~whit. E n I Third's no charm for 'M' soccer The Michigan women's soccer team (2-7-1) lost its third in a row Wednesday afternoon, falling 2-1 to Detroit. The Titans led 1-0 at halftime until Michigan midfielder Kim Phillips, who leads the Wolverines in goals (3) and points (6), tied the game at 54:04 off a pass from Ruth Poulin. Claire.Wilson's goal at 81:54 won the game for the Titans. Page IDA Thursday, October 5, 1995 Former assistant AD for women's sports to be honored Sunday By Maureen Sirhai Daily Staff Reporter It was almost five years ago that Phyllis Ocker ended her twenty-nine year career as Assistant Athletic Director for women's sports - yet her name is not easily forgotten. Sunday, she will be honored for her contributions to the athletic department as well as the university with the dedica- tion of the new field hockey field in her name preceding the Michigan-Ohio State field hockey game.. "It's fantastic," Ocker said of the dedication. "I was not expecting it at all." "This field should not be named after anyone else," women's Athletic director Peggy Bradley-Doppes said. Earlier in the year Bradley-Doppes said Ocker contributed in many capacities and did much for the cause of women's athletics. Ocker came to Michigan in 1961 to begin what she thought would be a few years teaching in the physical education department. What began as teaching ended up occupying Ocker's life until 1990. In 1974, a need arose for the restructuring of the athletic department. Congress passed amendments in the form of Title IX which called for federally funded universities to provide equal opportunities in their athletic programs for both men and women. Yet, Ocker helped to make women's sports more than just a name in the university pamphlets. "There was so much change," Ocker said. "The sports change from AIAW to NCAA. There were some lawsuits against Michigan; the times were tumultuous." Ocker maintains that those lawsuits helped push the univer- sity into following the guidelines and provide the scholarships for women. "I think that spurred us on," Ocker said. "People are not willing to jump into something like this wholeheartedly." Current field hockey coach Patti Smith said that Ocker was Home, sweet home for Michigan field hockey By Jed Rosenthal Daily Sports Writer The Michigan field hockey team will get the chance to appreciate its new astroturf field to- morrow when it hosts No. 7 Penn State. The Wolverines have not played at Ocker Field in three weeks. Following its shutout of Stanford, Sept. 14, Michigan hit the road and continued its shutout tear for an additional three games. Finally, the Wolverines have returned home for a six-game homestand, including five con- tests against Big Ten opponents beginning with the Lady Lions. "They are a well-skilled team," Gia Biagi said. "They are scrappy but smart. They play tough and play to win." ' Penn State enters this weekend coming off an emotional upset victory over No. 4 James Madi- son, the defending NCAA champion. "They always do a good job of peaking when they need to," Biagi said. "They are gaining momentum like us." It has been a wild week for Michigan (2-1 Big Ten, 9-3 overall), beginning with its trip to Iowa City last Friday. Playing game five of its seven-game road trip, the Wolverines were stunned by the Hawkeyes after relinquishing a 3-0 lead, to lose 4-3 in overtime. But instead of dwelling on the defeat, Michi- gan upset then-No. 8 Northwestern by a goal with under one second remaining, and carried the success of the thrilling win to Oxford where it shutout Miami (Ohio). On top of everything else, the Wolverines find themselves ranked No. 8, making the biggest move in the polls this week. With a win instead of a loss to Iowa, Michigan could have found itself ranked even higher. But the loss taught the Wolverines an unforgettable experience which they will carry for the rest of the season. "We learned at Iowa that we just can't play the clock." Biagi said. " We must keep our focus for the whole 70 minutes," Biagi said. "If it takes longer than 70 we still must keep our focus. We have to think of every minute as the most pre- cious field hockey minute of our lives." And that is exactly what the Wolverines plan on doing, beginning with the Lady Lions (2-1, 7- 5). "We're going to tighten up our game play so that we're on the whole game," Flachs said. "We have to make sure of it because Penn State and Ohio State will be tough games." The Wolverines split last season's meetings against both the Lady Lions and the Buckeyes, but they are trying to forget as much of the past as possible. "We just have to prepare as we have been preparing," co-captain Jen Lupinski