Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, September 30, 2015 — 7A

Haidar enjoying breakout senior season

Even when she 

comes off the bench, 

Haidar makes an 

impact for Michigan

By BETELHEM ASHAME 

Daily Sports Writer

With five minutes left on the 

game clock, nerves began to run 
high on the sideline and in the 
crowd. The score was deadlocked 
at 0-0, and time was running out 
for the Michigan women’s soccer 
team.

The Wolverines had dominated 

the game against Iowa, controlling 
possession 
and 
dictating 
the 

run of play on their way to 
manufacturing the majority of 
the scoring opportunities in the 
match. They held a 12-1 advantage 
in corner kicks and produced 27 
shots while allowing just three, but 
the potential for victory seemed to 
be drifting further and further out 
of reach as the game clock wound 
down to four minutes, then three 
minutes, then two.

Michigan threw players into the 

attack. Senior defender Christina 
Murillo scrambled down the left 
flank, dribbling through scores of 
defenders, and launched a cross 
into the middle of the box filled 
with Wolverines and Hawkeyes 
awaiting the delivery, either to 
slam the ball in the direction of 
the goal or punt it far away from 
the penalty box.

All the eyes in the U-M Soccer 

Stadium looked up, and one head 
soared above the rest. Michigan 
senior 
forward 
Lulu 
Haidar 

buried the ball in the back of the 
net, unleashing the home crowd 
and team into a joyous frenzy. 
It was the 88th minute, and 
Michigan finally found its game-
winner. And its hero.

Though an underrated player 

on the team, Haidar has the ability 
to take control of a game and 

impact the final score, according 
to Michigan coach Greg Ryan.

“Lulu is the kind of kid that’s 

very confident when she gets 
around the goal,” Ryan said. 
“She’s not tall by any means, but 
she has great timing, she reads 
the flight well, and she can head 
the ball better than most of our 
players. The confidence she has 
in the attacking part of her game 
helps her keep at it and keep going, 
knowing if she gets that chance, 
she’s going to score.”

But that climactic finish only 

tells part of the story of a player 
who knows how to make the most 
of her opportunities.

To start the season, Haidar 

has tallied five goals and one 
assist while playing in eight of 10 
matches and starting just three. 
The results haven’t always come in 

the past — Haidar has more goals 
than in her first three seasons 
combined — but now she’s a spark 
plug whenever she enters the 
game.

“Lulu’s one of the best soccer 

players on our team in terms of her 
attacking ability,” Ryan said. “She’s 
got great skill, she can shoot from 
anywhere and has a very powerful 
shot, and she sees the field well 
and is able to make great passes to 
give her other teammates chances 
to score, so she’s got all the great 
qualities of an attacking player.”

Her position on the team as a 

non-starter but a key role player 
affords her the opportunity to 
come into a game and dramatically 
affect the outcome.

Part of the explanation for her 

strong start may be related to her 
summer job. Haidar spent the 

summer playing on Motor City 
FC – a Women’s Professional 
Soccer League 
U-20 
team. 

There, 
her 

team captured 
the 
league 

championship, 
and 
she 

won 
Golden 

Boot 
and 

Tournament 
MVP awards.

“It 
was 

a 
great 

experience for me, and it had a great 
effect on me as of now,” Haidar 
said. “It was a good opportunity to 
play other teams and to challenge 
myself as a player, and it helped me 
stay in the game and stay in shape 
in addition to working out and 
practicing on my own.”

Ryan 
believes 
that 
her 

productive offseason is paying 

dividends 
both for her 
and for the 
team 
as 
a 

whole.

“Just 
like 

Christina 
Murillo 
playing 
for 

Mexico in the 
World 
Cup, 

when 
your 

kids play at 

a high level over the summer, it 
helps tremendously because they 
come back already ready to go,” 
Ryan said. “I think Lulu came back 
in great shape because she played 
a lot, so she was really ready to put 
her best foot forward, and she has. 
Some of our players that didn’t 

play much this summer, it has 
showed in their ability to impact 
the team.”

Sharing Ryan’s belief, Murillo 

thinks the team has responded 
well to the example Haidar has set 
in the early stages of the season.

“It’s really amazing to see a 

player like Lulu who’s not always 
starting but who goes into the 
game and makes a difference,” 
Murillo said. “That’s inspired 
other players to think ‘I’m getting 
90 minutes, so I need to be making 
more of a difference in the game.’ ”

Making 
the 
most 
of 
her 

opportunities, Haidar serves as 
a reminder of the importance of 
each member of a team through 
her perseverance, dedication and 
passion for the game. For a senior’s 
final hurrah, she’s making quite a 
statement.

