Ryan’s adjustment
powers Wolverines
to four second-half
goals at home
By BETELHEM ASHAME
Daily Sports Writer
At first, it seemed to be
inconsequential.
It was about the 55th minute
in a scoreless affair when UC
Riverside committed a foul in
its attacking third, giving a free
kick to the Michigan women’s
soccer team. So far from the
goal, nothing usually comes
from these types of plays. Teams
typically send the ball forward
and hope someone finds a way to
maintain possession.
The Wolverines did just that,
kicking the ball up the field
toward a sea of jerseys. But
something else happened prior
to that free kick, something that
might have been easily missed
upon first glance.
“Everybody up, in our half!”
The
voice
belonged
to
Michigan coach Greg Ryan.
Standing at the edge of his
technical area, Ryan began
yelling
at
his
players
to
remind them of their halftime
discussion.
The Wolverines followed his
direction almost immediately,
positioning themselves further
up the field and embracing an
uptempo style of play. The shift
worked wonders for Michigan,
which scored four goals in
the second half to earn a 4-0
victory.
The first half hadn’t gone
the Wolverines’ way, as they
struggled to hold onto the
ball at the back and create
meaningful scoring chances at
the front. After the game, Ryan
admitted the Highlanders came
out with a system Michigan
hadn’t expected to see, and
consequently
struggled
to
handle.
“They played a 4-4-2, and so
they outnumbered us in midfield
in the first half because we only
had three in there, and they had
four,” Ryan said. “So by playing
five at the back (in the second
half), we were able to deal with
their two forwards.
“We had three against the
two, two against two (on the
outside), two against two in
the middle and three against
four (at the top), so it’s a lot
of pressure for them to deal
with.”
Ten minutes into the second
half,
the
Wolverines
still
hadn’t fully implemented their
revised game plan, so when the
stoppage of play gave Ryan an
opportunity to make in-game
adjustments, the normally soft-
spoken coach made sure his
voice was heard.
“When we heard (Ryan) start
yelling at us, we’re just like,
‘Next five, next five,’ and took
it five minutes at a time and
went hard,” said sophomore
midfielder Abby Kastroll.
Pushing
numbers
forward
into
the
attack
and
pressing
higher
up
the
pitch,
Michigan
dramatically
shifted
the
run of play in
its favor. Like
a light switch, Ryan’s call for
renewed emphasis on offense
electrified the Wolverines, who
responded with a level of energy
and intensity that UC Riverside
couldn’t
restrain.
Just
three
minutes later,
Michigan
found the back
of
the
net.
Sprinting into
space out wide
on the right
side
of
the
field, Kastroll
beat her defender to the ball
and sent a low cross across the
mouth of the goal that sat well
for sophomore forward Reilly
Martin, who made a smart
run toward the far post. After
sliding the ball through the
legs of Highlander goalkeeper
Alanna Guzman, Martin gave
the Wolverines their game-
winner.
And after tasting a goal,
Michigan wanted more. The
Wolverines kept their feet on
the gas and kept the pressure
on UC Riverside, which didn’t
have an answer for Michigan’s
revitalized offense.
The Wolverines added three
more goals to their tally in the
final 10 minutes to put the game
completely out of reach.
Reflecting on his message to
the team in that pivotal moment
in the 55th minute, Ryan put it
candidly.
“‘Look, we’re changing the
way we’re playing,’” he said
of that moment. “That was
probably a good moment for
us, recognizing, ‘Let’s just get
forward. Let’s get after these
guys.’”
Five words out of Ryan’s
mouth was all it took for
Michigan to completely change
the outcome of the game.
8 — Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
System change lifts Michigan to win
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
Sophomore midfielder Reilly Martin’s goal opened the floodgates for Michigan after a key halftime adjustment.
“Let’s just get
forward. Let’s
get after these
guys.”