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SportsMonday
September 19, 2016 — 3B
‘M’ pounds MSU, CMU
By ORION SANG
Daily Sports Writer
It took just over one minute for
the No. 8 Michigan field hockey
team to get on the board against
Central Michigan on Sunday.
With
the
Wolverines
on
the
attack,
senior
forward
Sina Lampe fired a pass into
the crease, finding the stick
of senior forward Courtney
Enge, who deflected it past the
Chippewa goalkeeper.
Enge’s
goal
opened
the
floodgates for the Wolverines
(1-0 Big Ten, 6-1 overall),
who displayed their offensive
prowess during a 10-0 rout
of Central Michigan (1-6) —
Michigan’s second win of the
weekend after a 4-1 triumph
over
Michigan
State
(0-1,
4-3) in the conference opener
Friday night.
The
Chippewas
hardly
challenged
the
Wolverines,
who tallied 34 shots and 12
corners. Michigan controlled
possession
and
generated
scoring opportunities at will
— though it initially struggled
with finishing its chances.
Despite spending most of the
first half threatening to score,
Michigan tacked on only one
other goal when redshirt junior
midfielder Allie Sardo scored
off a corner.
“After
coming
in
from
halftime, we had to figure out
what our mojo was and what
our passing game was,” Enge
said. “Getting it down the line
and into the circle are really
good things for us, and it was
just going to take time to finish.”
Finishing wasn’t as much of a
problem in the second half — the
Wolverines scored eight times
to turn the game into a blowout,
with four coming in the first 10
minutes of the half.
“In the first half we were
frantic a little bit when we were
in the circle,” Enge said. “In the
second half, we were able to get
the ball on the stick and figure
out what we were going to do
with it next.”
Added
Michigan
coach
Marcia Pankratz: “It takes a
little bit longer for the attack to
be firing on all cylinders, so we
just needed to stay patient and
continue to try to execute and
that was what we talked about
at halftime.
“We have the saying, ‘Slow is
smooth and smooth is fast,’ and
(I told them), ‘Make sure you
just finish your chances,’ and
that worked out in the second
half a lot better.”
With
Michigan’s
offense
holding the ball for most of
the game, the backline didn’t
face much pressure. Central
Michigan
was
unable
to
generate any shots or corners
until the final seconds of the
second half.
It was a slightly different
story
Friday
against
the
Spartans, but the Wolverines
still emerged with a relatively
easy 4-1 victory.
Michigan State tallied 10
shots, scoring a goal in the first
half and forcing junior goalie
Sam Swenson to make five
saves. Yet the Wolverines held
a lead throughout the contest,
avenging a 5-3 preseason loss to
the Spartans.
“Preseason,
we
(were)
still working on some things,
working
on
lineups
and
personnel, and I think we
played with a lot more energy
and
organization
(Friday),”
Pankratz said. “We contested
a lot more plays than we did in
the preseason.
“When
we
get
circle
penetrations, we have to be able
to finish. With Sam being in
our goal cage and being such an
extraordinary goalie, putting in
four goals is going to bode well
for us.”
It bodes well even more so
for Michigan, considering its
defense has surrendered a total
of four goals in seven games,
with Swenson already posting
two shutouts.
Still, even coming off a game
in which her team scored 10
goals, Pankratz knows there’s
still room for improvement
in the young Wolverines —
especially as their schedule
increases in difficulty.
“Ohio State, Penn State and
the Big Ten ratchets up your
ability to have to make decisions
quickly,” Pankratz said. “So (we
need to make) free hits quicker,
(make) decisions quicker and
just (do) everything we did
today at a higher level.”
MAZIE HYAMS/Daily
Senior Sina Lampe scored one goal and added four assists to catalyze Michigan’s offense against Central Michigan.
Wolverines fall again
By COLE ZINGAS
Daily Sports Writer
EAST LANSING — Nearing
the end of Sunday’s Michigan
men’s
soccer
game
against
Michigan
State,
freshman
forward
Jack Hallahan sent a soaring
cross into the box. The ball was
knocked back and forth several
times by Wolverine attackers,
but
eventually
the
Spartans
cleared the ball harmlessly away
— marking yet another time
Michigan was close, but could
not get the finishing touch it
desperately needed.
The lone Spartan goal came
eight minutes into the game, on
a deflected header that landed
right at the feet of Michigan State
defender Brad Centala, who did
not miss the golden opportunity
to smash the ball into the open net.
