Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, October 28, 2015 — 7A

Wolverines fall in
ITA quarterfinals

Michigan finishes
on Sunday with no
semifinal berths

By RILEY NELSON

For the Daily

The Michigan men’s tennis

team made its way to South
Bend, Ind., on Thursday to
compete in the ITA Midwest
Regional Championships. And
while
the

Wolverines
ended
their

run on Sunday,
failing to make
it
past
the

quarterfinals,
Michigan
coach
Adam

Steinberg saw
his team play some of its best
tennis since he took over the
program in June 2014.

It was the first full team event

of the fall, with six Michigan
players in the singles main draw.

“There
were
some
good

moments,” Steinberg said, “and
then some moments in singles
that I feel we really have to
work on. I was really happy with
the freshmen — I thought they
competed great.”

Sophomore Carter Lin fell to

No. 2 seed Chris Diaz of Ohio
State in the quarterfinals of the
singles main draw after playing
very competitive matches in
the earlier rounds. He was the
highlight of the Wolverines’
singles competition, but it was
the doubles efforts that really
stood out in Steinberg’s mind.

“The best moment I’ve had in

coaching here at Michigan was
the other night … when (the)
doubles teams were playing

on the courts at Notre Dame,”
Steinberg said. “It was awesome.
They were pushing each other,
playing with amazing energy.
That’s what we do in practice
every day, and we took it to the
tournament, so I was really
pleased
with
the
doubles

overall.”

The two teams — redshirt

sophomore Alex Knight with
sophomore
Runhao
Hua

and junior Kevin Wong with
freshman Gabe Tishman — each

made it to the
quarterfinals
before falling
to
the
No.

1
and
No.

2
seeds,

respectively.

Despite not

making it to
the final day

of competition, Steinberg was
happy with his doubles teams’
level of competition.

“I thought it was the best I’ve

ever seen us play doubles since
I’ve been here,” Steinberg said.
“We competed really well. Even
the matches we lost, we played
great — it didn’t feel like we even
lost them because of how well
we played, competed, and our
attitude.”

In the fall tennis season there

are no team results, because all
athletes compete as individuals
or in pairs. It’s an opportune
time for players to fine-tune
their skills and perfect their
game.

“Our
doubles
has
really

improved, but as singles players
I think everyone needs to really
commit to their game styles, so
by the end of the fall that’s set
in stone,” Steinberg said. “It’s
not there yet, but it’s definitely
getting better. Way better.”

MEN’S TENNIS

“It’s not there yet,
but it’s definitely
getting better.”

Michigan battles to draw
with Western Michigan

By BETELHEM ASHAME

Daily Sports Writer

Tempers
flared
throughout

the Michigan men’s soccer team’s
hotly contested affair against
Western Michigan on Tuesday,
adding
even
more

tension
to

an already-
tough encounter between two
evenly matched teams.

Through physical possession

battles in the midfield and hard
tackles to break up the other
team’s attack, the two sides fought
to a scoreless draw in double
overtime.

While the Wolverines (2-2-2

Big Ten, 7-4-4 overall) — second
in the Big Ten in goals per game
— initially struggled to find their
feet offensively, their defense
stepped up to neutralize the
Broncos’ effort to start fast and
draw blood in the early stages.

“How organized we were (at

the back) took them out of the
game,” said Michigan junior
defender Rylee Woods. “Our
confidence rose after we broke the
first 20 minutes, and we did well
the rest of the game.”

The Broncos (1-1-1 MAC, 8-3-4

overall) kept the ball in their
attacking third for much of the
first half, dominating the run of
play and creating the majority
of the chances. An endless foray
of crosses into the box and shots
on goal forced a response from
Michigan’s defensive unit, which
put together a strong defensive
stand to keep the offense at bay.

Aware that Western Michigan

would prove to be a handful,
Michigan coach Chaka Daley
stuck to his game plan, believing
his players would be able to handle
the onslaught. The Wolverines’
defense had allowed only one goal
over the previous three matches
and continued its run of recent
success by producing another
shutout against the Broncos.

“We knew they had some good

pieces to the puzzle,” Daley said.
“They have a lot of busy, active
attacking players, and we thought

those guys were definitely factors
in the game. They were kind of
neutralized tonight and didn’t
really show their faces too much,
which is good for us. Our guys on
defense gave everything and did
outstanding.”

