Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, October 14, 2015 — 7A
De Jong part of crowded ‘D’ core;
Larkin makes impressive debut
Berenson mum on
starter at goalie
ahead of Friday’s
season opener
By JASON RUBINSTEIN
Daily Sports Editor
Michigan hockey coach Red
Berenson has a new problem:
he
has
too
many
qualified
defensemen.
Compared
to
last
season,
when Berenson had to lean
heavily on his
top
pairings,
this
season
there aren’t enough spots for
each defenseman to dress every
night.
“We’re still going to have
a tough decision every game
putting our lineup together on
defense,” Berenson said. “We’ve
got eight defensemen who can
play, and we’re not going to dress
eight — we’re either going to
dress six or seven.”
Part of the crowded defense
stems from the addition of two
highly touted freshmen: Joesph
Cecconi and Nicholas Boka. Both
played well in the Wolverines’
exhibition game against the
University of Toronto, and look
capable of logging considerable
minutes.
And with juniors Michael
Downing and Cutler Martin
— as well as sophomore Zach
Werenski — already locks to play
every night, there are just one or
two spots left on defense.
Look for junior Kevin Lohan,
junior
Nolan
De
Jong
and
sophomore Sam Piazza to vie for
that spot or spots.
De Jong has been particularly
noticeable thus far. He notched
the first goal of his career against
Toronto, played the point on the
power play and made good zone
reads.
“He’s a junior now and a
leader on the D-core,” Werenski
said. “We don’t have any junior
defensemen, so the juniors will
have to step up. And he’s got to
step up. Even though it was an
exhibition, he scored and got that
monkey off his back. I know he
hasn’t scored here yet.”
Berenson, however, said De
Jong still hasn’t reached his
full potential. But Berenson
is starting to notice glimpses
of De Jong’s
ability that he
saw when he
recruited him.
De
Jong
credits that to
his
strenous
lifting
and
conditioning
routine
this
summer for his
improvement,
which has also made him “more
comfortable on the ice.”
If De Jong becomes the player
Berenson believes he can be,
he could be a top puck-moving
defenseman who can run the
point on the offensive attack.
And while he might not be
there yet, he’s well on his way,
giving
Berenson
a
tougher
decision every night.
GOALTENDING
CONUNDRUM: The goaltending
situation still remains an enigma.
In the exhibition game against
Toronto, Berenson opted to start
junior Zach Nagelvoort in the
first period, senior Steve Racine
in the second and freshman
Chad Catt in the third.
“We’re
just starting,”
Berenson said.
“This
has
been
really
good, and the
coaches
have
only been on
the ice for a
week.
We’re
just getting a
feel now with
(goaltending coach Steve) Shields
on the ice everyday. So we’ll see
who plays Friday.”
LARKIN’S NHL SPLASH:
Last year’s Big Ten Freshman
of the Year is already forming
an impressive résumé for NHL
Rookie of the Year.
Dylan
Larkin,
who
left
Michigan after one season, made
the Detroit Red Wings’ opening-
night roster and has wasted
no time making a splash. The
former Wolverine notched a goal
and an assist in his first game.
He became the first Red
Wings player to score in his NHL
debut against the Toronto Maple
leads since Gordie Howe — 69
years ago.
“I was surprised, but I wasn’t,”
Werenski said. “It’s pretty cool
for him to score his first goal at
(Joe Louis Arena). I was on the
glass actually, and he looked over
at me a few times.”
Added Berenson: “It was a
perfect storm for Dylan, playing
in Detroit, playing on the first
line, scoring a goal, and then
they won.”
Larkin has a goal and three
assists through two games.
BRIEFLY: Junior defenseman
Michael Downing is now all-
systems-go after injuring his
hand just under two weeks ago.
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Junior defender Nolan De Jong has edged his way into the conversation on Michigan’s deep blue line.
“We’re still
going to have a
tough decision
every game.”
NOTEBOOK
For a full season preview
Check the Face-Off insert in
Thursday’s paper
‘M’ dominates Duquesne
By TYLER SCOTT
Daily Sports Writer
The attacking end of the
Michigan men’s soccer team
has been far more productive
than in 2014, and that showed in
Tuesday’s
match
against
Duquesne.
The Wolverines defeated the
Dukes, 3-0, after scoring all of
their goals within the first 46
minutes of the game and bearing
down
defensively
to
limit
Duquesne’s
own
second-half
chances.
Michigan’s recent offensive
success hasn’t been lost on senior
forward Colin McAtee, who
contributed two scores.
“We’re feeling pretty good
about our offense this year,”
McAtee
said.
“Especially
compared to last year, where I
don’t know if we even scored
much more than we have now.”
Michigan is averaging 1.83 goals
per game this season, compared to
1.11 for all of last year.
Despite being tied for first
in the Big Ten, the win over
Duquesne was the first for the
Wolverines (5-3-3) in the month
of October. Michigan opened up
the month with tie games against
Wisconsin and No. 7 Notre Dame,
and most recently suffered an
overtime loss to Rutgers.
“It’s not like we’ve been
playing poorly or we have to
change anything drastically,”
said
Michigan
coach
Chaka
Daley. “A lot of teams come to
Michigan and give us their best
game. So we have to ultimately
be prepared for that, and have
to ride the highs with the lows.
I think our guys did a good job
responding tonight.”
