The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com po't 0h1 September 8, 2014 -- 38" S September 8, 2014 - 38 'M' wins home opener Freshman Mueller tops at tournament ByBRANDON HANDELSMAN Daily Sports Writer Coming home to the newly renovated Phyllis Ocker Field proved to be well worth the wait. After delayed construction left the Michigan field hockey team on an extended road trip to start the season, it wasted CMU 0 no time MICHIGAN 6 breaking in its new home stadium. The 17th-ranked Wolverines were flat-out dominant in their return to Ann Arbor this weekend, posting back-to- back shutouts on their way to completing a home sweep. Michigan followed its victory over William & Mary in the home opener with Sunday's 6-0 drubbing of Central Michigan. The Wolverines' offense was firing on all cylinders against the overmatched Chippewas, outshooting them 16-2 and outcornering them, 5-2. "It was a good weekend," said Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz. "We were on the road a long time. They love playing at home. This is a phenomenal facility and a phenomenal homecourt advantage." Michigan (2-2) stormed out of the gates Sunday with three goals in the opening six minutes of the match, the first coming at the 2:14 mark when junior forward Shannon Scavelli redirected a shot from freshmen forward Courtney Enge. While Central Michigan's goalkeeper Sadie Reynolds managed to save Enge's initial attempt, a diving Scavelli was there to tip the ball past her off the rebound. Just three minutes later,junior back Jaime Dean received the ball in the circle and lobbed it over Reynolds to give the Wolverines a 2-0 edge. Michigan tacked on another just 36 seconds later off of Enge's effort. The freshman saved the ball from going out By SAMANTHA LEN Daily Sports Write Kyle Mueller arrived Arbor just two weeks the sole freshman on M men's golf team. Satu made his career deb Wolverine. And after register birdies over a six-hole his first round of colleg it was safe to say Muelle comfortable at his new "Through his first 12 was doing well and mak of pars, but he felt like playing a little bit te said Michigan coach Whitten. "And so we talked about trying to* birdie every c"i hole for the rest of that round - which is not really a realistic thing most of ti But for Mueller, it was The freshman ended round with a score of 67, four under par. Muelle consistent as he followed a one-under 70 in his round. He shot five un was tied for second plac behind junior Chris Mueller exited Saturda contributed heftily to h 16-stroke lead. Mueller had played h course just four time teeing off at his first Michigan's only home the season. "It was kind of an ac ... going to the golf co the first time you just ki out your spots and hi don't really pick out the, Mueller said. "That help (my) mind a little bit." Despite limited exp collegiate golf, the f WMEN carried his high-caliber play intb r Sunday, shooting one-under on the front nine and a birdie on the I in Ann first hole of the back nine, tying ago as himself for first place with San Michigan Jose State junior CodyfBlick. rday, he After 15 holes and a Blick ut as a bogey, Mueller stood alone on the leaderboard - two-under ing five par for the day and three holes span in away from winning an 11-team, late golf, 66-player invitational in his first r looked event with Michigan. home. Again, Mueller proved holes he consistent as he shot par on his ing a lot last three holes, saving the 18th he was with an eight-foot sinker. The ntative," freshman ended the day two Chris under par with a score of 69. actually Through three rounds, he shot a collectivescore of 206 and really hasn't seven under par for the ink in yet." tournament. *Sitting in first place, Mueller could he time." only wait as Blick rounded out his s. play, birdying the first two of his the first last three holes and positioning shooting himself one stroke ahead of r stayed Mueller. Blick then proceeded lup with to double-bogey his last hole, second finishing one stroke behind ider and Mueller forthe weekend. e overall "I think for him to start in this O'Neill. first event was a confidence boost y having forhim,"Whittensaid."Andthen is team's to play as well as he did here ... more than anything I think we'll tis home just stay focused on his process s before and keep playing well, and we'll event - let the results and the scores take event of care of themselves." Not only did Mueller win dvantage the individual field, but he also urse for propelled the Wolverines to a nda pick team victory. t it, you "It really hasn't sunk in yet, trouble," it's still kind of a shock to me," ted clear Mueller said. "It definitely feels good to get the first tournament osure to under my belt ... but