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Senior forward Lulu Haidar has tallied five goals and one assist in Michigan’s first 10 games this season. Haidar has made the impact despite starting just three of the Wolverines’ games.

“She’s got all of 

the great qualities 

of an attacking 

player.”

Johnson again looking to 
rebound from ACL tear

The running back 
did not allow time 
for sadness during 

his recovery

By MAX BULTMAN 

Daily Sports Editor

Drake Johnson gave himself 

one hour for pity.

The day he found out he 

had torn his anterior cruciate 
ligament for the second time, 
Michigan’s 
then-redshirt 

sophomore running back needed 
to get his feelings out. He drove 
around, listening to Boyz II Men 
and Mariah Carey, wallowing in 
the raw emotion of being told he 
had reinjured his ACL. But just 
for an hour.

“After 
that 

… I had to get 
back,” Johnson 
said. “I couldn’t 
have 
any 

more negative 
emotions if I 
wanted to play 
(again), so it 
was like, ‘It’s 
time 
to 
get 

going.’ ”

Johnson, who grew up in Ann 

Arbor and came to Michigan 
from Pioneer High School, made 
immense strides at the end of the 
2014 season. He rushed for 122 
yards and two touchdowns in a 
breakout game against Indiana, 
and by the time the Ohio State 
game rolled around, he was 
verging on being the go-to back.

But in the third quarter 

against the Buckeyes, Johnson 
injured his knee as he scored a 
touchdown. He didn’t return 
to the game, and it was later 
revealed he had torn the same 
ACL he had injured his redshirt 
freshman season, in 2013.

It could have been a devastating 

blow to his confidence and to his 
career. But Johnson didn’t let his 
second torn ACL keep him down 

long.

Today, 
Johnson 
exudes 

optimism even when talking 
about one of the most difficult 
injuries 
an 

athlete 
can 

face. He worked 
himself 
back 

to 
health 
in 

time for camp, 
a 
nine-month 

process for the 
same 
injury 

that took him 
six the first time around.

“I was in a wheelchair for a few 

weeks,” Johnson said. “Luckily it 
was over winter break, so I kind 
of, like, wheel-chaired around 
my house. I got really bored, so I 
tried to do tricks on it, do wheelies 
on it and stuff, entertain myself. I 
got really good, actually.”

After 

getting 
out 
of 
the 

wheelchair, 
Johnson 
began 
the 

rehab process 
and expected 
to be ready for 
full contact by 
the first day 
of fall camp. 
But 
when 

he saw the speed at which his 
teammates were playing, he 
realized he wouldn’t be able to 
jump back in as quickly as he 
initially wanted.

And when he finally got the 

green light to return in August, 
he had to play catch-up to an 
even deeper stable of running 
backs 
than 
the 
Wolverines 

had last season. But according 
to Johnson, there hasn’t been 
any envy or hostility between 
him, redshirt junior De’Veon 
Smith, junior Derrick Green and 
redshirt sophomore Ty Isaac.

Instead, 
he 
says 
the 

competition has helped the backs 
learn from each other.

“I watch De’Veon, I watch 

Derrick and Ty all practice, 
and they do good things. They 

do dope things,” Johnson said. 
“You’re like, ‘Wow, that was 
dope.’ They make cuts, they make 
blocks, they make all these plays 

and 
you’re 

like, ‘I should 
do that!’

“That’s 

the kind of 
environment 
we have. I’ll 
pop off a long 
run, and I’ll 
look back, and 

they’ll be like, ‘Hey Drake, how’d 
you do that?’ Or, I’ll come back 
and I’ll watch them pop off a long 
run: ‘Hey, how’d you do that?’ ”

And so far, that growth is 

showing on the field. Through 
four 
games, 
Michigan 
is 

averaging 202 rushing yards per 
game. Johnson has gotten just 
11 carries for 57 yards, but right 
now, he’s focused on being part 
of a unit that amasses large totals 
together.

After two torn ACLs, he’s not 

taking any role for granted, even 
if that means standing on the 
sideline, watching Smith carry 
the load. He isn’t content to warm 
the bench, but at the same time, 
he roots for his fellow backs, his 
friends, to succeed.

“We aren’t having to have 

this pissing contest to see who 
can kick the other in the shins 
harder,” Johnson said.

