8A — Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Barrage leads Wolverines past Oakland
In the final non-conference
match of the season, Michigan’s
offensive attack showed no
mercy.
Following three consecutive
scoreless
outings,
the
Wolverines’ men’s soccer team
(3-9-4)
converted
five
times
— its most
since 2013 — against Oakland en
route to a 5-1 victory Tuesday
night at U-M soccer stadium.
The
Wolverines’
goal
bombardment
was
led
by
sophomore Francis Atuahene,
who finished with two scores,
including the game-winner: a
conversion off of a deflected
Marcello
Borges
shot
that
Atuahene keenly poked into the
back of the net during the 47th
minute. The second goal was a
beauty, as the forward’s luminous
yellow cleats launched a perfect
blast from 20 yards that tucked
just inside of the right post.
“When you’re a goal scorer,
confidence is king,” said head
coach Chaka Daley. “(Francis)
scored one that was a little bit
of a scrum, but the second was
top-shelf.”
Atuahene
added
the
10th
and 11th goals of his sophomore
campaign with the effort against
Oakland — good for the team’s
best in that category.
Senior
forward
Yamann
Sahlool added two tallies of his
own, the first of which came off
of a penalty shot following a foul
inside the box by an Oakland
defender and the second via a
header off of a set-piece from
midfielder Tyler Anderson.
“We still want him to be a
little bit more dangerous and in
the box, and you noticed the two
goals tonight were in the box,”
Daley said. “And around the goal,
he’s probably our best finisher.”
Michigan scored the game’s
first goal thanks to a cross that
evaded the Oakland defense
and found its way to the foot
of sophomore Robbie Mertz,
who sent a ball passed the reach
of Grizzlies’ goaltender Zach
Walker for the Mertz’s third of
the season.
However,
Oakland’s
pressure
eventually
broke
down
the
Wolverine
defense,
as
a
tilted
shot
total
midway
through
the
first half led to
a
score
from
Popovic Nebojsa
in the 26th minute, knotting
the game at one, the score with
which the teams would enter the
halftime locker room.
The flow of the game changed
when a tongue-lashing by the
Michigan coaches charged the
team, according to Atuahene:
“We had a lot of chances that
we should’ve taken (in the first
half). I get fired up when the
coaches talk to us, scream at us —
it pushes me up and gets the best
out of me.”
This
motivation
allowed
the
Wolverines to
score a total
of four goals
in the second
half, turning
a competitive
match
into
a
decisive
victory.
“In the second half, we didn’t
keep the ball very well, but we
were dangerous,” Daley said.
“I rather have the second one,
when we’re starving for goals
and results. I think we showed
Oakland a great deal of respect
tonight. Certainly, the goals fell
for us — we didn’t hit post, we
didn’t miss our easy chances
— we took our chances really
well and scored two or three
spectacular goals.”
Despite
the
success
of
Tuesday’s
result
and
an
upcoming
game
against
Maryland
this
weekend,
Michigan is locked into the
eighth seed in the Big Ten
Tournament
and
matchup
against Rutgers for the right to
play the top-ranked Terrapins
the next day. But Daley remains
optimistic in his team.
“We still believe in our group
— very, very much.” Daley said.
“We know it’s an uphill battle,
but we still believe — based on the
results and competitive nature
of the guys, and the quality of
their characters. We’re still
going to be competitive until the
end. It’s certainly not over.”
MARK CALCAGNO
For the Daily
CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily
The Michigan men’s soccer team cruised to a 5-1 victory over Oakland on Tuesday at U-M Soccer Stadium.
“When you’re
a goal scorer,
confidence
is king.”
The result of the game hardly
mattered.
The Michigan men’s soccer
team (3-9-4) had already sealed
its spot in the play-in game
for the Big Ten Tournament.
No performance against non-
conference foe Oakland would
change the heart-breaking results
that have defined this season.
But Michigan coach Chaka
Daley believes the Wolverines’
5-1 victory over the Grizzlies will
serve as a building block. Possibly
a building block for a potential
cinderella run in the Big Ten
Tournament, or maybe the first
brick in a late-season offensive
renaissance. Or perhaps it could
serve at the start of a foundation
for the future.
Between
sophomore
midfielder
Robbie
Mertz,
sophomore
forward
Francis
Atuahene,
freshman
forward
Jack
Hallahan
and
others,
Michigan has largely been reliant
on underclassmen to carry the
offensive burden. All three have
logged over 1,000 minutes on the
season. And while that has led
to growing pains throughout the
fall — the Wolverines came into
the match with just 11 goals in 15
games — they may just be starting
to reap the benefits of that young
talent.
