The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, October 28, 2010 - 5A
Vaughan finds scoring
touch in senior season
After notching just
nine points in career,
Vaughan leads'M'in
scoring in 2010
By MICHAEL FLOREK
Daily Sports Editor
He's tied for the team lead in
scoring and a majority of fans
don't know his first name.
Senior forward Charles
Vaughan has four goals in the
Michigan hockey team's first six
games after scoring twice Sat-
urday night against Nebraska-
Omaha. More commonly know to
the Michigan faithful as "Scoot-
er," Vaughan shares the top of
the Wolverines' scoring list with
junior David Wohlberg.
But it's been a long and unlikely
journey to the top for the current
third-liner. Vaughan came to Ann
Arbor as a defenseman and was
expected to be a two-way player
on the Michigan blue line. In two
inauspicious years at defenseman,
Vaughan never got the offense
going. He had just nine points in
his career - all assists.
In Vaughan's sophomore year, he
struggled to hold a spot in the line-
up, playing in just 25 of his team's 41
games. So before his junior year, the
coaching staff moved him to for-
ward. After battling inconsistency
lastseason, Vaughan has adapted to
his new role.
"He's got speed," Michigan
coach Red Berenson said. "The
reason I put him on forward is
because he can skate, he's got
power, he's got puck handling
skills. I thought he could be a
good forward. I thought he was
in and out last year, he never real-
ly got into a groove where he got
some confidence."
Vaughan's attitude and skating
ability caught Berenson's eye in
the preseason skates this Septem-
ber. Those strengths have earned
him not only a regular spot in the
lineup, but also extra time on the
penalty kill.
And the consistency is pay-
ing off. His four goals this sea-
son have doubled his career total
coming into the season. Also, his
five points through six games are
one shy of his career best. But
instead of focusing solely on goal
scoring, Vaughan is just looking
JAKE FROMM/Daily
Senior forward Scooter Vaughan is tied for Michigan's scoring lead with junior for-
ward David Wohlberg through six games this season.
rr SAM WOLSON/Daily
Sophomore running back Vincent Smith has started the last few gares for the Wolverines since Mike Shaw has been injured.
Smith has registered 325 yards and finn touchdowns an the grond this season.
MNiulti-back approach
kept i check for M
By RYAN KARTJE
Daily Sports Editor
j1efore the season, Michigan
rpsning backs coach Fred Jack-
son made it clear that he was con-
fident in each of his five running
baeks - junior Mike Shaw, soph-
omore Vincent Smith, freshman
Stephen Hopkins, sophomore
Mike Cox and redshirt freshman
Fitz Toussaint.
Jackson went as far to say that
none of those five ballcarriers
would be the No. 1 guy.
"I think you're going to see
theb whole season and not real-
ly know who's who," Jackson
said. "Because now I've got guys
attuned, that can do everything."
--But through half the season
Michigan's leading rusher has
been its- quarterback - sopho-
more Denard Robinson - and the
majority of the Wolverines' play-
ing time at running back has gone
to Shaw and Smith. They, along
with Robinson, have accounted
fot-1,701 of Michigan's 1,971 total
rushing yards.
l4opkins has received an
increased amount of work in the
past few weeks and could be get-
ting into the Shaw-Smith rotation.
But Toussaint and Cox have
been relatively absent from the
field, and in his weekly telecon-
ference yesterday, Michigan
coach Rich Rodriguez addressed
Stheir development.
The
with b
health.
Tous
fought
son Ion
could n
ry-pron
"He'
S1
s
knc
has not
where'
a game
kind of
a littlei
As fo
of his p
how qu
book, a
other rr
"His
been li
knee is
works h
ue to le
have en
can lea
and not
In ai
most prevalent concern by Robinson - the nation's lead-
oth players seems to be ing rusher - there doesn't seem
to be enough room in the back-
saint especially has field for six backs, including Rob-
a nagging injury all sea- inson.
g, worrying many that he But in the Michigan offense,
eceive the dreaded "inju- especially under Jackson, lack of
e" tag. diversity in ballcarriers isn't that
s a little bit better, but he uncommon.
With the exception of the last
two years - whenformerWolver-
' t ines Brandon Minor and Carlos
.ou re going 0 to Brown nearly split 50-50 - Jack-
ee the whole son's running backs haven't often
shared carries.
ason, and not For the four years before that,
Mike Hart dominated Michigan's
)W Who's Who." carries.
