10

Thursday, August 11, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Senior defender Madisson Lewis anchored the Wolverines’ backline last season.
Notebook: Michigan begins its 
preseason against top-10 teams

By BRAD WHIPPLE 

Summer Managing Editor

The Michigan women’s soccer 

team has tended to play locally 
when it comes to preseason 
exhibition 
matches. 
The 

Wolverines have a strong record 
coming off the first week of 
training — winning four of their 
last five exhibition matches by 
outscoring opponents 17-3 in the 
last four seasons — allowing them 
to ease into the regular season.

This year, though, Michigan 

took an alternative approach 
and pitted its talent against 
the Big East and Atlantic Coast 
Conference. 
With 
fall 
camp 

beginning Aug. 3, the Wolverines 
had a quick turnaround to prepare 
for two of the top programs in the 
country in No. 6 West Virginia 
and No. 4 Virginia.

Saturday before the team’s 

media 
day, 
redshirt 
junior 

midfielder Ani Sarkisian, one 
of this year’s three captains, 
expressed excitement for playing 
some 
of 
the 
nation’s 
most 

competitive teams ahead of non-
conference play.

“This 
is 

gonna 
be 
all 

in 
for 
those 

90 
minutes,” 

Sarkisian 
said 

Saturday. 
“We’ve 
only 

been 
training 

for three days, 
but we’ve had 
nine 
sessions 

already, so we’re all itching to 
have a little more competition 
than 
just 
playing 
against 

ourselves. It’ll be great to see how 
we compare to these teams, if we 

can keep up.

“If we can pull off a win or a 

tie, it would be really great for us 
confidence-wise as well.”

Monday 
afternoon 
in 

Morgantown, 
W.Va., 
the 

Wolverines 
earned 
that 

confidence 
boost by pulling 
out 
a 
hard-

fought 2-2 tie 
against 
West 

Virginia.

With 

Michigan 
trailing by one 
goal with just 
27 
seconds 

left, 
redshirt 

freshman midfielder Katie Foug 
kicked in the tying goal to give 
the Wolverines a 2-2 tie.

Michigan had struck first in 

the 32nd minute with an upper-

90 goal from senior midfielder 
Jessica 
Heifetz, 
but 
the 

Wolverines let in two quick goals 
shortly 
after 

halftime — one 
of which off a 
penalty kick.

“I 
was 

really 
proud 

of this young 
team,” 
said 

Michigan coach 
Greg Ryan to 
MGoBlue after 
the game. “West Virginia’s just 
dangerous. … For us to hang in 
there, connect well, get chances 
in behind their line and then 
come away with a late goal to 
tie it 2-2 is really beyond what I 
expected for today.”

Thursday, Michigan will host 

a demon from its past: Virginia, 
the 
team 
that 
knocked 
the 

Wolverines out of the Elite Eight 
in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. 
This week’s matchup will mark 
just the second time the two 
teams have played each other. 
This time, however, Michigan has 
the home-field advantage.

For senior defender Madisson 

Lewis, another Michigan captain, 
this 
Thursday’s 
exhibition 

is 
personal. 
Lewis 
was 
the 

Wolverines’ 
second-leading 

scorer that season and was a 
starting forward in Michigan’s 
2-1 loss to the Cavaliers.

“It’s gonna be really fun to play 

them at home and hopefully kick 
their butt,” Lewis said.

Wolverines without Timko, 

Yekka 
and 
Sweeney: 
Back 

in May, Ryan announced that 
Michigan would be without three 
critical players this season: junior 
defender Taylor Timko, redshirt 
freshman 
midfielder 
Kelly 
Sweeney 

and sophomore 
defender 
Sura 

Yekka.

Both 
Timko 

and 
Sweeney 

will be out due 
to knee injuries 
suffered in the 
spring 
season, 

with 
Sweeney 

reinjuring the same knee that 
kept her out of the 2015 season. 
Timko, however, may return 
late 
in 
the 
season, 
pending 

rehabilitation and approval of the 
team’s medical staff.

Timko 
has 
been 
a 
huge 

presence up front during the last 
two seasons, and led the team last 
year with seven goals and three 
assists.

As for Yekka — one of Michigan’s 

anchors on the backline — she will 
be training with the Canadian 

U-20 Women’s 
National Team 
in 
preparation 

for 
the 
2016 

FIFA 
U-20 

Women’s World 
Cup from Nov. 
13 to Dec. 3 
in Papua New 
Guinea.

“Taylor, 

Sura and Kelly are tremendously 
talented players, and we will miss 
them, and will definitely feel 
their loss this fall” Ryan said in a 
statement this May.

Though the losses will present 

a new challenge for the team this 
season, Ryan noted that it will 
bring about opportunities for 
younger and returning players to 
compete for those vacant spots.

According to Lewis, the bench 

is as critical to the team’s success 
as those on the field, and she has 
no doubt Sweeney and Timko’s 
input will be heard.

“Taylor will be fine, she’s such 

a positive person in general. Same 
with Kelly,” Lewis said Saturday. 
“We have a very good support 
system as a team. We’re all there 
for each other whenever anyone 
needs it. I think we’ll be fine.”

Nike rings in new era of 

Michigan 
soccer: 
With 
last 

week’s unveiling of the new Nike 
and Jordan Brand apparel at the 
M Den, Michigan is welcoming a 
new era for its athletic program.

On Aug. 19, the women’s soccer 

program will be the first of 
Michigan’s 27 varsity programs 
to sport the Nike swoosh in a 
game.

“It’s 
pretty 

nice clothing,” 
Lewis Said. “We 
kind 
of 
joke, 

‘Look 
good, 

feel good, play 
good.’ I don’t 
know, 
that 

probably 
plays 

into it a little 
bit. Our jerseys 
are really cool, 
we 
feel 
more 

confident… a little mental thing.” 
 

Added Sarkisian: “You’re with 

a new company, you get all this 
new gear, you have all this nice 
stuff on, you better be playing 
well. … It’s really rallying the 
Michigan fans and starting a new 
era. It’s nice to know we’re the 
beginning of that, and we can 
have an impact on that and make 
history if we choose to.”

“We’re all 

itching to have 

a litte more 
competition.”

“It’s rallying the 
Michigan fans 
and starting a 

new era.”

“I was really 
proud of this 
young team.”