From
that
point
on,
the
Wolverines
(0-3-0
Big
Ten,
0-4-3 overall) played catch-up.
They won the time of possession
battle handily, controlling the
ball for the majority of the
game, tactically seeking their
opportunity for the equalizer.
But to the displeasure of the
Michigan faithful who made the
trek to East Lansing, that moment
never came, and Michigan State
(2-0-0, 5-1-0) took the game, 1-0.
The
Wolverines
showed
patience in their style of play,
which
was
countered
by
a
fast-break style offense for the
Spartans, who got most of their
chances on quick rushes. However,
junior goaltender Evan Louro
handled the rest of the Spartan
attacks, with the help of a shot off
the post and a save by sophomore
defender Marcello Borges.
It
was
up
to
Michigan’s
controlled style of offense to
strike back. The first half came
and went with only one quality
chance for the Wolverines, which
came on a cross from redshirt
junior
midfielder
Michael
Kapitula with less than a minute
remaining. Sophomore midfielder
Robbie Mertz headed the ball
on goal, but the Michigan State
goalkeeper made his best save
of the game, sliding to keep the
Wolverines off the board.
“Down 1-0 early is always
tough and you never plan for
that,” said senior midfielder Brett
Nason. “We had to be more attack-
oriented and try to push numbers
forward, and we’re going to give
up a little defensively of course,
but we have to get that goal back.”
To open the second half,
the Spartans slowed down as
Michigan pushed its offense.
However,
Michigan
coach
Chaka Daley points to at least
five opportunities where the
Wolverines could have scored,
but didn’t break through.
Within the last 10 minutes,
the Wolverines put forth a last-
ditch effort to tie the game, but
even moving a defender up and
subbing in fresh legs didn’t help
them convert.
“Margins in college soccer
are so slim,” Daley said. “You
have situations where the ball is
bouncing around the box, theirs
goes in, ours doesn’t — that’s
college soccer.”
Added Nason: “It’s not like we’re
doing anything wrong. It’s just that
luck hasn’t been on our side.”
On the final play of the game,
with 15 seconds remaining, senior
defender Lars Eckenrode found
himself alone in the box as he
juggled the ball to himself, and
booted the ball on the net. The
shot soared just high of the goal,
and his impassioned scream of
agony was echoed by the rest of
his Michigan teammates as they
watched the Spartans celebrate
with the Big Bear trophy for the
first time since 2013.
But the winless Wolverines
still have faith in their abilities.
“Honestly, I don’t think we
played poorly, so you can’t put your
head down,” Nason said. “You
can’t hide from it — you just have
to come out next game stronger.”
MEN’S SOCCER
MICHIGAN
MICH. ST.
0
1
Michigan 2-0 in Big Ten
Michigan goes
on road for first
conference weekend,
tops Iowa, Nebraska
By ROBERT HEFTER
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women’s soccer
team made its Big Ten debut this
weekend at Iowa on Friday and
Nebraska on Sunday, swiftly
prevailing over both teams to
increase its conference record to
2-0 (2-0 Big Ten, 6-1-1 overall).
The Wolverines put their stout
defense on display yet again,
allowing only one goal in the past
two games.
At Iowa, Michigan outshot the
Hawkeyes, 16-5, in the first half,
but failed to convert any of those
chances into goals.
At
the
beginning
of
the
second half, though, sophomore
midfielder Abby Kastroll buried
the ball through a scrum off of a
free kick to give the Wolverines
a 1-0 lead.
“We utilize free kicks because
we work on them every day,”
said sophomore forward Reilly
Martin. “We try to execute and
get our heads on each cross.”
Iowa gained momentum in
the second half, though, letting
seven shots fly opposed to
Michigan’s five.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sarah
Jackson amassed five saves,
maintaining the clean sheet. The
Wolverines would go on to win
the match 1-0.
“We’re taking every game day
by day,” said junior midfielder
and
captain
Ani
Sarkisian.
“This weekend was a hard road
trip with a quick multi-state
turnaround.”
Michigan
continued
its
conference play at Nebraska,
hoping to increase its shutout
streak to five in a row.
“Nebraska
and
Iowa
play
very different games. Nebraska
is aggressive,” said Michigan
coach Greg Ryan. “Our focus
was defending well as a group,
and we did a great job of limiting
Nebraska’s chances to score.”
After 28 minutes of play in the
first half, Martin was fouled in
the box, giving the Wolverines a
penalty kick chance to take the
lead. Martin capitalized on it,
firing it into the left corner of
the net.
