and physical match
- you kind of wonder if (the team)
is going to have the emotional and
physical energy to come in and
really getafter it. I was pleased that
they did."

No more FCS teams in
the Big House, please

the Nittany Lions in Ann Arbor, it
lost in three straight dismal sets.
The Wolverines shot at a mediocre
.144 offensive clip, while giving up
a.471 attack percentage.
And while Michigan didn't grab
a 'W' against Penn State (8-0,20-0)
this weekend, it performed well
by limiting the amount of passing
errors and servingextremely tough,
which forced the Nittany Lions to
set behind the 10-foot line.
Setting in front of the 10-foot line
makes it a little easier for a setter
and a hitter to connect. But beyond
the line makes it more difficult for
a team to set the ball, and there's a
stronger likelihood for passing or

T he Delaware State Hor- example of the hypocrisy of col-
nets, seconds after losing lege sports?
63-6 to Michigan, trotted College football is, after all,
out to midfield in their ill-fitting about winning - not about
Riddell jerseys, some with smiles money - right? Well, the Hor-
on their faces. Two players met at nets' payday was apparently
the corner of the block 'M' to say worth two games. Not only did
a quick "good game.". they get spanked by Michigan,
One had . but they had to forfeit a Mid-
handwarmers, . Eastern Athletic Conference
a muff and a game against North Carolina
heat-trapping A&T to do it.
Under Armour Delaware State head coach Al
shirt. The other Levan said after the game that
was rubbing his the forfeit wasn't planned and
hands quickly ANDY that he would have never sched-
over his forearms uled the Michigan game if he
to try and stay REID knew it would have happened.
warm on the And for their part, the players
brisk Fall afternoon. said their day in the Big House
You can probably guess whose was a positive experience - but
helmet was stamped with a script still.
"State." All of this is a microcosm of a
The Michigan player offered much larger problem. Why are
his handwarmers in a friendly FBS vs. FCS games allowed in the
gesture, but the Delaware State first place?
player did not accept them. The or should I say Haves vs. Have
scene, like the game in general, Nots?
was a classic case of Haves vs. Sure, every year you see a
Have Nots. few FCS teams notch a season-
I'm sure the $550,000 check making victory over an FBS team
the Delaware State Athletic - but almost all of those are in
Department received for playing the first few weeks of the season.
this game will do great things for With 22 fewer allotted scholar-
the program. And I aon't want ships than Michigan, Delaware
to knock them for wanting a fat State is not only a bad FCS team,
payday, but is this not a perfect but the impact of the inevitable

injuries that occur during the
football season are compounded
when you're playing a team as
Michigan is to the Hornets.
I mean, really:
Michigan 63, Delaware State 6
Oklahoma State 56, Grambling
State 6
Florida 62, Charleston South-
ern 3
Boston College 54, Northeast-
ern 0
Need I go on? These games are
useless.
Yes, it's great that you get a
warm, fuzzy feeling when fifth-
string quarterback Jack Kennedy
gets to take the last snap of the
game, and the stories that Michi-
gan players have told about fifth-
year senior Ohene Opong-Owusu
are certainly entertaining. Or try
to justify this game with "Oh,
they really needed this after two
tough losses."
But this is a black eye on Divi-
sion I college football. NFL teams
would never consider playing for
keeps against a Canadian Foot-
ball League team.
It's a waste of a game, it's a
waste of fans' money and it's
a waste of time for everyone
involved.
- Reid can be reached at
andyreid,4umich.edb ,

Offensive woes continue for
Wolverines in conference tie

StartCYour Career
in Accounting.

