The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
October 12, 2015 — 3B

Sarkisian hat trick lifts 
‘M’ over Fighting Illini

By JORDAN HERBSTMAN

For the Daily

With the help of redshirt 

sophomore 
forward 
Ani 

Sarkisian’s 
first 
career 
hat 

trick, the Michigan women’s 
soccer team walked away with 
its second 
victory 
of 

the 
week. 

After 
beating No. 22 Northwestern 
on Thursday, the Wolverines 
came out Sunday afternoon 
with a valiant defensive effort 
once again, beating the Fighting 
Illini, 3-1. 

Michigan started off the 

game with high levels of energy 
and stout defense. From the 
start, the Wolverines (5-1-1 Big 
Ten, 10-4-1 overall) put pressure 
on Illinois and never let up. 
Within the first 17 minutes of the 
opening half, Michigan put up 
seven shots, while the Fighting 
Illini got off only one shot. 

“We put them under a lot of 

pressure and then they had a 
hard time getting in any kind 
of a rhythm,” 
said Michigan 
coach 
Greg 

Ryan. 

Though the 

Wolverines 
were 
in 

control for the 
entire 
game, 

they suffered 
a 
setback 

in 
the 
17th 

minute when 
they gave up an own goal, 
putting Illinois up 1-0 early. 
The Fighting Illini (2-3-3, 8-3-
3) seemed to pick up some 
momentum. However, it was 
stopped in the 20th minute 
when 
Sarkisian 
maneuvered 

through the Illinois defense 

and kicked a hard line drive 
in the top right side of the net 
for Michigan’s first goal of the 
game, Sarkisian’s fourth of the 

season. 

“That first 

goal … she just 
kept 
going, 

kept pushing 
it 
by 
player 

after player,” 
Ryan 
said. 

“She was huge 
for us today.” 

The 

Wolverines 
continued 

their dominance for the rest of 
the match, holding the Fighting 
Illini’s offense to a minimum. In 
the final 10 minutes of the half, 
Michigan put up five shots and 
outshot Illinois, 9-2, in the first 
half. Though the Wolverines 
were 
in 
control, 
they 
still 

needed to find a way to put the 
ball in the net. 

After 
halftime, 
Michigan 

continued playing with the same 
energy and determination it 
showed consistently throughout 
the first half. At about the 51st 
minute, the Wolverines went on 
a full-out attack, with aggressive 
play from Sarkisian and junior 
forward 
Nicky 
Waldeck. 

However, they still were unable 
to get any results. 

The results started appearing 

in 
the 
65th 
minute, 
when 

Sarkisian scored her second goal 
of the day, knocking the ball 
off her chest and into the net 
with an assist from sophomore 
forward Taylor Timko. Sarkisian 
scored again three minutes later 
when she received a pass from 
freshman forward Reilly Martin 
and buried it, earning a hat trick.

“We were able to break 

apart their defense really well,” 
Sarkisian said. “They weren’t 
really sticking with our runs … 
and they weren’t able to stop us.”

Michigan 
remained 
in 

control of the game until the 
end, 
allowing 
the 
Fighting 

Illini just two shots in the final 
20 minutes of play. The only 
sign of a comeback came with a 
corner kick with eight minutes 
remaining, but the Wolverines’ 
defense proved too much for 
Illinois. 
Michigan 
held 
the 

Fighting Illini to five shots in 
the second half, maintaining the 
same dominance it showed in 
the first. 

“What (Ryan) has been telling 

us at halftime is, we can’t just sit 
back and hope that we’re gonna 
score,” said senior defender 
Christina Murillo. “We want to 
keep going at them for the full 
90 minutes.”

Home atmosphere 
boosts Wolverines

Michigan has won 
seven straight home 
games, outscoring 

opponents 15-3

By COLE ZINGAS

For the Daily

Drum-banging, soccer-crazed 

students decked out in maize 
and blue attire and chanting 
relentlessly is what Michigan 
soccer games have become known 
for.

The support of the Michigan 

Ultras in the student section, as 
well as fans, friends and family, 
has led senior defender Christina 
Murillo to fall in love with playing 
at “one of the best stadiums 
out there,” and apparently the 
rest of the Wolverines have as 
well. Michigan has outscored 
opponents a combined 24-6 at 
home this season, only losing a 
single game.

The Wolverines haven’t lost at 

U-M Soccer Stadium since Aug. 
23. They are now 4-0 in the Big 
Ten at home, and in these games 
they’ve combined to outshoot 
their opponents 91-25. 

When the Wolverines (5-1-1 

Big Ten, 10-4-1 overall) took on 
Illinois in Ann Arbor on Sunday, 
they showed once again the same 
energy and determination they’ve 
showed all year on home turf. 
With a 3-1 defeat of the Fighting 
Illini (2-3-3, 8-3-3), Michigan 
notched their eighth consecutive 
home win. 