The dynamic of the game

changed
dramatically
in
the

60th minute. After two previous
breakaway
runs
down
the

pitch came up empty, Michigan
freshman
forward
Francis

Atuahene
sprinted
toward
a

long ball played forward by the
defense.

Western Michigan’s goalkeeper

charged toward the top of the box
in the hope of catching the ball
before Atuahene could reach it.
The goalie jumped in the air and
clutched the ball in his grasp, but
Atuahene crashed into him with
questionable intent, sending them
both to the turf.

With the goalie writhing on

the ground, the referee had no

choice but to issue Atuahene a red
card, disqualifying him from the
match.

With just 10 men, Michigan

played stifling defense despite
several dangerous near-misses
by the Broncos, managing to
hold out for the rest of the half
and all of overtime to earn a
hard-fought tie.

“From the standpoint of going

down to 10 players in a tough
game against a Western Michigan
side that is a very senior-laden
team whereas a lot of our guys
are freshmen and sophomores,
it’s really outstanding to see the
commitment and physicality of
our guys to grind it out,” Daley
said.

Considering
the

circumstances,
Michigan’s

resiliency and determination to
still come away with a point will
prove to be a real asset for the
team with the biggest games of
the season coming up next.

Murphy makes return

Rather than take
medical redshirt,
senior returns for

final games

By KATIE CONKLIN

Daily Sports Writer

It was Sept. 6, the second

game of the Michigan men’s
soccer season against Niagara,
and
the
crowd
was
tense.

Entering overtime, the score
was tied at one.

Stepping toward a rebounded

ball in the 99th minute, senior
midfielder
James
Murphy

buried the ball in the back of
the net. The Wolverine faithful
erupted in celebration, only to
be silenced by the blow of the
referee’s offside whistle. The
game went to double overtime.

Just two minutes into the

second period, a foul on top of
the 18-yard box led to a perfectly
placed set-piece opportunity.

Murphy, as he did a few minutes
prior,
found
twine
with
a

powerful header to capture a
sudden victory.

The following game against

Maryland, Murphy went down
with a torn medial collateral
ligament. He has not seen the
field since.

Making
his
return
seven

weeks
later

against
in-state
rival

Western
Michigan
on
Tuesday

evening,
Murphy
entered
the

game
with

four
minutes

remaining
in

the first half,
and played a large chunk of the
second half and overtime period
in the Wolverines’ scoreless
double-overtime tie.

“It’s
been
really
tough,

obviously, my senior year, and
to sit out most of the season,”

Murphy said. “It’s great to get
back in it and just do whatever I
can do to help this team out and
help to finish the season strong.”

Though he had the chance

to take a medical redshirt this
season,
Murphy
declined,

instead
opting
to
join
his

teammates for the final and most
crucial part of the campaign.

Murphy

has made an
impact
on

the Michigan
squad
ever

since
he

crossed
the

pond
from

England
and

stepped
on

the field his
freshman
year, earning

a spot on the 2012 Big Ten All-
Freshman team.

“Whatever he’s got to give this

team, he wants to offer it,” said
Michigan coach Chaka Daley.
“He’s a selfless young man.”

Three years later, Murphy has

a captain band wrapped around
his arm, and he plays as selflessly
on the pitch as he behaves off of
it.

After playing for just three

short stints in his comeback
game, Murphy’s goal is to play
and enjoy every minute he gets
on and off of the field with his
teammates.

“This team means a lot to me,

and I want to give everything
I’ve got to help these boys out,”
Murphy said. “And hopefully
we’ll win something this year.”

And with two important Big

Ten games in their future, the
Wolverines still have a shot to
do just that. To the excitement
of both Daley and Murphy, he
will be back and ready to make
an impact — as he has in the past
with 37 career goals.

“He gives everything for the

team and he’s all about the team
first,” Daley said.

And Murphy hopes to give

what he has, whether there are
two games left in the season
or 10. Every game after Nov. 4
could be his last.

“We’ve missed him,” Daley

said. “Big time.”

AMANDA ALLEN/Daily

Junior defender Rylee Woods helped lead a Michigan back line that withstood Western Michigan’s attack, even while playing with 10 men for almost half the game.

