2B - September 20, 2010 The Michigan Daijly - michigandaily.com 3eadyfo At everyone of the Daily's mass meetings, I try to take some time to talk sports with any students interested in writing for the sports sec- tion. Usually I start off by ask- ing them what sportthey're most passionate about and - want to cover the most on campus. For me, and most of the other students who come out to write sports, that's football. And it's often not RYAN even close. KARTJE But at the latest mass meetings, the majority of students said they were interested in a different kind of football - the one with a "u" and an "o" and a significantly different ball. And each time, I did a double- take. This is the University of Michigan, after all, and all ofyou just want to cover soccer? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watchingsoc- cer. My roommates and I woke up every day for weeks at 7 a.m. in order to watch every single World Cup match we could possibly consume. And the Americans' win over Algeria in the match's waning seconds is one of the best fin- ishes I've ever seen in a sporting event. But I'm not an avid follower of Manchester United. I don't scour ESPNSoccer for Premier League highlights. And I surely can't saythat I'm the proud owner of an Ibrahimovic, No. 8 Inter-Milan jersey, whatever that is. But it's becoming increasingly obvious that the restof the Michigan sports environment may be slowly shifting, albeit slightly, in a fdtbol, not football, direction. On Friday, when the athletic department christened the brand new, beautiful U-M Soc- cer Complex, 3,503 people came out to watch an incredible, double-overtime draw with Notre Dame that saw probably 100 people confined to standing room only, behind the South goal. There wasn't even sitting room for some Notre Dame players' parents. And now with a relevant student group - the Michigan Ultras - planting the seeds for a great student section, it's clear that this whole Michi- gan soccer thingcould be going somewhere - and fast. By my rules, a program budding in popularity needs three things to remain relevant: a great place to play, a great coach and electrifying tal- Futbol Saturday? Youth movement gives Blue a boost niordefenseman Chase Tennant executes a throw-in during the Wolverin( By BRIAN MECHANICK Daily Sports Editor A youth movement has been felt early and often for the Michi- gan women's soccer team. Freshmen Nkem Ezurike and Tori McCombs entered the weekend with three and two goals respectively, finishing as the top two on the team. The dynamic duo continued their torrid pace on Friday against Massachusetts, as Ezurike scored a pair of goals, while McCombs added another. But two new rookies on the squad emerged and made their presence felt Friday. Freshmen Kayla Manino and Meghan Toohey each got on the scoresheet for the first time, as Manino tallied her first goal and Toohey earned her first assist. Manino played just 24 min- utes, but made her presence felt in scoring the second goal of the game. After receiving a pass from Ezurike, Manino dribbled in on a breakaway and calmly beat the keeper on a low finish to the side netting. The impact of her first collegiate goal seemed not to hit Manino immediately judging by her modest celebration on the field. "I didn't really know what to think," Kayla Manino said. "It didn't quite hit me at first, it wasn't until I was in the locker room at halftime that it sunk in. On the field, it was all kind of a big blur." Though Toohey stands at just 5-feet even, she was a giant in the middle of the field for the Wol- verines. In her 80 minutes, Toohey made a massive impact, playing the part of a box-to-box midfield- er with much more poise than one would expect of a player six games into her career. The assist from Toohey first came from tackling a UMass player in her own half, then deliv- ering a beautiful through-ball 30 yards down the field to set up Ezurike's second goal. "[Getting my first assist] was really great," Meghan Toohey said. "I'm really confident in our team. The environment we play in pumps everybody up, and it was great to take part in it." Michigan coach Greg Ryan worked hard to recruit a dynam- ic attacking freshman class to complement his veteran defense, and he was proud to see two new inexperienced players rise to the challenge. "Meaghan Toohey is such a dynamic player," Ryan said. "She can run through defenses by herself and she can do work on the defensive end. One of the best two-way players I've ever coached. Kayla is very smooth, confident, and composed with the ball, so when she got a chance she made it look easy. Other play- ers think they have to bang it hard, she just rolls it under the keeper. They're both doing really well." With conference play coming up, the Wolverines will have to rely more and more on their talented freshman class. Still, this pair seems as humble as ever, even on a day when they shined. "The older girls have taught us so much already," Toohey said. "How hard they work is very inspiring for us, so I think we all bust our butt to make this team a winning team." ented players who a fan base can get behind. The great place to play is obvious, as the$6 million, state-of-the-art soccer complex is, bar none, one of the best places to play in college soc- cer. The women's soccer team - despite it's sub- par record in the past few years - is coached by much-talked-about headman Greg Ryan who helmed the