it hasn't reshman sunk in." Shannon Scavelli and the Michigan field hockey team scored early and often in Sunday's blowout of Central Michitan. of bounds by centering it off of shutout," Pankratz said. "They're a Central. Michigan defender doing a great job communicating and into the back of the net. The and controlling the defense. I'm fortuitous bounce capped the pleased with their performance." Wolverines' offensive flurry. The Wolverines' offense "We came out hard, just exploded again early in the with the mentality of putting second half, capitalizing on two of everything their four total out there on penalty corner the field," opportunities. said senior "They love Fifth-year midfielder senior back Ainsley playing at home." Leslie Smith McCallister. hammered "We just really home both wanted to set penalties from the tone early." the top of the circle on assists While Michigan's goal-scoring from freshman midfielder Veerle opportunities were not as fruitful Lubbers and McCallister. as the half wore on, the defense "We've been working on held Central scoreless to take a (penalty corners), we've been 3-0 lead into the half. practicing them a lot," Pankratz "It's a confidence booster for said. "Leslie, she's really been our goalkeepers to get another piping them in practice, so we've been calling her number because she's been scoring. She's very talented." The win was punctuated by a fast-break goal at the 56:13 mark from sophomore Sina Lampe, who carried the ball from Michigan's side all the way into the Chippewas' circle. Reynolds came out of goal inan attempt to stop Lampe, but the sophomore beat the goalie and crossed the ball from the left side into the right corner of the net. "Getting a good win under your belt is always a confidence booster," McCallister said. "Taking it forward, we're just going to continue finishing. That's the biggest thing. We know that when we get into the circle, we've got to get corners and finish. We know we can do that now." Youth, inexperience doom Wolverines By RAJAT KHARE Daily Sports Editor Down 17-21 in the third set, it was the Michigan volleyball team's last chance for a late push to keep its chance intact to sweep in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. And it obliged. After a long exchange between the 20th-ranked Tar Heels and Wolverines, the rally ended with an emphatic block by freshman outside hitter Adeja Lambert, bringing the dormant crowd at Cliff Keen Arena back to life. "I loved the way Adeja came in and was aggressive," said coach Mark Rosen. "Late in the match, we decided to make that change and she was ready. She came in right off the bat and had a great block, two great kills and that was a great sign for her. She really created some great momentum." The Wolverines (3-2) rode the momentum, tallying four straight points, tying up the game at 21 and forcing a North Carolina timeout. After the break, the Tar Heels (4-1) scored two points before Michigan answered back with three of its own, taking a 25-24 lead and earning the opportunity to push the match to a fourth set. The comeback was not to be though. A net violation against the Wolverines tied the score before the Tar Heels scored the final two points on a kill and a hitting error. "I loved the fact that our team has come back and after the first set, has been better," Rosen said. "They've continually gotten bet- ter as the match has gone on." The Wolverines got off to a -ockluster start, falling behind 7-2 and forcing themselves into an uphill battle for much of the first set. "I didn't think we were com- municating as well in the begin- ning as well as we did yesterday (against Duke)," said junior out- side hitter Ally Davis. "It could have been better by just talking to each other and keeping up the energy." The Tar Heels pressed their advantage, never allowing Michi- gan to eliminate their lead and won the first set, 25-16. Michigan bounced back in the second set, exchanging the lead five times with North Carolina. The Wolverines got off to a quick start and took a 6-2 lead early on. North Carolina battled back, though, tying the game at eight before Michigan began to pull away, tallying four straight points at 14-12, the last on a Davis kill. North Carolina staged a run of their own, though, trimming Michigan's lead to two at 19-17, forcing a Michigan timeout. The Tar Heels won the next point, cutting the lead to one, before freshman right side hitter Kath- erine Mahlke brought the lead back up to two with a kill. Along with Davis, she led Michigan with nine for the match. The Tar Heels and Wolverines went back and forth until, tied at 24, Michigan committed two hitting errors, giving the set to North Carolina, 26-24. "When the game gets close, a