“We believe very much in
Francis, Jack and Robbie,” Daley
said. “Those guys are good, young
players that are the future of
Michigan soccer.”
Mertz looked dangerous all
night, calmly weaving through
defenders with crisp ball control,
making pinpoint passes out wide
and offering several chances on
net. In the 20th minute, he found
himself on the end of a cross into
the box and deposited the ball
through the keeper’s legs to open
the scoring.
“I think we finally found a
good spot for Robbie — in there
centrally as a number 10 — and he
does a great job for us connecting
the game.”
Added Mertz, on his new role:
“I played that all growing up, so I
was hoping last year, and coming
into this year, that would be
something that I would get into in
the future. They are starting to get
more comfortable with me there,
and I certainly like to play there.
I have a lot of fun playing that
position.”
Fellow
underclassman
Atuahene broke the 1-1 tie early in
the second half, slotting home the
goal after a shot deflected off the
keeper.
It was the combination of
Mertz and Atuahene that led to
the highlight of the night, as Mertz
found Atuahene on the edge of the
box. From there, Atuahene did the
rest, whipping his leg through the
ball and bending the strike over
the keeper’s outstretched arms,
and adding an exclamation point
to the long-awaited offensive
outbreak.
“When you’re a goal-scorer,
confidence is king,” Daley said.
“(Francis) scored one, which
was a little bit of a scrum, but the
second goal is top-shelf. If we can
get some confidence and get him
going, get Jack going, get Robbie
going, I don’t care who we play, to
be honest.”
It’s that finishing talent that
has been sorely lacking from the
squad throughout the season. But
the goal offered a glimpse into the
team’s potential in the coming
weeks and years. Young attacking
talent abounds.
As the clocked ticked down
Tuesday,
the
players
joined
together on the field, smiling ear
to ear and exchanging handshakes
and hugs. Try telling them the
result didn’t matter.
MEN’S SOCCER
Michigan gets glimpse
of the future in victory
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Writer
OAKLAND
MICHIGAN
1
5
Two weeks ago, it was Sam
Piazza
with
four
minutes
left. Friday night, it was Will
Lockwood with a minute to go.
Saturday night, it was Cutler
Martin taking advantage on the
power play.
Those
players
stepped
up
when a battered and struggling
Michigan hockey team needed
their
assistance.
As
the
11th-ranked Wolverines head to
the East Coast this weekend, they
are hoping to avoid having the
need for another lucky goal.
“(These goals are) luck,” said
Michigan coach Red Berenson.
“We’re not finishing games the
way we need to finish.
“Getting a good start has been
part of our history at Michigan.
We’ve had the lead going into
most of third periods (this
season), maybe just about every
one.”
In their first game of the
season, the Wolverines blew a
3-2 lead late in the third period
and allowed Union to walk away
with a come-from-behind victory,
setting the tone for a recent
stretch in which many games
have been decided by one goal.
Junior forward Dexter Dancs
notices the intensity shift in the
arena atmosphere from the first
to the third period. For him and
his fellow Wolverines, though,
they strive for the same approach
throughout all three periods.
Dancs
will
only
occasionally
look up at the scoreboard during
games, but when he does, he seems
to ignore it. He has a game to win,
a backcheck to induce and a puck
to control.
“You’re just playing and then
they’re times when you’re in a
tight game and it’s 15 minutes left
in the game, and then you look up,
and there’s three minutes left in
the game and it’s still tight,” Dancs
said.
“If it comes down to crunch
time with five minutes left in the
game … then yeah, it starts to get
intense and really fun.”
For
freshman
goaltender
Hayden Lavigne, who allowed
a game-tying goal Friday night
before Lockwood bailed him out
with a minute left, these late-third-
period scores alter his approach.
Rather than thinking of the final
outcome for these few minutes,
Lavigne assesses the opponent’s
opportunities shot by shot. And in
a season in which the Wolverines
have struggled to clear the puck
out of their own zone, Lavigne has
faced his share of chances.
To prepare himself for these
intense moments, Lavigne has
developed techniques to relax
himself in heightened moments
when a single mishap could lead
to a loss.
“You have to shake it off right
away, because then the last three
minutes of the game become that
more important,” Lavigne said.
“Instead of it being a tying goal,
it becomes a losing goal. My key
thing is just breathing deep. (It)
calms down my whole body and
my mind at the same time.”
