2B - October 11, 2010

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

party is our riva,
so get used to it

0

I was writing the annual
dueling column this past
week in light of the Michi-
gan-Michigan State game, I spent
hour upon hour
thinking of
reasons why
Sparty was
inferior.
There were
the obvious
favorites:
"We'll be your
boss someday"; RYAN
"Can't read, KARTJE
can't write";
and especially
anything assuming the Spartans
were Michigan's "Little Brother."
But as I searched for ways to
flair up chat East Lansing inferi-
ority complex, I came across one
argutament that, on several occa-
sions; rubbed sue the wrongiaway:
that tichigan ts. Michigan State
is not a rivalry.
Now, I appreciate a good Michi-
gan State joke as much as the
next person. And I would defend
Michigan's superiority in every
way, shape or form without any
hesitation.
But it's simply foolish to say this
matchup is not a rivalry.
Yes, Michigan leads the all-
time series by an enormous mar-
gin - 67-31-5, to be exact. Yes, the
Wolverines boast a ridiculously
one-sided comparison in nearly
every category of the record
books. And yes, Michigan State
may never get rid of that complex,
which comes full swing the week
before this game every year.
But the truth is, the Spartans
have clearly outplayed Michigan
in the team's past three meet-
ings, and Michigan State is start-
ing to look pretty damn good on
the gridiron. With no matchup
against Ohio State on its schedule
this year, Sparty could even, dare
I say it, make a run at the Rose
Bowl.
"Maybe someday the little
brother grows up and can at least
compete with the big brother and
makes it a game every week,"
Michigan State coach Mark Dan-
tonio said after the game.
And he's right, to some extent:
This is going to be a game for
years to come.
It's not even what happens on
the field, though, that makes this
the rivalry what it is. Students all
over campus were forced to put
up with "Go Green, Go White!"
chants on Saturday night as they
seethed inwardly. The undeniable
pain of having to deal with a loss

cHRIS RYBA/Daily
Forward Justin Meram controis the ball against Penn State last week. He's scored three goals in the last three games for Michigan.
After trailing 1-0, Blue
shows res1lenCe in win

TOP: Michigan State football team raises the Paul Bunyan Trophy after Saturday's win.
(ARIEL BOND/Daily) BOTTOM: Michigan Daily writers get purped before the annual
Michigan Daily vs. State News football game. (MAR ISSA MCCL A IN/Daly)

like this one proves plain and sim-
ple that Michigan fans care about
this intrastate matchup, whether
they want to admit it or not.
Think about it. For the Wol-
verines' unblemished record to
be tainted by the Spartans hurts
much more than if Michigan
would've lost to, say, Iowa or two
weeks after that to Penn State.
For those at the Daily, we under-
stand this rivalry all too well.
The Daily takes on the State
News in a pretty serious touch
football game every year, which
the Daily had won five years in a
row entering Friday night's game.
After the first half, it looked as
though the tables might be turn-
ing, as Michigan State's student
newspaper had a fairly com-
manding three-touchdown lead.
Despite having won five years in
a rouw, despite the confidence we
had heading into the game, my fel-
low writers and I were in danger
of being the first group to lose in
the matchup in half a decade.
This didn't settle well with any

of us. We had lost games before,
but none of us had lost to the
State News. That loss to that team
would've hurt unlike any other
game we might lose to any other
team (Ohio State's student news-
paper, included).
Needless to say, the Daily came
back and won the game in double
overtime, just minutes before the
lights were turned off on Elbel
Field.
We had earned bragging rights
for the sixth year in a row, and
most of us who played probably
can't tell you a touch football
game that has meant more in our
entire lives.
That's because our brother in
East Lansing, little or not, is our
rival.
And just like any brother, we're
going to be stuck with them for a
very long time, whether we like it
or not.
Kartje predicts a seventh-straight
win over the State News. He can
be reached at rkartienumichedu

By KEVIN RAFTERY
Daily Sports Writer
They say that you learn the most
about a team when it's down. if
that's the
case, the MICHIGAN 3
Michigan WISCONSIN 2
men's
soccer team should be in good
shape after its first come-from-
behind victory of the year.
Yesterday, the Wolverines trav-
eled to Madison to take on Big Ten
foe Wisconsin.
And early on, it looked like
Michigan might be in some trouble
against the lowly Badgers.
Wisconsin (0-1-1 Big Ten, 1-8-2
overall) came out of the gate ready
to play and quickly captured a
1-0 lead, on a 12th minute goal by
junior defenseman Colin Mani.
But the Wolverines (2-1 0, 7-2-
3) refused to point fingers at one
another - instead, they used the
early deficit as fuel to turn the game
around and earn a 3-2 victory.
"The great thing about what
happened after we got down is you
really saw the team's resolve to play
for each other," Michigan coach
Steve Burns said after the game.
"You started to see everybody kind
of think the same and move theiball
effectively, and really just trust one
another. I think we became a much
better team after we went down a
goal."
In the 17th minute of the first
half - just five minutes after
the Badgers scored - Michigan
responded with a goal of its own by
senior forward Justin Meram.
Meram capitalized on a Wiscon-