With a one-goal lead, the
Wolverines focused on their
defense, something they set out
to achieve considering Nebraska’s
aggressive attack, which averages
10.1 shots per game.
Nebraska
nearly
converted
during the beginning of the
second half as junior goalkeeper
Megan Hinz tipped a potential
equalizer over the net. However,
just four minutes later, Kastroll
netted an insurance goal off of
a pass through the center of the
defense from Sarkisian to put the
Wolverines up by two.
Just as the prospect of five
straight shutouts was in sight,
Nebraska scored a header from
a corner kick with eight seconds
remaining in regulation. The
Wolverines went on to win, 2-1.
The
Cornhuskers
outshot
the Wolverines, 13-6, but the
Michigan defense dominated the
game, and the coaches awarded
the whole unit the Player of the
Game award.
Michigan looks to continue
its Big Ten win streak against
Michigan State at home next
Saturday.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
‘M’ wins home invite
By ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Writer
Mark Rosen had never seen
anything like it in his 18 years as
Michigan’s coach.
According to the Michigan
volleyball team’s coach, Friday
night’s packed and energetic
crowd at Cliff Keen Arena
reached a decibel level that set
the tone for the Wolverines (11-
1) throughout the three matches
of the Michigan Challenge.
No. 23 Michigan swept the
tournament, claiming victories
in all three matchups and
dropping only one set — the
first set against Colgate (4-7) on
Saturday night.
On
Friday
night
against
Auburn (6-7), the Wolverines
downed the Tigers handily
and
held
an
advantage
in
almost every facet of the game,
especially on the offensive side.
Spearheaded by senior middle
blocker Abby Cole, who had 13
kills, Michigan won the kills
battle, 48-33, in a 3-0 sweep.
Michigan’s front row for
most of the match, composed of
Cole and middle blockers Cori
Crocker and Claire Kieffer-
Wright,
were
in
complete
harmony and accounted for
more than half the team’s kills.
Saturday’s
early
matchup
against
Eastern
Michigan
(5-8) was much of the same
as the previous contest. The
Wolverines took control from
the get-go to take their second
3-0 victory.
Rosen dug deep into the
depth chart against the Eagles
to give his typical starters a
breather before the third game
later on Saturday. But evidenced
by the score, Michigan didn’t
skip a beat.
“It was to get some people some
experience, to see some people in
different situations,” Rosen said.
“If there’s only six or seven players
who can play at a high level, you’re
not going at a level that’s going to
make you better.”
Freshman
outside
hitter
Sydney Wetterstrom and fifth-
year
senior
outside
hitters
Kelly Murphy and Ally Davis
combined for 19 kills against
Eastern Michigan.
Saturday’s
nightcap
against
Colgate began much differently
than the previous two matchups
for Michigan. The Raiders took
control of the first set, winning
25-22, to jump out to an early lead.
But the set quickly became
an outlier of an impressive
weekend for the Wolverines,
as they managed to control the
tempo for the rest of the match.
Michigan
roared
back,
trouncing Colgate in the third
set, 25-9. Cole, once again, was
the star of the match, tallying an
impressive 19 kills.
“I thought the difference was
in the third and fourth set,”
Rosen said. “Our defensive level
took a big jump, our blockers
finally made the adjustments,
we started to cap on their
hitters and then it changed the
game. They hit -.187 in the third
set, and that’s exactly what we
were hoping to do.”
The sweep at the Michigan
Challenge
capped
off
an
impressive 11-1 start for the
Wolverines in non-conference
play.
In
all
three
games,
freshmen MacKenzi Welsh and
Tiffany Clark made promising
contributions on an already
young team, but for Rosen, it
was the seniors who impressed
him the most.
“(The freshmen) are good,
but I think I’m most proud of
the three seniors,” Rosen said.
“Those older kids have put a lot
of time and work in, and I think
they’re doing a great job of the
volleyball side of it, but also the
leadership and the intangibles.”
While the Wolverines have
reason to celebrate after their
dominant non-conference play,
they also know that games in
the Big Ten — which boasts
eight teams in the top 25 — will
pose a much greater challenge.
“We feel really good,” Cole
said. “It’s definitely a confidence
booster, but at the same time we
understand it’s not going to be
much like this (against the Big
Ten). We have a lot to work on
this week in practice.”
SINDU KILARU/Daily
Mark Rosen’s team won three matches this weekend to move to 11-1.