U.S. Women's Soccer team to a 45-1-9 record from 2005 to 2007. If not for a controver- sial call to bench goalie Hope Solo, Ryan would still be the team's coach. Fired or not, he's got to be a hell of a coach to amass that kind of record. And men's soccer coach Steve Burns is no slouch either, basically having the built the pro- gram with his bare hands into a Big Ten title contender. But most important, both teams are winning and doing it in exciting ways. The Saad brothers, Hamoody and Soony have taken the men's soccer team by storm, scoring at will and accounting for six of the team's nine goals. Plus, the possibilities of Saad brothers- themed student section chants and small cult followings seem absolutely endless. And the women's team boasts a similar pair of exciting young players in Nkem Ezurike and Meghan Toohey who are just as exciting, with just as many possibilities for students to get behind. Look, I'm not foolish enough to think that this past summer's World Cup is ready to vault soc- cer into the hierarchy of American sports. It's just not that simple. And every argument to that effect that always falls short. But a seed has most definitely been planted in Ann Arbor, and it may only be a short time before the whole campus wears their Soony Saad or Meghan Toohey jerseys down State Street on Futbol Saturday. Kartje still likes Football Saturday more than Ftbol Saturday. He can be reached at rkartje@umich.edu Blue, led by Hunt, sweeps on Arizona trip M' wins twice in uneven weekend By ZAK PYZIK Daily Sports Editor After a rough first set against Arizona State, frustration kicked in for the Michigan volleyball team. Early in the second, junior outside hitter Alex Hunt nailed the ball over the net from the back row and it pegged a Sun Devil in the face, providing the Wolverines with some momen- tum. From there, they took control. Arizona State outplayed Michigan 25-12 in that first set on Friday. Eleven months and 94 sets have gone by since the Wolverines last lost a set by such a wide margin. Though No. 21 Michigan has some newer faces this year, it didn't take the team much time to realize what it had to do to defeat the Sun Devils and win another tournament title, their second in two weeks. The Wolverines focused on getting into a rhythm, and they did that on Friday night by winning the next three sets in their opening match of the Arizona State Uni- versity Sheraton Tournament. "I think that's how sports go," Michigan NEW MENTALITY From page 1B was just glad to see two goals finally roll in." Michigan carried its offensive momentum into the second half, netting three more goals to seal the deal. The Wolverines showed their abil- coach Mark Rosen said. "You can't always play at the same level. They started off really well but we had to try to figure them out. As the match progressed, we found our rhythm. It would be nice to dominate the entire time but that's not how it is in any sport really." The Wolverines (11-1) continued their run by defeating Utah and then Pacific, both in four-set matches to claim the tournament title. Michi- gan boasts a 4-0 record in four-set matches this season. Michigan lost its first set to Pacific 25-16 but then claimed three straight by no fewer than six points in each. Junior outside hitter Alex Hunt led the Wol- verines with 23 kills and four service aces in their final match. "There were times we went to Alex and went out of balance on purpose because she was so hot," Rosen said. "You want to feed the hot play- er ... Other players were playing so well so they couldn't just focus on her. She didn't get the ball much more, she just played it more efficiently." Hunt tallied 68 kills over the entire weekend ity to score notionlylin live-action play, butoffset- pieces as well. But the story was different as Michigan tal- lied its second win of the weekend against Youngstown State (2-7-0). The Wolverines con- trolled the game once again, with the majority of the 90-minute game spent not just in the Pen- guins' half of the field, but within their 18-yard box. and has at her match tourname "Alex s went nuts, "I stepped thing now As the Ten matc Keen Aret stars, like Michigan sat somes sets last w Zimmer merman sE returns to Mendozaf history, al ter - faces "I thin men is de near whet ing." Despite they strug inability tc to some sI wins agait Michiga mustered Sunday'sg defenderd C A REE RS A T T HF N ATI ON AlI S F C R ITY A GF N CY NA 1 ' t YurCa pu Get to know NSA. You already know that intelligence is vital to national security. But here's something you may not know. SWE Information Session: The National Security Agency (NSA) is the only agency Monday, September 27 charged with generating intelligence from foreign 5:30 - P - signals and protecting U.S. systems from prying eyes. 1311 EECS Make a critical difference with what you know at NSA. KNOWING Meet and Talk with Recruiters to Discover Excellent Career Opportunities in These Fields: Computer/Electrical Engineering Signals Analysis Computer Science Business Management Information Assurance Finance & Accounting Mathematics Paid Internships, Foreign Language Scholarships, and Co-op Intelligence Analysis >>n1s other opportunities www.NSA.gov/Careers Cryytanalysis APPLY TODAY WH O ERE INTELLIG ENCE GOES TO WOR K U.S. citizenship is requied, NSA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants for employment are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, or