8A - Thursday, October 11, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
8A - Thursday, October 11, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
FOOTBALL
Michigan football coaches
set to honor Colts' Pagano
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
Senior midfielder Emily Jaffe is mobbed by her teammates after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime
Jaffe eer completes
comeback In overtime
By STEPHEN J. NESBITT
Daily Sports Editor
While Chuck Pagano lies in a
hospital bed at the Indiana Uni-
versity Simon Cancer Center
in Indianapolis in a battle for
his life, the Michigan football
coaching staff will offer every
bit of support it can.
Pagano, the
first-year head NOTEBOOK
coach of the
Indianapolis Colts, was diag-
nosed with acute promyelocytic
leukemia and has been hospital-
ized since Sept. 26.
Michigan coach Brady Hoke
and his staff purchased 40
#chuckstrong T-shirts and will
wear them to Michigan Stadium
for the Wolverines' matchup
against Illinois on Saturday.
Several members of the staff
have ties with Pagano and his
family. Pagano worked for
defensive coordinator Greg
Mattison when Mattison was
with the Baltimore Ravens.
Hoke and the members of the
staff that came from San Diego
State knew Pagano's brother,
John, a defensive coordinator
with the San Diego Chargers,
rather well.
"There's a strong relation-
ship," Hoke said Wednesday.
"He's one of ours. He's our kind
of guy. So we want to pay a little
tribute to him and also for the
cause."
Hoke said he made the deci-
sion to do the #chuckstrong
tribute on Sunday night, which
was the same evening Pagano's
Colts upset the Green Bay Pack-
ers, 30-27, in Indianapolis.
CHASE THE RABBIT: Nathan
Scheelhaase is the kind of guy
you have to keep an eye on.
The third-year Illinois start-
ing quarterback is a dual threat
in the backfield, with major strength and conditioning pro-
speed to boot. As a result, Hoke gram, that is.
has done something a little dif- Since Hoke arrived, Michi-
ferent to prepare the defense for gan's tight ends have come ttd
Scheelhaase. the fore once again. The corps is
"I've always done it with expected to get bigger, stronger
defensive linemen - we do and tougher.
a little at the end of practice, With redshirt senior tight
some chase the rabbit, we call end Brandon Moore sidelined
it," Hoke said. "Drills where you with a knee injury, the Wolver-
instill a mindset, a mentality, I ines have relied heavily on twos
think." true freshmen - A.J. Williams
Chase the rabbit? How hard and Devin Funchess - to adapt
can it be? quickly to the college game and
"You ever try to catch a rab- produce.
bit?" Hoke asked. Funchess has stolen the spot-
Not exactly. But Hoke admit- light in the air game, using his
ted he hasn't tried either. 6-foot-5 frame to leap above
"They're hard to catch," he smaller defenders and force his
continued. "You have to stay way into tight spots. Funchess,
after them and take angles." who made a spectacular grab
inside the five-yard line against
Purdue on Saturday, has become
one of Robinson's favorite tar-
"He's one of gets. He has nine catches for 165
yards and two touchdowns this
ours. He's our fall.
Offensive coordinator Al
kind of guy." Borges said he's had only one
other freshman tight end catch
as well as Funchess. That was
Gavin Escobar, now a junior
Don't worry, there aren't tight end at San Diego State.
live rabbits running around the "He could catch like Devin
practice field with 300-pound can catch - 6-(foot)-7," Borges
lineman chasing after them. It's said. "He was really good. Now
all just the name of a drill. he's not as fast as Devin, but he
The defense faces senior had tremendous hands."
quarterback Denard Robinson There are still strides to be
in practice every week, so it has made, but with Moore returning
had plenty of experience with to practice and redshirt senior
fleet-footed quarterbacks. tight end Mike Kwiatkowski
"Obviously 16's kind of hard playing well on blocking downs,
to corral once in a while," Hoke the freshmen have time to focus
said. "I think that helps us as on getting Wellmanized.
a team when you're playing "You have two young guys
against a guy like Scheelhaase." playing big-boy football," Hoke
WELLMANIZATION: For said. "They're learning every
Michigan's tight ends, it's all week. I think we can be more
about getting Wellmanized. physical there ... which will lead
Getting adjusted and buying to maybe a little more move-
into coach Aaron Wellman's ment at the line of scrimmage."
ByALEJANDRO ZINIGA
Daily Sports Writer
Locked in an intense overtime
match against a bitter rival, an
unlikely hero stepped up for the
No. 21 Michigan women's soccer
team.
With just 46 seconds remain-
ing in the first extra period, senior
midfield-
er Emily MICH. STATE 1
Jaffe's first MICHIGAN 2
career goal
was the difference in the Wolver-
ines' 2-1 victory over Michigan
State at the U-M Soccer Complex
Wednesday night.
Jaffe, who transferred to Mich-
igan from Iowa in 2010, made
the most of her nine minutes on
Wednesday night. Subbing in at
the beginning of overtime, she
provided a boost to a beleaguered
squad. The 5-foot-6 senior was in
perfect position on a corner kick,
as her header bounced slowly
towards goal, somehow making
its way past a defender and the
Spartans' goalkeeper. The goal
ended the game, the Wolverines'
bench emptied and the entire
team mobbed Jaffe near the
18-yard box in celebration of their
first win over Michigan State
since 2003.
Exuberant after giving Michi-
gan (6-0-1 Big Ten, 12-2-1 overall)
the dramatic win, Jaffe couldn't
suppress a smile as she described
her emotions.
