The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com T h i g aWednesday, October 31, 2012 - 7A M' tops Titans, 2-1 Despite missed opportunities, Wolverines dominate Detroit By SHANNON LYNCH FortheDaily In one of its last home show- ings and with the goal of gaining a spot in the NCAA Tournament in mind, the Michigan men's soc- cer team braved the wind and rain to battle the University of Detroit Mercy. The game was by no means an easy one and nerves were high at the end, but the Wolver- , ine offense DETROIT 1 dominated MICHIGAN 2' from the moment it first stepped on the field, winning by a final score of 2,1. Coming off a victory over Val- paraiso on Saturday, the Wolver- ines (2-2-1 Big Ten, 7-8-1 overall) wanted to keep the tempo op at home. Earning another win was important not only to secure a better standing, but also in prep- aration for next Saturday's game against Michigan State. "I think any local game is a big sense of pride," said Michi- gan coach Chaka Daley. "I think for us, we beat Oakland, we beat Detroit, the last hurdle is Michi- gan State." The competitive tone had a definite impact on gameplay for both teams, and from the start the atmosphere at the U-M Soc- cer Complex was tense. The Wolverines maintained possession for the majority of the first half and it was clear the Titans were frustrated. After Michigan's first three shots on goal, Titan midfielder Adam Bedell was issued a yellow card for diving. Michigan earned 10 fouls and a yellow card during the game but Detroit lead the game in penalties - it finished with nine fouls, a yellow card, and three red cards, issued to defender Pat- rick Soltys and two of Detroit's coaches. Redshirt sophomore midfield- er Tyler Arnone said he thought that Michigan responded well under the pressure of such a hectic and emotionally charged game. "I think the game got out of hand today, but that's something to expect," Arnone said. "Both teams wanted to win, and our season was kind of on the line, but as long as we're mature and keep our cool, that's really it." They did keep cool. Though By RYAN KRASNOO For the Daily Domination, at times, can be frustrating.. Just ask the Michigan men's soccer. team, which managed just a 2-1 win over the Univer- sity of Detroit Mercy on Tuesday. night despite firing a season- high 28 shots. The Wolverines displayed a sense of urgency that was in stark contrast to their last two games - a 2-0 home loss to Bowling Green last Tuesday and a 1-0 win over Valparaiso on Saturday, which needed junior Fabio Perreira to find the game- winner with just 90 seconds left in regulation. Michigan who seemed poised to get on the scoresheet first and unloaded an offensive barrage in the first 15 minutes, outshooting Detroit 6-0. But, the Wolverines were forced to play from behind after Jason Leslie's goal in the 41st minute gave the Titans at the U-M Soccer Complex. "The coaches really got after the guys to make sure that we didn't have a repeat per- formance of what we had last week," said Michigan coach Chaka Daley. "But we gave up a soft goal against the run of play. We always learn from our mis- takes. Sometimes we need to take a little bit of ownership of what's going on, and sometimes they get it wrong. It's important for us to make sure that we steer them back on track." It didn't take along for the wheel intenti line as Titan redshi Tyler ing pe Wolve halfti Arn goals: four g tear r integr hopes son ru "I r W "Th opport an attc makin said. " the lin NCAA to win Des ties an seconc remain that km "We more were) i s to realign. After' an and had poor finishingin others. onal handball on the goal We're creating great chances,we nd subsequent red card to just have to tuck some away." defender Patrick Soltys, Freshman forward James rt sophomore midfielder Murphy was able to do just that. Arnone buried the ensu- The Irishman found the break- nalty kick and drew the through in the 66th minute to rines level on the brink of end the Wolverines' frustrations me. and, in part, his own. After tak- one - who now has two ing 12 games to tally his first col- and two assists in his last legiate goal - the game-winner ames - is on an offensive vs. Indiana on October 19 - ecently and will be an Murphy is finally getting tan- al part of what Michigan gible results. will be a deep postsea- "I feel like I've been playing in. well in general play,but the goals haven't come my way," Murphy said. "I think I need to get in the box more, get on the end of thought for things like I did tonight more, and I think in the long run it will ) (of the 90) come." Michigan can only hope as ninutes we much. With rival Michigan State ere superb." coming to town this Satur- day and the Big Ten Tourna- ment looming, the Wolverines will need to capitalize on their e coaches gave me an opportunities, put their oppo- tunity to play in more of nents away early and have their acking role, and I was just chances translate intogoals. But, g the most of it," Arnone as Daley noted, as long as they We know our season's on continue to put themselves in e and we want to make the good situations offensively and tournament -we needed play quality soccer, the rest will this game." take care of itself. pite numerous opportuni- "I thought that for 80 (of the d a man advantage in the 90) minutes we were superb," d half, the go-ahead tally Daley said. "When you're play- ned elusive despite shots ing with confidence and you're ept on coming. aggressive and you're playing e should have scored some with some urgency, especially (goals)," Daley said. "(We this group, we're confident we unfortunate in some ways can... beat anyone." PAULSHERMAN/Daily Redshirt sophomore forward Tyler Arnone had one of Michigan's two goals in a 2-1 victory over Detroit at the U-M Soccer Complex on Tuesday, Michigan outshot Detroit in the first half (10-2); the Titans were able to capitalize initially with a goal by Jason Leslie in 'the 41st minute of play. The Wolverines coame back and settled the ball quickly, keeping the pressure on the Titans defense and forcing a corner in the 45th minute. Arnone lofted a long ball over to the far side -of the goal, set- ting tsp a shot by midfielder Latif Alashe, which was stopped by an intentional hand ball on the Titans defense. This prompted a red card for Soltys and a penalty kick for Arnone with 13 seconds left to play in the first half. He buried the ball in the back of the net to tie the game at one before the half. "We practice those type of situations all the time, so when that situation comes I am well prepared for it," Arnone said. "It's just routine for me, so I keep my nerves cool and just do what I know." Michigan knew the benefit of being tp a player when it stepped back on the field for the last 45 minutes of play, but the teams strategy hadn't changed. "We wanted to continue to put our foot on the pedal, we thought we did that the first half," Daley said. "All we did was impress upon our guys not to relax, keep the tempo high (and) stick at it. We did, created a ton of chances, if we stuck some of those away we would have been a lot more com- fortable at the end, we didn't." The Wolverines had opportu- nity after opportunity and finally seized one in the 65th minute of play when freshman midfielder James Murphy pounded the ball into the net off a rebound from Arnone, giving Michigan the lead. Though Detroit was able to put the pressure on in the last minute of play with five shots on goal, the Wolverines held on and came out on top, adding another victory to their four-match home stand and going into the upcom- ing Michigan State game on an emotional high. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @T HEBLOCKM Our Military's Children: Insights from over a decade of war Brief performance of the University of Michigan ROTC Air Force Choir )p