Lavigne takes advantage of
late-game stoppages to speak to
his blueliners. They speak about
strategy in their own zone and
share tips on how to combat the
opposition’s top scorers. These
conversations are pivotal, because
the Wolverines have had to adapt a
more defensive-minded approach
after the departure of nearly two-
thirds of its goals to graduation
or the NHL. Even Berenson
acknowledged his team lacks
depth in certain areas this season.
While the goaltending has kept
Michigan close late in games,
Berenson believes the Wolverines
must improve their shots against.
“We’ve been outshot in every
game, particularly in the third
period when we’ve had the lead,”
Berenson said. “And the third
period was one of our best periods
last year.”
This weekend, Michigan plays
Vermont,
the
seventh-ranked
scoring team that averages four
goals per game. Its most prolific
period: the third, in which it has
netted eight goals.
Should the Catamounts score
a goal in the third period, Dancs
might even enjoy the intense
atmosphere, and Lavigne might
resort to his breathing exercises.
Maybe, the Wolverines will
need a late goal. They’ve shown
they can get one.
‘M’ thriving in crunch time
AVI SHOLKOFF
Daily Sports Writer
CLAIRE ABDO/Daily
The Michigan hockey team has found a way to emerge from close games.
Five Things We Learned: Practice
Fans got their first glimpse of
the 2016-17 Michigan basketball
squad Tuesday at the team’s
annual open practice and “selfie”
night.
Michigan coach John Beilein
led several drills with his 16-man
squad before holding a 20-minute
5-on-5
scrimmage.
With
the
Wolverines’ exhibition against
Armstrong State just over a week
away, The Daily looks at five things
we learned from Michigan’s open
practice.
1. Everyone’s healthy
The Wolverines may be the
healthiest they’ve been in recent
years heading into a season.
Injuries
have
hampered
the
Wolverines’ preseason progress in
previous years, including last year
when senior guard Zak Irvin and
now-Purdue guard Spike Albrecht
were both still recovering from off
season surgeries.
Beilein coached all 16 of his
players all night, with no one
apparently limited by injuries.
Maintaining that level of health
will be essential as Michigan
faces a difficult non-conference
schedule.
2. Wagner a deep threat?
Sophomore
forward
Moritz
Wagner’s decision to spend his
summer in Ann Arbor developing
his game looks like it will pay big
dividends for the Wolverines.
Wagner showed off to the Crisler
faithful
his
much-improved
perimeter shot from the start of
practice. In Michigan’s first drill,
a 3-on-2 fast break simulation,
Wagner made himself open in the
corner, and drained his first two
3-point attempts. Wagner carried
his shooting confidence into the
scrimmage, where he made a
couple outside shots as well.
Expect Wagner to quickly
surpass the mere 12 3-point
attempts he took last year and force
defenders into tough situations if
he can carry his accuracy into the
regular season.
3. Freshmen adapting
Freshman
guard
Xavier
Simpson is expected to log big
minutes for Michigan from the
start, and he showed he has all
the ability to live up to those
expectations.
Simpson
wasn’t
afraid to take on his taller, bulkier
teammates at the practice, putting
together a couple of strong drives
to the hoop in the 20-minute
scrimmage.
Also impressive was freshman
guard Ibi Watson. Like Simpson,
Watson showed his aggression to
get to the hoop and put together a
couple fine plays doing so. Watson
won’t feature in Beilein’s plans as
prominently as Simspon, but from
what he showed on Tuesday, he
could offer the Wolverines more
depth coming off the bench.
4. Robinson vs. Flaherty
Beilein kept labeling senior
guard
Duncan
Robinson
as
“the best shooter in America”
throughout Tuesday’s practice.
But he wasn’t even the best in
Crisler Center that evening.
Robinson faced off with junior
guard Katelynn Flaherty from the
women’s team in a 3-point contest
at the end of practice. Flaherty
put massive pressure on her male
counterpart
after
going
first
and putting on a nearly flawless
performance, draining 21-of-25
shots. After a couple early misses
from the right elbow, Robinson
came
back
and
sank
nine
consecutive 3’s to give him the
chance to tie Flaherty on the final
shot. With his teammates ready to
mob him, Robinson released his
last shot from the left corner, only
to watch it bounce off the rim.
5. BOLD PREDICTION:
Wagner and Mark Donnal will
start a game together
Wagner seems to have grown
more than any other player over
the summer, and the addition of
a perimeter game will make him
a much more versatile player.
If Wagner can find consistency
in his 3-point shot, he could
challenge Irvin as an option at
the ‘4.’
MEN’S BASKETBALL
BRANDON CARNEY
Daily Sports Writer