"This is a huge win," she said.
"It's just the next step to winning
the Big Ten championship."
With the win, the Wolverines
moved past No. 4 Penn State for
first place in the conference. The
Nittany Lions (6-0, 12-2) play at
Nebraska on Friday. The victory
also improved Michigan's unde-
feated streak to nine games, set-
ting a new program record.
Though the Spartans (2-4-1,
8-5-2) took only one shot on tar-
get in the first half, forward Paige
Wester capitalized on the oppor-
tunity. Forward Olivia Stander
drove a chest-high cross into the
box in the 29th minute, and an
unmarked Wester deftly headed
the ball towards goal. The short-
range misdirection gave fifth-
year senior goalkeeper Haley
Kopmeyer little time to react, and
the shot found the back of the net.
It was the first time the Wol-
verines were behind in a game
since Sept. 2 at then-No. 11 Long
Beach State.
But Michigan didn't trail for
long. Following a slew of offen-
sive chances, junior forward
Shelby Chambers-Garcia took
Michigan's second corner kick
in under a minute. The right-
footed cross curled toward the
front post, and Michigan State
goalkeeper Clem Courtney's
punch came just after the ball had
crossed the end line.
Following the goal, the Wol-
verines and Spartans traded
scoring chances until the end of
regulation. In the 57th minute,
Michigan forward Corinne Har-
ris shot a laser from 18-yards out
that rattled the underside of the
crossbar. The Wolverines raised
their arms in celebration, but the
referees ruled that the ball never
fully entered the net.
With just two minutes left
in regulation, Stander missed a
sure game-winning goal for the
Spartans. After midfielder Megan
Marsack drew a pair of Michigan
defenders towards her, she found
Stander wide open inside the
18-yard box. But Stander's cross-
ing shot missed the goalpost by
inches, and the game remained
deadlocked.
Michigan coach Greg Ryan has
been impressed with his defend-
ers all season, but Saturday's
performance left something to
be desired. They repeatedly left
Spartan attackers unmarked and
allowed 15 shots and numerous
breakaways.
"When you make mistakes like
this it makes;you better," Ryan
said. "It's nice we didn't lose the
game because of it."
After the midweek game, the
Wolverines have a short turn-
around before hosting Purdue on
Sunday. Ryan is confident that
Michigan will be prepared, but
he's hoping for a less stressful
game.
"I'm too old for this," he said
with a laugh.
Blue bullies Illinois at home
By GREG GARNO
Daily Sports Writer
In the midst of a 5-0 run,
junior outside hitter Lexi Erwin
took a back set from sophomore
Lexi Dannemiller at the peak of
her jump and slammed the ball
down, the sound reverberating
throughout
Cliff Keen ILLINOIS 0
Arena. Illi- MICHIGAN 3
nois junior
libero Jennifer Beltran was
forced to move out of the way to
protect her face as the ball rock-
eted towards the court.
It was frightening to be on the
opposing end of the Michigan vol-
leyball team's 25-16, 25-19, 26-24
straight-set win on Wednesday
night.
You wouldn't have expected it,
though, knowing the Wolverines
were on a three-game skid, had
only one day of practice between
games and were implementing a
new offensive system.
But Michigan played with a
conviction that it had been lack-
ing during its losing streak, post-
ing a .304 attacking percentage
with three players accumulating
double-digit kills, as well as 52
digs and 10 team blocks.
"We know we have talent and
we know we have the ability to
play," said Michigan coach Mark
Rosen. "Tonight we executed
extremely well in every facet of
the game. That's the key to any
sport - you have to execute."
It helped that the 22nd-
ranked Fighting Illini commit-
ted 30 errors during the game
and were only able to manage a
.188 attacking percentage.
The Wolverines worked their
way to an 8-5 run to begin the
first set, and following a kill
w
s
from junior middle blocker Jen-
nifer Cross, they went on a short
3-0 run to force Illinois to take a
timeout. Illinois would take the
next three points, but couldn't
hang on as it watched the 5-0
rally crush any hope of a come-
back.
Michigan totaled a strong .398
attack percentage in the first set,
overpowering the Fighting Illi-
ni, who hit just .029.
Michigan also incorporated
an unusual offense into Wednes-
day's game, using a three-hit-
ter system in which the setter,
Dannemiller, had three pass-
ing options. At times, the attack
caught the Fighting Illini off
guard, especially when Cross
was positioned at right-side hit-
ter.
Cross's new position resulted
in 14 kills and nine blocks, as
well as a season-high seven digs.
"I've kind of been waiting for
myself to do that all season,"
Cross said.
A much bleaker outcome
I
seemed likely in the third set
as the Wolverines quickly fell
behind 10-7. A consistent and
unwavering Michigan team
fought back, though, to take a
21-20 lead on another of Erwin's
12 kills.
Junior outside defensive spe-
cialist Ally Sabol led what looked
like a new defense with 17 digs,
while Dannemiller posted a
team-high 37 assists.
The Wolverines finally had a
chance to play at home after four
straight games on the road.
But that doesn't mean they
slept.
"I pulled my first all-nighter
because I had to," Cross said
after arriving back from the
team's visit to Wisconsin. "(I
was) with Lexi Danamiller in the
fishbowl the other night after we
got home from the game. We
haven't really had time to prac-
tice really."
There's no telling how fright-
ening the team will look with
consecutive days of practice.
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