The
Wolverines
have
been without senior captain
James Murphy due to injury
for a month, and freshmen
defenseman Marcello Borges is
currently playing in an under-20
league in Germany. Even with
a
somewhat-depleted
roster,
Michigan
stopped
Duquesne
from
ever
getting
into
the
contest.
The
Dukes
took
just
seven shots compared to the
Wolverines’ 15, and sophomore
goalkeeper Evan Louro only had
to make one save to be perfect on
the night.
Daley
has
stamped
into
his team the belief that good
defense at all positions will
give Michigan chances to win.
Indeed, the first goal of the
night came in the 27th minutes
as McAtee contested Duquesne
goalkeeper Sam Frymier as a
high-deflected ball came down
inside the 12-yard box.
As the ball fell toward the
pitch,
both
players
slipped.
Frymier fell forward, leaving
McAtee with the ball and a
wide open net. He was able to
scramble to his feet and launch a
scoring shot before the defenders
closed in to give Michigan a lead
to build on.
“It was great to look up to see
the ball in front of me and the
goal wide open,” McAtee said.
“It’s not the prettiest goal, but I’ll
take that any day. That’s probably
the easiest goal I’ve had.”
Just 10 minutes later, the
Wolverines doubled their score
in a more standard fashion.
Freshman
forward
Francis
Atuahene was able to speed past
his defender to receive a through
ball from sophomore midfielder
Tyler Anderson on the backside
of the play and net a wide open
shot just below the crossbar
center goal.
In the first half, the Dukes
repeatedly
tried
to
draw
Michigan on the attack and
send the ball deep in order
to
create
offensive
chances.
They managed to get off five
shots in the first half, some of
which soared barely outside the
crossbars, but much of the game
was spent with the Wolverines
controlling the ball on offense.
Ten seconds into the second
half, chances of a Duquesne
comeback were further dashed
by McAtee. On the echo of the
whistle, the Wolverine front line
of McAtee, redshirt sophomore
midfielder
Michael
Kapitula
and freshman midfielder Robbie
Mertz started sprinting toward
the goal line.
Three successful passes later,
McAtee was lined up for an open
shot inside the 18-yard box on
the left for his second goal of the
night.
Staring in the face of a
3-0 deficit, Duquesne rarely
threatened again. It did get its
only shot on goal, which Louro
saved, one of only two shots by
the Dukes in the second half.
“We
were
definitely
very
motivated (after the loss to
Rutgers),” McAtee said. “And to
score early, I think that really
helped boost our confidence and
control the rest of the game.”
Atuahene leads
Michigan in win
By KATIE CONKLIN
Daily Sports Writer
Francis
Atuahene’s
shot
powered off his laces and slid
just beneath the crossbar. It
was the Michigan men’s soccer
team’s second goal Tuesday
night, boosting the Wolverines
to a 3-0 victory over Duquesne,
and Atuahene’s ninth goal of his
rookie season.
The freshman forward has
been a force on Michigan’s
roster ever since he stepped
foot on Wolverine turf. In his
debut match against then-No. 6
Creighton, Atauhene took two
shots, one on net. He has upheld
this tenacity and become one of
Michigan’s top scoring threats.
“He’s been one of the most
dominant players on the team
and one of the most dangerous
in the country,” said redshirt
senior midfielder Colin McAtee.
McAtee, who finished with
two bookend goals, worked
closely with Atuahene all game,
leading to the victory against
the Dukes.
As the second freshman in
Michigan men’s soccer history
to score a hat trick, Atuahene
has scored just over 40 percent
of the team’s goals, contributing
immensely to the Wolverines’
successful season thus far.
In the 2014 season, Michigan
scored a grand total of 20 goals.
Just halfway through the 2015
season, the Wolverines (6-3-
3) have already exceeded that
with 22. Much of this can be
attributed not only to the team’s
attack, but to the freshman
class itself.
The freshmen have tallied
half of Michigan’s goals this
season. While many may be
extremely impressed by such a
statistic, Michigan coach Chaka
Daley expected such influence
early in their careers.
“We
went
through
a
transitional period here with
Michigan soccer, and we didn’t
bring them in to be freshmen,”
Daley said. “We brought them
in to play, and they’ve shown
that they can come in and play.”
Daley also praised freshman
midfielder Ivo Cerda, who’s
had a lot of game time for a
young player, and expects to
see a lot from him for years
to come. Rounding out the
group on defense are freshmen
Marcello Borges and Peter
Brown, who are becoming
more comfortable within the
Wolverines’
defensive
unit.
Daley foresees expert play
coming from them in the
future, as well.
Such game-changing play,
though, continues to come from
Atuahene. Scoring in six of
the last seven matches, Daley
speaks highly of Atuahene but
still looks for improvement in
his consistency. Consistency,
Daley believes, should come
naturally
as
the
season
progresses through experience,
comfort and hard work, the
latter of which is something
Atuahene is used to.
“He always has a smile on
his face,” Daley said. “He works
his butt off in class, he works
his butt off in training, and the
results are being shown on the
field.”
And if Atuahene continues
to prepare, these results should
only improve over the next
three years.
He’s only a freshman, after
all.
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Francis Atuahene already has a team-leading nine goals in his freshman year.
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Michigan coach Chaka Daley’s team rebounded with a non-conference win in its week off from Big Ten play.
DUQUESNE
MICHIGAN
0
3