Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, September 11, 2015 — 7A
By KATIE CONKLIN
Daily Sports Writer
The
Michigan
women’s
soccer team’s style is all about
keeping possession. Thursday
night against Central Michigan,
the players remained collected
as they effortlessly connected
pass after pass, knowing their
next move
far before
the
ball
landed
at
their feet.
It was with this fluidity that
the Wolverines scored their
third and final goal of the game,
putting them on top, 3-1.
With the Wolverines up 2-0
in the 64th minute, Central
Michigan midfielder Eliza Van
de Kerkhove got her foot on a
bobbled ball at the top of the
18-yard box and sent it just over
the head of Michigan sophomore
goalie
Megan
Hinz.
The
Chippewas were within one.
However, Michigan (5-2) was
unfazed. Winning 50-50 balls
in the midfield, the Wolverines
settled down the speed of play
while
keeping
possession,
waiting for their opportunity to
break through their opponent’s
defense.
And in the 77th minute, that’s
just what Michigan did.
Freshman
forward
Abby
Kastroll controlled the ball
along the goal line, saw a hole
in the Chippewas’ defense and
slipped the ball through the 18
to the foot of senior forward
and
co-captain
Corinne
Harris. With one touch, Harris
redirected the ball into the back
left corner of the net to seal the
Wolverines’ victory.
“Defensively, we just never
gave up,” Kastroll said. “Finally,
we got forward and got one in
the back of the net. That slowed
the game down and gave us
more confidence.”
Outshooting
Central
Michigan, 24-4, it was obvious
that Michigan’s forwards rose
to the occasion. However, the
Wolverines’ defensive unit was
more important to the win than
the scoring may indicate.
“We’re able to keep the ball
in the back, and that opens
opportunities further up the
field,” said Michigan coach Greg
Ryan. “As the other team comes
high, we can begin to slip balls
in behind.”
Using this tactic, Michigan
held the ball from Central
Michigan (1-3-1) for the majority
of the first 20 minutes of the
game before the Wolverines
knocked in their first goal.
Sophomore
forward
and
leading scorer Taylor Timko
took full advantage of a rebound
off of a Chippewa defender,
hammering Central Michigan’s
remains towards the far right
post. Timko clenched her fist in
celebration before the ball even
hit the net, knowing the shot
was clearly out of reach of any
deflection.
Less than 10 minutes later,
Kastroll capitalized on a failed
clear by Central Michigan.
Taking a right-footed volley,
Kastroll pummeled the ball
toward the far left post, putting
Michigan up 2-0 going into the
half.
With all three Michigan
goals
scored
by
different
players, the Wolverines put
their depth on display. And the
first seven games this season
have proved that any Michigan
player in the offensive third is
a threat.
“It’s nice to know that all of
your teammates are there to
support you and can all come in
and make a difference,” Kastroll
said. “When you have a lot of
goalscorers, it’s really hard to
defend.”
Michigan needs to continue
such ruckus as they head into
the weekend, where they will
take on their first ranked
opponent of the season in No. 13
Notre Dame.
“We’re a very good team,
(Notre Dame’s) a very good
team,” Ryan said. “We’re gonna
play our style, they’re gonna
play theirs.”
Given
Thursday’s
result,
Ryan’s style is working just
fine.
CMU
MICHIGAN
1
3
Offense keys victory
Wolverines took
advantage of
opportunities
Thursday night
By BETELHEM ASHAME
Daily Sports Writer
“Defense
wins
championships” is a common
mantra in sports. However,
it’s the offense that has been
the driving force behind the
Michigan
women’s
soccer
team’s successful start to the
season.
In
Thursday
night’s
3-1
victory
against
Central
Michigan
(1-3-1),
Michigan
continued
its
impressive
offensive stretch. With first-half
goals by sophomore forward
Taylor Timko and freshman
midfielder Abby Kastroll, and
a second-half goal by senior
Corinne Harris that sealed
the win for the Wolverines,
Michigan (5-2) demonstrated
its ability to consistently put the
ball in the back of the net at any
point during a given match.
Creating
a
multitude
of
scoring opportunities has been
one of Michigan’s dominant
traits so far this season. The
Wolverines were leading the
Big Ten in shots per game
(21.5), points per game (9.0),
goals per game (3.17) and
corner kicks per game (8.67)
heading into Thursday’s game.
They had also outshot their
opponents by a 129-39 margin,
and they continued that trend
by outshooting the Chippewas,
24-4. According to Timko, that
is part of the game plan.
“(Michigan coach Greg Ryan)
is so encouraging. He believes in
every single one of our abilities,”
Timko said. “Game by game, his
confidence in us is becoming
more evident, which plays into
our confidence in ourselves.
Anyone has the capability to
take people on in the box, turn,
take a shot or score a goal.”
Ryan
echoed
a
similar
sentiment when describing the
amount of freedom he allows
his players on offense and the
level of trust he has in their
decision-making.
“Once the ball is in their
hands up there, they’re going
to do what they think is best,”
Ryan said. “We have a basic
structure
of
two
strikers
with
one
normally
coming
underneath
to
receive
the ball and
the
other
trying to get
in behind to
create
lanes
for
Taylor
and Abby and Corinne to run
through; however, once they
get in, it’s their decision, and I
think they’re doing really, really
well.”
Timko, a potential breakout
star who entered the game
tied for second in the Big Ten
in points (11) and goals (five),
added a sixth goal with the
opener in Thursday’s match.
As one of the catalysts behind
the
Wolverines’
dominant
offensive performance to start
the season, she credited their
teamwork and selflessness for
her offensive outburst.
“None of my goals would
have happened without the
hard work of the girls around
me that comes before the final
pass,” Timko said. “A lot of my
goals have been off of crosses
and little combinations in the
box. It’s the continuous effort
from the goalie to the forward
that makes everything happen.”
Despite the offense’s strength
in generating chances, Ryan still
sees room for improvement for
the team in terms of capitalizing
on each of those chances.
“It’s fantastic to create so
many scoring chances by taking
so many shots,
but we’re not
finishing
a
high
enough
percentage of
them,”
Ryan
said.
“We’re
focusing
on
improving
our
finishing,
because
it’s
critical that we
do better with
the chances we get.”
If
Michigan
succeeds
in making the most of the
opportunities it’s producing,
its
offense
could
go
from
potent to unstoppable. With a
match-up against No. 13 Notre
Dame coming up this weekend,
that
transformation
could
pay dividends for a team still
growing.
Possession leads ‘M’
to win over Central
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Michigan freshman midfielder Abby Kastroll works to gain possession during Michigan’s win.
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Sophomore forward Taylor Timko scored one of Michigan’s goals in the Wolverines’ 3-1 victory.
“He believes
in every single
one of our
abilities.”
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