But Johnson is getting closer 

to being able to take back part of 
the load, adding burst and agility 
to a backfield that is mostly built 
for power.

“Obviously, 
like 
I 
said, 

everyone wants to be the starter,” 
Johnson said. “But I’m happy 
with wherever they’ll play me. I 
just want to be effective for the 
team, essentially. If that’s being 
a third-down back, if that’s goal-
line back, if that’s second-string 
back. Whatever it is, I just want 
to help the team in a positive 
manner.”

The time for pity has long 

since passed. Now, Johnson just 
wants to play football.

FOOTBALL

“I couldn’t 
have any 

more negative 

emotions.”

“I’m happy with 
wherever they’ll 

play me.”

Man coverage keys success 
of Wolverines’ elite defense

By ZACH SHAW 

Daily Sports Editor

With a new set of coaches 

in spring practice, Michigan’s 
secondary knew there were going 
to be changes in 2015. The unit 
wasn’t sure what those changes 
entailed, though, until it got onto 
the field.

Suddenly, 
the 
cornerbacks 

were in the faces of wide receivers, 
running 
backs 
and 
linemen. 

Rather than standing five yards 
back and waiting for the play to 
reveal itself, the Wolverines were 
on top of the offense right at the 
snap.

That only intensified come 

August, 
when 
the 
Michigan 

football coaching staff increased 
man coverage in the secondary.

The 
cornerbacks 
were 

exhausted, but, aside from a few 
miscues, they were thriving — 
recording 90 turnovers in three 
weeks of training camp practices.

With eight returning starters 

and over a dozen key contributors 
back from last season, much of the 
Wolverines’ development into the 
nation’s second-best defense this 
fall can be attributed to simply 
growing up.

But in recording a shutout over 

then-No. 22 Brigham Young, the 
secondary made it loud and clear 
what the key to their success was — 
they were manning up more than 
many had in their entire careers.

“We noticed all the way 

through camp we were doing 
man, that’s all we practice really,” 
said redshirt junior cornerback 
Jeremy Clark. “We were really 
prepared for a season of it. We 
were all on board with it.”

Like any football decision, 

increasing man coverage in the 
secondary comes with pros and 
cons. It’s more physical, risky 
and challenging, but can equate 
to more turnovers, fewer big 
plays and — most importantly 
for Michigan — a smash-mouth 
identity that sends chills down 
opposing offenses’ spines.

“It’s a compliment to me that 

(Michigan defensive coordinator 

D.J. Durkin) thinks we can play 
like that in man coverage,” said 
senior cornerback Jeremy Clark. 
“It’s tiring, but as Coach Durkin 
says, we want to play aggressive, 
and to do that we’ve got to play 
man coverage. We love it.”

On Saturday, the Wolverines 

stood tall against the Cougars’ 
four 6-foot-4 or taller receivers, 
holding 
quarterback 
Tanner 

Mangum to just 12 completions 
on 28 attempts.

In four games this season, 

Michigan 
has 
held 
opposing 

quarterbacks 
to 
a 
93.93 

quarterback rating, 43.4 points 
below 
those 
quarterbacks’ 

season averages. That, too, can be 
attributed to the man coverage.

“I really like it — it allows 

them to be aggressive with the 
receivers and take control,” said 
senior safety Jarrod Wilson. “I 
know it’s tiresome for them, but it 
makes my job easier so I can just 
focus on the quarterback and get 
my reads off the quarterback and 
make some plays.”

Having to track the receivers 

from the opening snap tires 

cornerbacks out over the course of 
the game, and corner may be one 
of Michigan’s thinnest positions. 
But the Wolverines feel more than 
ready to continue meeting that 
challenge.

“If you tell a corner they can’t 

sit back on their heels, they have 
to be aggressive and go after the 
receiver, they’re not going to 
hesitate,” Wilson said. “(Playing 
man’s) got them excited now, and 
they’re rising to that challenge.”

Though Michigan has just 

three interceptions in four games, 
the entire defense has felt the 
effect of the man coverage.

In addition to being second in 

the nation in yards allowed, the 
Wolverines are fourth in points 
allowed, 10th in pass defense and 
17th in tackles tackles for loss per 
game with eight, all thanks to the 
secondary.

“Every time we get a sack, we 

know it’s because our secondary 
made sure nothing was open,” 
said senior defensive tackle Mario 
Ojemudia. “I definitely tip my 
hat to the secondary — they’re 
playing great.”

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

Jeremy Clark has picked off two passes for Michigan this season.