Coming off a big home win 

against No. 22 Northwestern on 
Thursday, Michigan was looking 
to carry some momentum into 
the game against Illinois. But an 
unlucky bounce off of a defender 
into the net left the Wolverines 
trailing at home for the first time 
in Big Ten play. 

But that didn’t stop them. 

Michigan 
coach 
Greg 
Ryan 

pointed to the energy the players 
showed Sunday as the reason for 
the come-from-behind win, which 
has been consistent at every home 
game thus far. “The energy the 
team puts in here is really special,” 
Ryan said. “Today, Illinois just 
wasn’t able to cope with that 
amount of energy. I felt like that 
was the difference in the game.”

Not only does the crowd 

energize the players, but the 
players returned the favor with 
their determination. After the 
early Fighting Illini goal and 
many missed opportunities for 
the Wolverines, the crowd turned 
silent. But redshirt sophomore 
forward Ani Sarkisian got the 
home fans back into the game. 
Dribbling the ball past several 
defenders, Sarkisian moved the 
ball to the top of the box and 
ripped it home to tie the game at 1.

That 
extra 
determination 

Sarkisian showed on the first goal 
was what allowed her to capitalize 
on 
two 
more 
opportunities, 

scoring the first hat trick of her 
career. 

“We kept our possession up like 

usual today,” Sarkisian said. “We 
just finished more.”

Ryan was especially impressed 

with Sarkisian’s effort.

“Today, 
it 
was 
just 
that 

determination to go to goal,” he 
said. “She just kept going, pushing 
it by player after player.”

The defense, midfielders and 

forwards all worked together on 
Sunday, constantly putting shots 
on goal, playing physical defense 
and making few mental mistakes. 
Murillo would like this kind of 
home effort to continue, as only 
one more home game remains for 
her and other seniors who will be 
graduating after the season.

“Especially 
for 
us 
seniors, 

playing at home is always a great 
atmosphere,” Murillo said. 

WOMEN’S SOCCER

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Redshirt sophomore forward Ani Sarkisian scored three goals as Michigan moved to 5-1-1 in the Big Ten on Sunday.

“We were able 
to break apart 
their defense 
really well.”

ILLINOIS
MICHIGAN 

1
3

Wolverines suffer 
first Big Ten defeat

By AVI SHOLKOFF 

For the Daily

The game ended quickly. 

Despite 
so 
many 
perfectly 

placed shots, it just came down 
to one.

After a hard-fought, evenly-

matched game, the Michigan 
men’s soccer team couldn’t 
contain Rutgers forward Jason 
Wright, 
who 
shot 

the 
ball 

straight into the bottom left 
corner in the 93rd minute of 
Saturday’s game at U-M Soccer 
Stadium. With that first and 
only goal, the Wolverines (2-1-2, 
Big Ten, 5-3-3 overall) suffered 
their first conference loss of the 
season, 1-0.

“Overtime is a coin toss with 

any team,” said Michigan coach 
Chaka Daley. “I think we just 
lost a coin toss today.”

Freshman forward Francis 

Atuahene and 
senior forward 
William 
Mellors-Blair 
continued 
to 
lead 
the 

Wolverines’ 
offensive 
attack. 
Atuahene 
led 

the team with four shots, with 
Mellors-Blair adding two. Both 
Atuahene 
and 
Mellors-Blair 

were tackled hard in the penalty 
box, at different points during 
the game, yet did not receive 
penalty kicks, much to the 
dismay of the fans at the game.

Junior 
defender 
Lars 

Eckenrode 
explained 
that 

despite the aggressiveness of the 
Rutgers (2-3-0, 6-4-1) defense, 
Michigan maintained its typical 
approach.

“East Coast teams are tougher 

on the tackle,” Eckenrode said. 
“I know that, just being from 
the East Coast. It (gave) us a 
little more energy to come even 
harder on the tackle.”

The Wolverines and Scarlet 

Knights fought neck and neck 

throughout the game. The two 
teams attempted 14 and 13 shots, 
including three and four on goal, 
respectively. The teams also had 
similar foul counts, and each 
goalkeeper saved three shots.

Many of Michigan’s chances 

were created by junior midfielder 
Rylee Woods. Woods took many 
of the set pieces, including the 
Wolverines’ 11 corners. In the 
63rd minute, the junior crossed 
a ball into the box to senior 
midfielder Colin McAtee, but 
the ensuing header was blocked 
by the Rutgers goalkeeper.

