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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.”