status as a parent. counted for 20 or more kills in five of es this season, walking away with the nt's MVP award. tepped up to the plate and kind of " senior setter Lexi Zimmerman said. 1 back and said, 'she's really doing her ' I've always been an Alex Hunt fan." Wolverines prepare for their first Big h against Iowa this Friday at Cliff na, it was good for them to see their Hunt, at their peak, especially since played every player on its roster and starters - Hunt included - for final eek. rman, like Hunt, saw no rest. Zim- et 132 assists in the three a games. She Ann Arbor needing 25 to pass Linnea for the most career assists in program l while adding to new faces on the ros- s to receive her sets. k Lexi's relationship with the fresh- veloping," Rosen said. "It's nowhere re it needs to be but we are progress- Michigan's domination on the ball, gled to tally a score. The Wolverines' o finish against the Penguins may lead kepticism about their ability to notch nst teams in the Big Ten. an totaled a whopping 34 shots, but a mere 10 on goal. And the lone goal of game came from a Youngstown State deflecting the ball into her own net off of a cross by freshman midfielder Tori McCombs. "The concentration just wasn't there," Ryan said. "(Finishing) is something like shooting a basket. You have to be focused, you have to be calm, and you've got to have the right technique. We had play- ers leaning back, heads up, not even looking at the ball. And you see the result - 24 shots nowhere near the target." Even with the faults of the newly recruited attacking talent, the Wolverines still have a solid defen- sive line that was able to maintain composure. The strength of the back line is led mostly by the vet- eran players on the team, including senior co-captain defender Jackie Carron. Defensively, Michigan only allowed two shots on goal and stomped over any offensive oppor- tunity that Youngstown State may have had to tie up the game. "We are really solid as a group back there," Carron said. "We kind of know what each other are going to do on the field, we can just read each other really well." A joint effort of both the offense and defense will be needed this upcoming weekend as the team breaks into Big Ten play, opening up at home against Ohio State. "It's gonna be a really hard bat- tle," Carronsaid."We are justgonna look to fight and pressure the entire game and you knowwhat? The team who fights the hardest will win and hopefully we can do that." By ANDREW HADDAD Daily SportsEditor The Michigan field hockey team's two victories this week- end will look equal to each other in the standings, but they were as different as two wins could possibly be. The ALBANY 3 Wol- MICHIGAN 4 verines anni- QUINNIPIAC 0 hilated MICHIGAN 6 Quinni- piac 6-0 on Sunday, one day after pulling out a 4-3 double-overtime win against No. 19 Albany. Michigan (4-4) outshot the Bobcats 16-1 by halftime and 30-5 over the entire game. Quinnipac (2-5) never even threatened to score, whereas the Wolverines could have reached double dig- its in goals if not for a few near misses. "Our passing was really strong," Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said. "We followed the gameplan, set up alot of chances, and shot the ball pretty accu- rately." Senior forward/midfielder Alicia Mayer continued her scor- ing tear with two goals Sunday. She also had two goals and two assists on Saturday against Alba- ny (4-2). "I feel like I've gotten my spark back the last couple of games," Mayer said. Mayer is the team's leading scorer, with five goals and four assists for a total of 14 points this season. "Alicia is one of the keys to our team," Pankratz said. "She's a senior, has a lot of experience and brings great energy to the game. So when she's on it's big for us." Senior midfielder Meredith JsAe-sOMM/Daily Senior Meredith Way (pictured here) is one of the top 10 scorers in school history. Way also got in on the act, scor- ing the team's third goal off a penalty corner on assists from senior forward/midfielder Paige Laytos and freshman midfielder Mallory Albini. It was the 35th goal of her career, putting her on Michigan's top 10 career goals list. "Mallory made a good inside stop on the ball," Way said. "Then I just shot it low and hard, and it bounced off a defender's foot and went in." A major weakness of last year's team was that it relied too heav- ily on Way for goals. In fact, she scored more than half of the Wol- verines' goals in 2009. This year, however, the team has been far more balanced and Way is only fourth on the team in goals this season. "My role has definitely changed a lot this year," Way said. "Because everyone else is stepping up and carrying the scoring load, I'm able to be a lot more defensive-minded." Victory against Albany on Sat- urday didn't come as easily as it would on Sunday. The Wolverines twice took leads only to see their opponents rally and tie the game each time. Junior forward/midfielder Katie Adams won the game in double- overtime with a goal in the 92nd minute. Michigan's pair of wins this weekend mean the team has won its last four games after losing the first four of the season. "I absolutely think we can keep this winning streak up," Mayer said. "We've worked on a few things since the first four games, and now we're really connecting well as a team. Our vision's improved; We're bet- ter at anticipating where our teammates will be on every play."