Then, it was Chris Perry. Then,
B.J. Askew. And finally, it was
Anthony Thomas.
t progressed to the point In fact, outside of the previous
we feel we can put him in two years, the Wolverines' No. 2
yet," Rodriguez said. "It's rusher hasn't accounted for more
thing that's going to need than 25 percent of the team's rush
more time." yards since Clarence Williams
r Cox, Rodriguez said alot did it in 1998.
rogress will be judged on Of course, Jackson compared
tickly he learns the play- Hopkins to Perry, and the pair
n area where he trails the of Smith and Toussaint to Hart,
unning backs right now. Michigan's last four-year rush-
growth in the offense has er. So there's no telling whom
mited because he's had a the Wolverines' will use against
sue," Rodriguez said. "He Penn State, which boasts a fairly
sard and he's got to contin- depleted defensive line and line-
arn the offense, so we can backing corps.
sough confidence that we But with the dynamic Robin-
ve him in for all the plays son also in the fold, the combina-
just certain plays." tion onthe field may not matter
rushing attack dominated on Saturday.
to mak
possibl
"I c
ing I h
this to
"I C
sea
I h
bi
practic
penalt
blockis
scorin
myself
The
won't
for 24
ine re,
mentio
lucky t
On
then-N
e a contribution in any way Vaughan let go of a hard wrist
le. shot from the top of the circles.
ame into this season know- The puck deflected off a Mav-
ad to make a big impact on erick defenseman's stick and
ram," Vaughan said after caused Nebraska-Omaha goalie
John Faulkner to misplay the
puck.
On Vaughan's second goal, he
n'am e into this picked up the puck in the corner
and threw it to the front. The
LSOn knowing puck bounced off a Maverick
defenseman and into the net.
ad to make a "Let's face it, you just get
shots on the net as a forward and
ig impact ..." some of them are going to go in,"
Berenson said.
But one thing that should last
is Vaughan's confidence. Both
e Tuesday. "Whether it's Vaughan and Berenson cited
y killing, hitting people, increased confidence as a reason
ng shots, it happens to be for the forward's offensive out-
g goals now, but I pride burst.
on all those things." As the clock winded down in
scoring pace probably Michigan's 6-1 victory Satur-
last - Vaughan's on pace day, the Yost crowd chanted for
goals, which no Wolver- Vaughan to get one more shift.
ached last season. Not to "I tried to block them out,"
n Vaughan has a couple of Vaughan said after the game,
allies to his credit. smiling. "But I heard them a little
his first goal against bit."
to. 10 Nebraska-Omaha, . How's that for confidence?
Wolverines pick apart Bowling
" Green in bounce-back effort
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Wild first goal, a
&0-yarder, sets tone
as Wolverines find
Ohio catharsis
By JOHN EPPLER
For the Daily
After a tough loss against No.
1 Akron last Tuesday, the Michi-
ganmen's
soccer BOWLING GREEN I
team let MICHIGAN 5
0nt its
0 fsstration on another Ohio foe.
Bowling Green made its way
intyAnn Arbor last night expect-
iqg to contend in its matchup
against the Wolverines - they
didn't realize, however, that they
had just signed up for target prac-
tice.
As the clock ran down to
zero and Michigan's offensive
onslaught came to an end, the
scoreboard at the brand new UM
Soccer Complex read 5-1.
Michigan struck first, thir-
teen minutes into the game, with
a snipe from freshman forward
Soony Saad.
After a diving save from Wol-
verine junior goaltender Chris
Blais, a quick counterattack
allowed Saad to find the Falcon
goalkeeper out of position. He
delivered a booming shot from
60 yards away, and scored the
longest goal in Michigan soccer
history.
"We have seen him do it,"
Michigan coach Steve Burns said
after the game. "He saw the keep-
er out. He is a very aware player,
so he went for it."
After the shot went in, the
momentum of the game instantly
shifted. Just one second earlier,
after all, visiting Bowling Green
(5-7-2 overall) was threatening to
score.
Within minutes, Michigan
(2-2-0 Big Ten, 9-4-3 overall)
scored another, an unassisted
blast from senior forward Justin
Meram.
"After last week, we just came
in knowing we had to get the
win," Meram said.,
The Wolverines added two
more goals in the first half. The
first was a long-range score from
senior forward Alex Wood, and
the second another counterattack
goal from Meram.
Michigan picked up right
where it left off in the second
half, as Saad scored a goal off of
a through ball from his brother,
junior midfielder Hamoody Saad.
But then, the pace of the game
changed. The second half slowed,
as most of play settled into the
midfield.
Meanwhile, Meram and the
Saad brothers watched from the
bench - their work was done.
Through a counter-attack
offense and long shots, the Wol-
verines found the net, though
they took fewer shots than their
season average.
"We were due for a breakout
game since September," Burns
said.
Last night, under the lights at
home, they found it.