W. MICHIGAN
MICHIGAN

0
0

The anatomy of a goalie fight

By JUSTIN MEYER

Daily Sports Writer

The No. 10 Michigan hockey

team brought in a permanent
goalie coach for the 2015-16
season
after
struggling
with

consistency at the position for
the past few years. Steve Shields,
an
ex-Wolverine
netminder

and a 10-year NHL veteran, is
also notorious for being a bit
of a brawler. One of Shields’
altercations
from
the
1990s

will stand out to old-time fans
everywhere. The Michigan Daily
talked with Shields to break down
the fight.

The following transcript has

been edited for continuity.

* * *

It was May 3, 1997 in Buffalo,

New York. Shields was hot as the
Sabres’ backup goalie, filling in
competently for the injured Dominik
Hasek in the NHL playoffs. Buffalo
won a first-round series against the
Ottawa Senators before running
into the Philadelphia Flyers and
goaltender Garth Snow.

The Michigan Daily: Buffalo

has pretty colorful jerseys back
then.

Steve Shields: Oh yeah.
TMD: What was it like for you

playing in the playoffs?

SS:
It
was
really
nerve-

wracking at the — a lot of pressure.
Because we have the best goalie in
the world — Hasek. He gets hurt,
and I’m not going to be as good.
So can we win without having
our best goalie in there? I played
well enough for us to win. It was
a great experience playing playoff
hockey as a goalie.

With 2:55 to go in the second

period, a scrum breaks out in front
of the Flyers’ net.

SS: I’m in the other end — it’s a

five-on-five brawl.

Garth Snow has been egging

our team on all year, picking on
Hasek. Now he’s involved, so he

would outnumber our guys. I start
skating down because now he’s in
it and I gotta go even it up.

We’re jonesing to go at each

other because we’ve been at it all
year, and this is the playoffs.

TMD: What’s your attitude

when
you’re
skating
toward

center ice?

SS: Like, I hope I don’t fall. Now

it’s loud and our crowd’s cheering
and it’s the playoffs. I can’t fall,
and I can’t go down when I get
punched.

Shields meets Snow in the corner

and the two start jawing at each
other before a teammate breaks up
the escalating situation.

SS: Bob Boughner is right here

— he reminds me that we have no
other goalies. We have a third-
string goalie but nobody else. So
I’m like, ‘OK, I’ll back off.’

But I know he wants to get a

piece of me.

Shields skates off to the side, but

stays just close enough to continue
the action. Before long, the two
are back at each other, toppling a
linesman in the process.

SS: I’m standing at the blue line

giving him the head nod, and now
he sees me right here. He comes
up to me and pulls my mask off
real easy.

TMD: Now it’s on.
SS: Your eyes just kind of roll

back into your
head and it’s
on.

TMD: That

poor linesman.

SS: So if I get

(Snow’s) mask
off right here, I
might have the
best knockout
in history. And
I break the top
of my knuckle
on his mask.

TMD: And you played after

that with a broken knuckle?

SS: Yeah, oh yeah. There’s my

roommate right there, Wayne
Primeau, yelling at him.

TMD: What’s he yelling?
SS: Every bad thing you can

imagine. It lasted about a minute,
the whole scene, and I was just
gassed.

TMD:
Did

you get a five-
minute (major
penalty)
for

that?

SS: I thought

I
was
done,

that’s
why
I

kind of sold out
in the fight. But
now I have to
go back.

That was a

whole season in the making. Dom
(Hasek) was in a scrap earlier on.
And I’m friends with (Snow), but
when it happens you gotta go.

I’m not going to say I wasn’t

excited about it.

TMD: When the refs separate

you at the end, what’s going
through your head? Is it like,
‘Thank God this is over?’

SS: No — I was so tired. I

felt my hand was hurting, and I
immediately was thinking, ‘God, if
his helmet had popped off earlier,
it would have been an all-time
great knockout.’ And I was happy I
didn’t get punched really good.

TMD: Who won that fight?
SS: Come on, I don’t need to

answer that one. There’s a couple I
haven’t won, but everyone knows
about that one.

Shields’ Sabres lost the series in

five games. Even though Shields
didn’t get his knockout, the Game 1
goalie fight went down in history as
an all-time great playoff moment.

Michigan is 3-0-1 this season and

plays its second home series against
Robert Morris this weekend.

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Steve Shields recalled Tuesday a legendary hockey fight he had in 1997.

“There’s a couple
I haven’t won, but
everyone knows
about that one.”

“Whatever he’s
got to give this
team, he wants

to offer it.”