The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, October 14, 2010 - 7A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, October 14, 2010 - 7A
M' snaps out of rough
first half, secures win
By BRIAN MECHANICK
Daily Sports Writer
At halftime of Wednesday's
match against Valparaiso, Michi-
gan men's
soccer VALPARAISO 2
coach MICHIGAN 4
Steve
Burns thought he had seen the
worst half of soccer out of his team
all season.
Looking for what to say on a cold,
wet night against a non-conference
opponent sandwiched between key
" weekend conference games,
Burns turned to the history of
the sport.
"I told the guys at the half, the
game of soccer hasn't changed in
120 years," Burns said. "The team
that passes best is the team that's
going to win, so we need just to
connect."
The Wolverines passed and con-
nected well in the second half, as
the team exploded offensively in a
4-2 win over visiting Valparaiso.
After playing narrowly in the
first half with a 4-4-2 formation,
a switch to a 4-3-3 formation gave
the Wolverines the width to attack
the gaps in the Crusader defense.
The Wolverines (2-1-0 Big Ten,
8-2-3 overall) started off the scor-
ing in the 58th minute. with a
Valparaiso own-goal generously
credited to redshirt senior Matt
Schmitt, who now has a three-
game scoring streak. Schmitt had
no qualms about the goal's credit-
ing.
"I count it," Schmitt said. "For-
wards are always going to count
that as their goal. Defenders want
it to be an own-goal, goalies want
it to be an own-goal, and forwards
count it as a goal. I'm counting it as
a goal."
The main threat for the Crusad-
ers on the night was redshirt junior
Stefan Antonijevic. The tower-
ing 6-foot-6 forward stood four
inches above the tallest Wolverine
defender.
He certainly punished Michi-
gan.
Frustrated by an earlier yellow
card that saw him subbed out of
the first half, Antonijevic answered
back with a scoring header in the
72nd minute on a cross from Adri-
an Ortiz.
Antonijevic's goal proved to
be the spark plug for an offensive
explosion, as three goals followed
in the next six minutes. Michigan
freshman forward Soony Saad was
next to score, unleashing a low
strike into the left corner to help
Michigan regain the lead.
Senior forward Justin Meram
then followed with the play of the
game, as he dribbled in from the
left wing through three Vaparaiso
defenders before laying off the ball
to a waiting Schmitt, giving the
senior two goals on the night and
four goals in three games.
"Justin is an ankle-breaker,"
Burns said. "He's a guy who can
turn you inside-out and just cork-
screw players."
The dissatisfaction of a tough
first half off his back, Meram
pulled out his dancing shoes to cel-
ebrate his sweet play.
"That's my style," he said.
The satisfaction of an insurance
goal was short-lived, though, as the
Crusaders responded two minutes
later with another goal. Senior Jake
Freisinger slotted a ball through
the legs of the Wolverines' redshirt
junior goalkeeper Chris Blais.
But Soony Saad would not be
stopped, as the dynamic freshman
scored a brace of his own, hitting a
shot from outside the box into the
low right corner to secure the win.
The Wolverines now eye a week-
end trip to Bloomington to face a
talented Indiana team, with Big
Ten pride and a four-game win-
ning streak on the line.
Senior setter Lexi Zimmerman registered a triple double in the Wolverines' upset of Illinois last week before registering
another one again tonight. Zimmerman also surpassed the Michigan program record in career assists this season.
Zimmer-mgan explodes
for another triple double
in win over Michigan St.
Schmitt continues hot
streak from bench in in
By CAITLIN SMITH
Daily Sports Writer
The Saad brothers have carried
the scoring load for the Michigan
men's soccer team for much of the
season, but after the Wolverines'
4-2 win over Valparaiso Wednes-
day night, it might be time to adopt
a new member into their goal-hap-
py family.
Redshirt senior Matt Schmitt
tallied his first goal of the season
just a week ago against Cincinnati.
But after getting a taste of success
against the Bearcats, he was hun-
gry for more. Schmitt went on to
score the game-winning goal in
Sunday's Big Ten matchup against
Wisconsin.
