The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 8, 1995 - 19 ...wuNCAA powers Darttad Hartford loom in'M'soccer's weekend By David Rothbart Daily Sports Writer Out of the frying pan and into the fire. That's this weekend's recipe for the Michi- gan women's soccer team. After starting the season with two hotly contested games, the Wolverines (1-1) square off with a pair of nationally-ranked squads in the Adidas Women's Soccer Cup in West Hartford, Conn. Saturday, Michigan faces 18th-ranked Dartmouth; the Wolverines tangle with 7th- ranked Hartford Sunday.. Coach Debbie Belkin said that although her team is the underdog in this weekend's matches, opponents would be wrong to take nents, 46-16. In the season opener, a 2-0 win over Wis- consin-Green Bay, the Michigan defense al- lowed only three shots in the entire game. Belkin credited the Michigan offense for keeping control of the ball in the offensive end. Sunday's match may prove tougher than Saturday's, though host Hartford (1-0) will use the more familiar man-to-man defensive set. Outside midfielder Irene Snellings led Hartford to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament last season, and spent this past summer playing for the Danish National Team. Belkin said the Wolverines will concen- the Wolverines lightly. "We're going in to win," Belkin said. "We've got a solid team. Anything can happen." Dartmouth (0-0) plays a different style than Michigan's past opponents. The Big Green resorts to a zone rather than the man-to- man defense most teams employ. Accord- ing to Belkin, the Wol- verines can break down Dartmouth's defense by keeping possesion of the ball and slipping past1 four defenders. We're going in to win. We've got a solid team. Anything can happen." - Debbie Belkin trate on containing Snellings, but they must also keep Hartford's for- wards at bay. "They can flat-out score goals," Belkin said. "Our defense bet- ter be ready for a work- out." The question remains which Michigan goal- keeper will be respon- sible for muting Dartmouth and saves, but it was not a busy day for her, thanks to the Wolverines' tough team de- fense. In her college debut against Northern Illinois Sunday, Jones gave up two goals out of the 13 shots fired her way. Michigan lost by a goal to Northern Illinois. Belkin said the goals were the result of defensive breakdowns, not errors on Jones' part. Welchans has the edge in experience. Jones has the edge in range and mobility. Who will startthis weekend? Belkin claims she's not sure. "We'll see how things go in practice," Belkin said. "We'll take it practice by practice, week by week. If (Welchans or Jones) is on a great run, they'll keep play- ing." Offensively, the Wolverines will rely on junior midfielder Kim Phillips, who scored Michigan's only goal against Northern Illinois. Phillips got off six shots in the match, the third-highest single-game mark in Michigan history. Belkin said the Wolverines will con- tinue to set Phillips up for shots. "Her shot is her strength," Belkin said. "She's the one to put the ball in the net." On the offensive end, Phillips will get help from sophomores Ashley Marks and Karen Montgomery. Both scored in the win over Wisconsin Green-Bay. Marks' goal came on the first shot of her career. Belkin says she is pleased with her team's start and excited about this ' weekend's challenge. "We're off on the right track," Belkin said. "It would be great to go in and pull an upset." Michigans Dartmouth's back Soccer coach Hartford's potent scor- ing attacks. Belkin must choose who will take the net this weekend -junior Jori Welchans or freshman Jessica Jones. With Welchans in goal last season, Michi- gan posted a 11-7-1 mark in its first year as a varsity team. In the shutout of Wisconsin Green-Bay, Welchans came up with a couple of key "(The zone) defense is exposed if you get behind them," Belkin said. "We'll get our shots." So far, the Wolverines have been doing just that. Michigan outshot its first two oppo- The Michigan women's soccer team plays this weekend at the Adidas Women's Soccer Classic, where they will face NCAA powers Dartmouth and Hartford. r ..t, .... .. .._r,. _ .. ,, .Wolverines attempt to improve on first season By Dan Stillman Daily Sports Writer Despite a promising 11-7-1 finish in last year's inaugural season, the Michigan women's soccer team has a "lot of work to do if it is to become a Big Ten power. Six of the Wolver- ines' seven losses came against con- ference opponents. A balance of experience and new 'i blood should help the Wolverines im- * " prove inthe Big Ten. Michigan re- tPurns 13 players from last year, in- cluding junior midfielder Kim Phillips, the team's most lethal offen- sive threat. Phillips' eight goals, along with sophomore midfielder Debbie Flaherty's seven assists, helped the Wolverines' average 19.2 shots per game. Returning to net isjuniorgoaltender Jori Welchans, who sported a 1.13 goals-against average and shut out six opponents last year. Among 13 rookies are 1995 Michi- gan High School Soccer Coaches All- State Dream Team midfielder Laura r lwFedrigo from Livonia. Freshman midfielder Kelly Lukasik should also ='contribute significantly in her first season. r Head coach Debbie Belkin enters , her fourth year of coaching, her sec- ond at Michigan. Belkin coached at P c Massachusetts before coming to of , Michigan last year. After her first Big Ten season, Belkin has learned a couple lessons about winning in this ., conference. "You have to play a physical game inthe Big Ten," Belkin said. "We lost st a lot of games in the last 10 minutes last year.-These games are strong for l 90 minutes." t Michigan's biggest problem spot could be its defense. Three of last season's defensive starters are gone. "The back fbur is going to have to jell," Belkin said. "They need to de- ro velop defensive presence." Michigan also needs to take advan- , tage of scoring opportunities more U, often this year, according to Belkin. However, the Wolverines failed to do r so in Monday's 2-1 loss to Northern Illinois. Veteran or rookie, all the Wolver- ines will be playing on a new home field this year. They debut the new . Michigan Soccer Field in their first .; home game Sept. 17 against Buffalo. Michigan next plays this weekend at the Adidas Women's Soccer Cup in West Hartford, Conn. 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