said. "Wq have to stick to what we know and everything will work." Making everything work may begin with se- nior Sherene Smith. Smith has been a kickstart for Michigan, leading the team with 10 goals on the season, including two in Tuesday's game against Miami. The penalty corner has served as Smith's main opportunity for scoring, netting most of her goals on those plays. "Sherene is awesome," Julie Flachs said of her teammate. "I love corners now. She's doir great. Whenever we have a penalty corner, we're totally confident in her." The Wolverines will need to take the confi- dence from their recent achievements to the limit against Penn State and then prepare for No. 1O Ohio State Sunday, when their new field will be dedicated to former field hockey coach Phyllis Ocker. "We've just got to approach things one game at a time," Biagi said. "We have to think only about our next oppo- nent and respect our opponent each game. Sun- day will be exciting since we'll have family and friends in town, but we just have to focus on the game." TONYA BROAD/Daily GsIIaL ft.uheand #S IMIAflt...L3 AMA.. .I~l L1.. ...IE £1...nn-in Cto..A..In £L P iu runueF anu mu m aniort ig new u y wm tan nunU tate ini m e See OCKER, Page 13A dedication game of the new Phyllis Ocker Field Sunday. Penn State's roar faces a silencing at hands of the By Chris Murphy Daily Sports Writer With the non-conference season of- ficially over with, it is time to get on to bigger and better things. The Big Ten made short work of its non-league oppo- nents, achieving a 27-7-1 record in the process, its best since 1985. There are three Big Ten teams currently in the AP top ten, two of-which play each other this weekend. It is the first week in October, welcome to the road to Pasa- dena. -.Ohio State (0-0 Big Ten, 4-0 over- all) at Penn State (0-1, 3-1). We do not have to wait for one of the biggest games of the year. Last year's national champion, the No. 12 Nittany Lions are coming off an embarrassing home loss to Wisconsin and now face the dismal prospect of dropping two in a row in Beaver Stadium for the first time since 1992. The No.5 Buckeyes are in position to do more than just hand Penn State a loss. With an explosive offense and a solid, hard-hitting defense, Ohio State has its sights set on the Rose Bowl and a national champi- J onship. heSaturday's game will feature some of the nation's most exciting players. On offense, the Buckeyes feature mammoth tailback Eddie George run- ning behind an ex- perienced offen- sive line. Quarter- back Bob Hoying is the Big Ten's top f passer and his fa- _ :. vorite target, Terry Glenn, is the hot- test player in the league. Glenn leads the Big Ten in receiving yards (577) and touchdowns (7). The Nittany Lions, inspired or not, will be hard pressed to hold down Ohio State's scoring. It will take career-best games from the likes of defensive end possible Buckeyes Todd Atkins and cornerback Brian Miller to come close. On the other side of the ball, Penn State will look to kick-start an offense that sputtered against the Badgers. Quar- terback Wally Richardson needs to find wideouts Freddie Scott and Bobby En- gram and runningbacks Mike Archie and Brian Milnein order to open things up. Bookend pass-rushers Matt Finkes and Mike Vrabel have been disrupting offenses for four games this year; this week, Richardson will be their target. This game could very well go down to the battle in the trenches. With one of the best offensive lines in the country down on its luck, the Penn State rushing game could surprise everyone. Add in Joe Paterno and there might be a lot of smiles in Happy Valley. Penn State 27, Ohio State 26 Illinois (0-1,2-2) at Indiana (0-1,2- 2) The Fighting Illini do not care that it is homecoming in Bloomington. Showcasing two of the top pro-pros- pects at linebackers, Illinois has only one thing in mind: driving the Hoosiers into the astroturf of Memorial Stadium. That task should not prove to be all that difficult. Indiana's offense is prac- tically nonexistant. The Hoosiers lost their key to success with tailback Alex Smith out for six weeks. Quarterback Chris Dittoe has yet to throw a touch- down pass this season. This matters little to Illinois line- backers Kevin Hardy and Simeon Rice. The two have combined for eight sacks this season and would probably have a better time fighting off professional guards and tackles. See BIG TEN, Page 12A The Big Ten kicks off Its official conference schedule this weekend. Running back Tshlmanga Biakabutuka and the Michigan Wolverines battle with Northwestern Saturday at Michigan Stadium. SWOW -44 CONSECUTIVE YEARSOF PROFITAILITY! 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