Then, the Muskegon, Michigan
native hammered in two goals
. and added an assist in the Wol-
verines' midweek contest against
Valparaiso. After a scoreless first
half, Schmitt got the ball rolling
hy playing a dangerous hail into
the hox, which deflected off a Cru-
sader defender and into the net,
creating a three-game consecutive
scoring streak for the backup for-
ward.
During Schmitt's first two years
of eligibility, he saw action in 40
games and had 33 starts. But as
younger recruits joined the team,
Schmitt was relegated to the back
burner. Still, he is a modest player
who has grown to embrace his
position on the team.
Unlike some competitors who
strive for the limelight, Schmitt,
who went on to score again
against Valparaiso, said he won't
be looking for additional playing
time after his outstanding perfor-
mance, unless of course the team
needs him.
"I think that I've proven, not
* just this year but in years past,
that when I come in, I can change
the game," Schmitt said. "So it's
whenever the coaches need me to
play and help the team, I'm there."
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By ROYA ZAND accuracy.
For thADily The first two sets, though, were
dominated by junior outside hit-
"I think you can sum up our ter Alex Hunt, who recorded 11
record into two words, and that is total kills, eight digs and two ser-
'Lexi Zimmerman,' "said Michi- vices aces. Zimmerman also made
gan volleyball coach Mark Rosen a major contribution, providing
after Wednesday night's match six kills and 18 assists.
against Michigan State. "She is The Wolverines fell to the
carrying us like a quarterback Spartans in the third set 27-25.
for a football team, a shooting During the intermission, Rosen
point guard for a basketball team, echoed a sense of calm urgency.
a pitcher for a softball team. She "The biggest thing you have to
can change the game." do is stay calm," Rosen said after
But unlike Michigan football's the game. "You have to stay the
star quarterback Denard Robin- course and be a little urgent ear-
son against the Spartans this past lier. In game three, we weren't as
weekend, Zimmerman found a urgent earlier in the game."
way to lead her team past the in- Entering the fourth set, the
state rivals in Ann Arbor, 3-1. Wolverines were not in control
Zimmerman, a senior setter, of the game, playing more defen-
recorded her third career triple- sively than they had all night.
double, tallying 38 assists, 11 kills When Michigan fell behind 18-14,
and 10 digs in the four-set win. the team began "second-guessing
She led her team the way she has themselves," according to Rosen.
all season, taking command of But the Wolverines turned on
the court and taking advantage their offense and rallied to tie
of open balls with precision and the game 21-21. Pivotal kills by
Hunt and freshman outside hit-
ter Molly Toon took the game to
match point, when Zimmerman
promptly served an ace to secure
the win.
Hunt entered the Michigan
record books during the game,
recording her 1,000th career kill
and becoming only the 12th Wol-
verine in history to eclipse the
mark.
"I didn't know I was going to
break it, but you can't really think
of stats during the game," Hunt
said. "I definitely like getting
more hits and doing anything to
really help the team."
She had a total of 11 kills and
was just two digs shy of her first
career double-double.
"Alex is going to get termina-
tor points," Rosen said. "This year
is certainly more on her because
we don't have the depth around
because we have a lot of young
players. She's a great competitor
in a silent, adaptive kind of way.
We couldn't do it without her."
SALAM RIDA/Daily
Redshirt senior Matt Schmitt has been on an offensive tear as of late, scoring four
goals since last week's matchup with Cincinnati.
But the Wolverines (2-1-0 Big
Ten, 8-2-3 overall) have prov-
en that they do need him. In
last week's contest against the
Bearcats, both the Saad brothers
were on the bench and Schmitt
stepped up. And later, it was
Schmitt's goal that proved to be
the deciding factor againstthe
Badgers. Schmitt may have had a
slaw start to the season, but he has
found his rhythm.
"It's a great story," Michigan
coach Steve Burns said. "He's a
fifth-year senior that's taking a
part-time load because he wanted
to finish his Michigan career as
strong as possible, with as strong
of team and as strong of personal
performance. He comes off the
bench and adds that immedi-
ate impact to our team. He really
raised the level of this game here."
Although Schmitt remained
modest about his five-point game,
he was not afraid to hoast on one
account.
When asked if he was going to
continue his scoringstreak against
Indiana this upcoming weekend,
he had one word.
"Absolutely."
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