sin turnover and sliced through the
Badger defense, drilling the ball
into the lower-right corner to even
the score up at one.
"The timing of (Meram's goal)
was very strong because the lon-
ger that you go being down a goal,
the more uptight everyone can get
and you start to press and do things
you wouldn't normally do," Burns
said. "After that goal, you could
see that we kind of shook off their
first goal and said, 'Okay, let's keep
after them and figure out how to
get more.'"
The goal was Meram's fifth of
the season and his third in the
last three games. Meram's recent
surge is a welcome sight for the
Wolverines and can be partially
attributed to his new approach to
the game.
"I'm just staying focused with
the team goal," Meram said.
"Before, I was worrying too much
about not scoring - now it's more
about Michigan winning and my
ability to help Michigan win by get-
ting a couple goals here and there
and setting people up. The less I
was thinking about scoring and
just thinking more about Michigan
is when my chances were coming."
Minutes before the end of the
first half, freshman forward Soony
Saad fired the ball into the back
of the net off of a free kick to give
Michigan momentum and a 2-1
lead heading into halftime.
The Wolverines would carry
that momentum into the second
half, as they came out of the break
controlling the ball and getting
everyone involved.
Just over 12 minutes into the

second half, senior Matt Schmitt
added a goal to give Michigan a
commanding 3-1lead.
With the comfortable two-goal
lead, Burns pulled redshirt junior
goalie Chris Blais in order to give
redshirt sophomore Tim Bergsma
his first action of the season.
But after a defensive breakdown
by the Wolverines, Wisconsin
freshman Chris Prince scored to
cut the lead to one with just under
seven minutes to play.
Minutes later, Wisconsin had a
great chance to tie the game off of
a corner kick but was stopped on a
diving save byBergsma, sealing the
victory for Michigan.
"As a keeper, you've got to have
the shortest memory on the team,"
Bergsma said. "Whether you make
a big save or give up a goal, you just
have to get right back at it."
Burns's confidence in Bergsma
to finish out the game is a great
example of how much trust this
team has built in one another -
from the starters all the way down
to the last player on the bench.
And with the Big Ten Tourna-
ment less than a month away, trust
will be key as the Wolverines look
to make a run at the conference
title.
"Bergs had to make a great save
at 3-2 and he did," Burns said. "The
teamhas gotctrustin him and really
I think we are now truly becoming
a a team. You trust that every guy
that comes onto the field is going
to be able to sustain the work, and
it starts to all synch the same. It's
good to see. Everybody who came
into the game tonight really did a
strong job for us."

0


J' flexes muscles in draw

DELI

By BRIAN MECHANICK
Daily Sports Writer
For years, Michigan's wom-
en's soccer has struggled might-
ily against
Michigani MICH GAN ST. 0
State, as the MICHIGAN 0
Spartans
have simply had more talent.
But on Saturday night the tables
were turned.
This time, the Wolverines clearly
outplayed the Spartans. While the
result was the same as the past
years, as the intrastate rivalry
ended in a 0-0 draw, it was clear the

talent gap has been closed.
"I am so proud of the girls,"
Michigan coach Greg Ryan said
after the game. "For two years
we've had to sit back and defend for
90 minutes, and this year we have
enough talent to go forward and go
after teams."
Even though the Wolverines
(0-1-2 Big Ten, 5-2-4 overall) fin-
ished tied with the Spartans (2-1-1,
7-3-2) in shots on goal with three,
the edge in possession and attack-
ing play clearly belonged to Michi-
gan.
The Wolverines had chances, as
senior Jackie Carron nearly con-

nected on a strike from 40 yards
out and freshman Meghan Toohey
just missed on both a free kick and
one-two pass through the Spartan
backline. Carron's impact didn't
only come offensively, as she made
the play of the day on a desperate
slide tackle to bail the defense out of
a Michigan State breakaway.
The ability to play positive soccer
instead of negative, defensive soc-
cer against their rival was impor-
tant for Ryan.
"I think you're seeing teams fall
to Michigan State, but we took the
game to them," said Ryan. "I feel
very positive about it. This was a
team that for two years hasn't been
able to do this, but now we're able
to go after teams. Now we need
just a bit of better quality when
it comes to creating chances and
putting them away. "
Senior Sarah Stanczyk was one
of the best players on the field, put-
ting in tremendous work in playing
the full 110 minutes of regulation
and overtime. Marking the Spar-
tans' talented forward Laura Hey-
boer, Stanczyk was able to hold the
dangerous striker to no shots.
Still, as much as Stanczyk was

More online
Go to MichiganDaily.com for more
analysis on the Wolverines' tie.
told that Michigan State was just
another game, playing in her final
outing of this rivalry took on a spe-
cial meaning for the Grosse Pointe,
Michigan native.
"It's a very passionate rivalry
for me," Stanczyk said. "I've been *
thinking of this game all week,
waking up every morning excited
to play Michigan State. I know half
the team, Iplayed with thembefore
I came to college, so it runs a little
deeperthan just an in-state rivalry."
The most dynamic player on the
day, however, was Meghan Toohey,
who controlled the offense and
showed poise in the center of mid-
field by dictating tempo in a chaotic
game. Still, Toohey's own good play
didn't mitigate her dissatisfaction
of a lost victory.
"This is just another step in
the beginning of our season that
shows us what we can accomplish,"
Toohey said. "Overall, I am happy
that we played so well, it just sucks
that we didn't get the win."

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JAKE FROMM/Daily
Senior defender Jackie Carron made a significant impact in Blue's 0-0 draw.