6A — Thursday, September 22, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wolverines’ offensive struggles
continue in fourth straight loss
With the clock ticking down
and hopes of its first win of the
season
dwindling
away,
the
Michigan
men’s
soccer
team
was
desperately seeking a goal, with
a corner kick in the final minute
serving as its last chance to find
an equalizer against Western
Michigan. The ball flew into a
crowded box and found the feet
of sophomore forward Francis
Atuahene,
who
deflected
it
toward an open goal.
But the Wolverines’ first goal
in more than 300 minutes was not
meant to be, as the ball deflected
off the inside of the left post and
fell harmlessly into the hands
of the Broncos’
goalkeeper Drew
Shepherd.
“The hardest
thing to do in
soccer is score
goals,”
said
Michigan coach
Chaka Daley.
Right
now,
his team knows
that better than
anyone.
The loss, which sent the
Wolverines to 0-5-3 on the season,
was microcosmic of the season to
date: close, just not close enough.
“We’ve
been
extremely
unlucky in the past three games to
hit the crossbar, have a last-ditch
effort with 20 seconds against
(Michigan) State and today hit the
post again,” said senior defender
Lars Eckenrode. “It’s extremely
frustrating waiting for (luck) to
turn in our favor.”
Early
on,
the
Wolverines
came
out
energetically
and
opportunistically, managing four
shots — including several goal-
scoring opportunities — in the
first seven minutes.
But Michigan failed to muster
another shot in the first half
after that and allowed Western
Michigan
to
become
more
comfortable in its possession and
creativity. Stifling defense and
physical play by the Broncos sent
a visibly frustated and offensively
out-of-sync Michigan team to the
locker room with its fifth straight
goalless half.
A
rejuvenated,
confident
Western Michigan team came
out of halftime with several
chances before finally breaking
through with the winner in the
53rd minute. Midfielder Brandon
Bye sped past the Michigan
defense on the right side, finding
fellow midfielder Diego Lopez in
the box. Lopez
calmly
turned
and slotted home
the only goal of
the
game
past
sprawling junior
goalkeeper Evan
Louro.
“We just fell
asleep
on
one
moment in the
game,” Eckenrode
said. “And that’s
what ended up costing us.”
For the seventh time in its last
eight games, Michigan outshot its
opponent, this time by a margin
of 14-8. Yet for the third game in
a row, and the fifth time this year,
it failed to find the back of the net.
With 15 minutes left, Daley
urged one final push, moving
toward a three-defender, two-
attacker formation in search of
that elusive goal. The increased
attacking presence lacked fluidity
in the final third, and despite
scrambling to find seven second-
half corners, struggled to find
goal-scoring chances until the
last-ditch effort.
“I told (the team), ‘This is not
easy,’ ” Daley said. “We’re not
struggling soccer-wise, we’re not
stuggling tactically, we’re not
struggling technically. We have
a little bit of a struggle going on
mentally.”
But Daley remains confident
in his team’s ability to turn
things around.
“There’s
no
quit
in
that
locker room, there’s no quit
in that coaching staff,” Daley
said. “We’re proud people that
represent Michigan. It’ll hurt
tonight, but we’ll pick ourselves
up and continue to work to get
better and get to the next game.
“We fear no one. I’d be fearful
if we got going.”
‘M’ stuck in search for elusive win
The Michigan men’s soccer
team hoped to secure its first win
of the season against Western
Michigan on Wednesday night,
but after another hard-fought
battle and a 1-0 loss, a win still
eludes them.
For most Wolverine fans
who attend the games, the
losing streak may be confusing.
Some stats suggest Michigan is
in the upper echelon of teams
in the country, but the reality is
much different.
Michigan (0-3-0 Big Ten,
0-5-3 overall) is No. 1 in the Big
Ten and No. 18 in the country in
shots per game, averaging 16.14.
It has outshot its opponents
in seven out of its last eight
games.
Unfortunately
for
the Wolverines, their attacks
haven’t translated into goals.
“I’d
be
very
discouraged
if we weren’t creating any
chances,” said Michigan coach
Chaka Daley. “This game could
have been 3-0 in the first five
minutes.”
The stats point to a serious
issue
with
the
number
of
chances and lack of goals.
Talent on the team does not
seem to be the issue. Sophomore
midfielder
Francis
Atuahene
has
23
shots
this
season,
and freshman forward Jack
Hallahan has 19, and both have
been standout players. But for
some
reason,
these
shots
aren’t
finding
the net.
The
Wolverines have
a
young
front
line, and their
inexperience
may be hurting
their
chances.
And another loss
in the books may
be affecting the confidence of
the team.
Every game has been close
enough that one goal could
have switched the momentum
completely. In the first 30
seconds of Wednesday’s match,
Atuahene
dribbled
the
ball
at the top of the box and sent
a through ball to sophomore
midfielder Ivo Cerda, who shot
it to the far post.
All the Broncos’
goalkeeper
Drew Shepherd
could do was get
a fingertip on it
to push it away
from the goal.
An
early
goal could have
been
exactly
what Michigan
needed
to
control the game, instead of
getting stuck in the kick-and-
chase tactic. As soon as the
Wolverines
are
down,
they
play some of their best soccer.
However, they’ll need to come
out with that fire from the
beginning if they want to see a
change in the final results.
“They came out with more
energy and hunger than we
did, which kind of caught us by
surprise,” said senior defender
Lars Eckenrode. “It’s safe to say
that’s what got us in the end.”
Daley isn’t counting his team
out yet, though. Michigan still
has five Big Ten games to play,
and he knows that if his team
can peak at the right moment, it
might have a chance to turn its
season around.
“We’re
proud
coaches,
we’re proud student-athletes
to represent Michigan,” Daley
said. “It’ll hurt tonight, but
we’ll pick ourselves up and we’ll
continue to work to get better.”
W. MICHIGAN
MICHIGAN
1
0
MAX MARCOVITCH
For the Daily
ELIZABETH XIONG/Daily
Senior defender Lars Eckenrode said Michigan didn’t play with maximum energy from the outset on Wednesday.
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
Chaka Daley’s team is still seeking its first win after eight games this season.
Michigan outshoots opponent for seventh time in eight
games, but loses to Western Michigan at home stadium
“We fear no
one. I’d be
fearful if we
got going.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan Men’s Soccer
127
Shots for Michigan through its
first eight games, exceeding its
opponents’ total by 19
5
Goals for Michigan in eight games,
good for a total shot percentage of
just .039
333
Minutes since Michigan’s last
goal, in the 47th minute against
Wisconsin on Sept. 9
2
Goals for Michigan’s leading
scorer, Francis Atuahene, this
season
Wolverines move to 0-5-3 after rough fourth straight loss
“They came out
with more energy
and hunger than
we did.”
PAIGE VOEFFRAY
Daily Sports Writer
MEN’S SOCCER