By ZAK PYZIK
Daily Sports Writer
It has now been 383 minutes
since the Michigan women's soc-
cer team has put the ball in the
back of the net, and the Wolverine
offense is becoming restless.
That restlessness is quickly
turning into frustration.
Late in the first half, junior
defender Sarah Stanczyk pushed
Indiana senior defender Kelly
Lawrence through the caution
tape on the side of the soccer field
and onto rocks that were at the
ft s edge. ;
Stanczyk said the push was
tional,a b thing the
ae ay als that no testion.
"Before the game, there wastalk
about No. 2 (Lawrence)," Stanczyk
said. "She stepped on one of the
girls' faces at the end of last year's
game. We knew she was a player
we wanted to watch out for."
Once Lawrence was treated by
the medical trainer for the fall, she
jumped to the sideline and called
her teammate out of the game for a
substitution. However, one referee
pointed the teammate back to the
field and said it wasn't yet time for
subs.
Aggression and confusion
ensued, which epitomized the
nature of Sunday's 0-0 stalemate
between Michigan (0-2-3 Big Ten,
5-7-3 overall) and the Hoosiers
(1-2-2 Big Ten, 9-3-2 overall). The
Wolverines had plenty of opportu-
nities but couldn't capitalize.
"We are a little snake bit right
now," Michigan coach Greg Ryan
said at the end of the game. "We're
creating great chances, but not
getting anything."
The Wolverines had three set
plays where playershad the chance
to net the ball. The first was called
back because of an obstructing the
keeper call, and the others were
just missed opportunities. Junior
midfielder and defender Jackie
Carron missed one chance when a
free kick fell right in front of the
net. After a delay, Indiana's goalie

a

Junior Sarah Stanczyk helped Michigan play more physcially in its tie
on Sunday. In the effort, she received a yellow card,

got there first.
Michigan's season-long strug-
gle of pushing the ball forward on
offense was apparent in the first
half.
"As a forward, when I missed, I
wanted to hear positive criticism,"
Michigan junior defender Amanda
Bowery said. "We've just had some
issues at putting the ball to the
back of the net. Today we had a
couple one vs. ones, and we didn't
get lucky."
But the Wolverine defense had
a successful defensive game as it
blanked No. 22 Indiana. Redshirt
freshman goalie Haley Kopmeyer
notched her fourth career shutout,
and she is now tied for second in
program history for most shut outs
in a season.
Last Thursday, against Purdue,
Ryan employed a new defense in
which just three defenders stay
on the back line. This defense
confused the typically aggressive
Hoosier offense the entire game.
"We did a really good job not let-
ting them get behind us and giving
them the opportunity to be dan-

gerous," Kopmeyer said. "We did a
good job shutting down their key
players. The further we pushed
them up the field, the harder it was
for them to take their shots."
Kopmeyer had five saves, par-
tially because the stunned Indiana
offense couldn't take many shots.
Indiana has taken 209 shots this
season, averaging 16 per game.
The Wolverines effectively held
them to just 14, five of which were
on goal.
And the team is trying to trans-
late that defensive toughness into
a mentality if the entire team from
here on out.
"Our coach is always telling
us that people like to play Michi-
gan sometimes because we have a
reputation for being kind of soft,"
Stanczyk said. "So we make it a
bigger issue on the team that we
are going to be more aggressive.
We are going to play tougher and
you always want to give, whoever
you're going up against, a big hit
so they know that you're there to
play and that they can't just go
past you."

0.1

Northeastern's MS in Accounting/MBA
for non-accounting majors:
. Earn two degrees in just 15 months.
" Complete a 3-month paid residency at a leading
accounting firm.
. Proven track record of 100% job placement.
Take the first step.
Visit us online or at an information session near you. Learn
more about the program and upcoming events at:
www.msamba.neu.edu.
617-373-3244
gspa@neu.edu
www.msarnba.neu.edu Northeastern University

Makesure students
into the right crib.
Fall Realty Page
The Ann Arbor Ordinance doesn't stop students from
thinking abouthousing early, so why should you? Advertise
leasesfor now, May, andFall201otReach over40,000
students and other University members.
Presentedby The Michigan Daily Classifieds.
Deadline Oct. 22
Published Oct. 28
(734) 764-0557
dalyclassified@gmail.com

0