Sunday marked Michigan’s 

third 
consecutive 
overtime 

match. The team continued 
into extra time with the same 
strategy and mindset it held 
throughout the previous 90 
minutes. Daley emphasized how 
quick and aggressive overtime 
matches can seem.

“When you’re at home, you 

don’t sit and defend for 20 

minutes,” 
Daley 
said. 

“Obviously 
we want to 
go for it and 
play it on the 
offensive.”

Despite the 

team’s failure 
to convert its 

chances, Daley shied away from 
criticizing the team’s offensive 
attacking skills.

“It was a rough day at the 

office,” he said.

Daley praised the Scarlet 

Knights for their performance. 
He also spoke of the strength 
of the Big Ten conference as a 
whole, noting the difficulty of 
playing each team.

Daley stressed that Michigan 

will look to move forward from 
this loss and focus on preparing 
for its upcoming games.

“We gotta put this behind us, 

(not) dwell on it,” he said. “We 
have to move on, get our minds 
right for Tuesday.”

In a heads-or-tails match, the 

coin came up on the wrong side 
for the Wolverines.

MEN’S SOCCER

RUTGERS
MICHIGAN 

1
0

“It was a 

rough day at 
the office.”

AMANDA ALLEN/Daily

Senior back Lauren Thomas led a stifling Michigan defense that shut out No. 20 Iowa and No. 9 Stanford over the weekend.
Michigan defeats two ranked teams

By MIKE PERSAK

For the Daily

With two wins over ranked 

opponents this weekend, the No. 
16 Michigan field hockey team is 
becoming 
a 
national 

force. 
The 

Wolverines’ 
wins 
over 

Iowa 
and 

Stanford 
came in different fashions, but 
both were extremely important 
for 
Michigan 
coach 
Marcia 

Pankratz and her team.

Friday’s game against No. 20 

Iowa was a dominant display from 
the Wolverines on both offense 
and defense, as they came away 
with a 4-0 victory.

“It was a huge game,” Pankratz 

said. “We rose to the occasion and 
played well. I was really proud of 
the team.”

Senior back Lauren Thomas 

came up with two goals in the 
win, her fourth and fifth of the 
season, while senior forward 

Shannon Scavelli and sophomore 
back Katie Trombetta also netted 
a goal each.

“We can’t win if our team is not 

performing and scoring goals,” 
Thomas said. “So that’s really nice 
to be able to say that I can help 
with that.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Sam 

Swenson 
complemented 
the 

offensive outpouring by holding 
the 
Hawkeyes 

scoreless. 
The 

performance 
marked 
the 

team’s 
fifth 

shutout of the 
year. However, 
Swenson, who 
played most of 
the game before 
being 
relieved 

by 
redshirt 

junior Chris Lueb with 11 minutes 
remaining, was quick to give 
praise to her teammates for their 
contributions to the shutout.

“It comes from the defense, and 

the midfield, and the offense first,” 
Swenson said. “Then it comes to 

us. But our defense does all of the 
hard work, and then (Lueb) really 
got the shutout in the end.”

Following Friday’s win, the 

Wolverines traveled to Evanston 
to take on No. 9 Stanford at a 
neutral site.

Michigan drew first blood 

when Scavelli scored her second 
goal of the weekend 15 minutes 
into the game.

One 
goal 

was 
all 
the 

Wolverines 
would need, as 
the 
Cardinal 

had no answer 
for Michigan’s 
stout defense. 
Stanford 
fell 

victim to the 
Wolverines’ 
second 

straight shutout, 1-0.

The 
two 
wins 
from 
the 

weekend 
could 
have 
larger 

implications for Michigan, not 
only in terms of momentum, but 
also in terms of NCAA ranking as 
the postseason approaches.

Because 
of 
their 
current 

ranking, the Wolverines aren’t yet 
shoe-ins for the 16-team NCAA 
Tournament. Defeating top teams 
will help Michigan’s case.

While 
the 
weekend 
wins 

marked the Wolverines’ fifth and 
sixth shutouts of the year and 
improved the team’s record against 
ranked opponents to 3-3, Michigan 
remains focused simply on being at 
its best by the end of the season.

“We have a debriefing after 

every game,” Pankratz said. “Win 
or lose, we’re trying to learn, 
trying to grow.”

Even with the big weekend, the 

Wolverines still have room for 
improvement. They will travel on 
the road for their next three games 
before returning to Ann Arbor for 
their regular season finale against 
Ohio State on October 31.

But if Michigan continues 

to play as it has over its five-
game 
winnng 
streak, 
with 

timely offense and lockdown 
defense, it will be hard to keep 
the Wolverines out of the NCAA 
Tournament.

IOWA
MICHIGAN 

0
4

STANFORD
MICHIGAN 

0
1

“It was a huge 

game. We rose to 
the occasion and 

played well.”