lot of the hitters just go up and try and bang the ball," Davis said. "And it's a good thing to learn from because, in the heat of the moment, we need to know that, that's not always going to be the best decision and we were trying to crush the ball to end the game and that's something that we need to work on." Just five games into the season and playing without their lone senior setter Lexi Dannemiller and a recuperating junior outside hitter in Kelly Murphy, the ACC/ Big Ten Challenge allowed this young Michigan team to gain experience against a seasoned North Carolina squad. Early on, the Wolverines decision-making highlighted their inexperience but the team continued to compete and created opportunities in both the second and third set to extend the match. As the season continues to mature and the team gets healthy, this young team could surprise come Big Ten play. Though this weekend provided a good measure of where the team currently stands, ultimately it's the last game of the season that truly matters, as Rosen put it. Michigan coach Greg Ryan has allowed freshman Megan Hinz to compete for a startingjob over Taylor Bucklin. Hinz earns twoshutouts By BRAD WHIPPLE Daily Sports Writer Last year, Taylor Bucklin made a name for herself as the most successful rookie goalkeeper in Michigan women's soccer history. But that doesn't guarantee her a starting spot this year. "If you perform well, you get to play," said Michigan coach Greg Ryan. "If you're off, somebody else is playing. Nobody has a spot." On a roster with five talented goalkeepers, the competition is fiercer than before. Ryan - who has stressed the irrelevance of past seasons - is keeping things simple. And Bucklin learned that the hard way, when she gave up five goals during the Wolverines' trip to California last weekend. The poor performance landed her a spot on the bench this weekend. Bucklin's replacement, Megan Hinz, is a freshman now taking the reigns of a defense still in its developing stages. Hinz played all 180 minutes this weekend and posted consecutive shutouts to help her team rebound from two blowout losses. "They're competing, and that's, the way it's goingto be this year," Ryan said. "They're competing every time they step on this field. ... (Hinz) had a good weekend, she getsthenextstart. If she cankeep putting these games together, she'll keep playing. Taylor'sgot to wait (for) her chance." Friday against Toledo (3-2- 1), Hinz made just two saves in Michigan's 4-0 victory. Her performance didn't waver in the slightest Sunday, when her two saves were good enough for a 3-0 shutout over Central Michigan (1-3-1). The pair of shutouts comes after the Wolverines gave up eight goals through two games last weekend, two of which were allowed by Hinz. Nonetheless, she got the starting nod over Bucklin. - Now, with three starts this season, Hinz will be in the net for the Wolverines' (4-2) opening Big Ten homestand, assuming the trend continues. Up to this point, though, Hinz hasn't felt much intimidation. "Being able to play behind such a great team helps, and I didn't really have to do all that much this weekend," Hinz said. "Com- inginto itwith such astrongteam really helps my confidence." Within the final minutes of Sunday's game against Central Michigan, though, the back line broke down and Hinz was tested. In the 81st minute, Chippewa midfielder Emily Cooksey snuck past Michigan's right back, and crashed the net. Instead of wait- ing for a shot, Hinz charged from the net and struck the ball away from Cooksey inside the penalty box. Had Hinz mishandled the shot, it would've resulted in a goal. But she looked confident enough to ensure that wouldn't happen, which is why she made the same play a minute later. "Dealing with balls coming in behind, it's always nice to have an aggressive person that's going to come up and get the ball that the defense can't," Hinz said. "I try to provide that, so that way they're notalways sprintingback while I hold my line, because if they geta shot off that close, you never know." According to Ryan, Hinz's aggressiveness is her biggest strength and the main reason she was recruited. "Being that aggressive can be good or bad," Ryan said. "If you use it at the right time, it's great. If you're overaggressive, you can beat yourself ... If (Hinz) can use that aggression effectively and not give away anything, she's going to do really well." In the five games Hinz has played this season, she has given up just two goals, better than Bucklin's three during the first six games of 2013. But that doesn't mean much, because, as Bucklin learned, good things can come to a quick end. MCKENZIE BEREZIN/Daily Caroline Knop transitioned to the outside, but Michigan fell in straight sets. I