2B — November 7, 2016
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Ryan, Michigan await another anxious Monday
It’s a Wednesday, which means
it’s a day, which means Greg Ryan
is optimistic.
The Michigan women’s soccer
coach always
seems to be
positive about
his
team,
always seems
to think its
best days are
still ahead. In
a few hours,
Ryan’s
team
will
board
a
plane
to
Minneapolis
for the Big Ten Tournament. The
Wolverines will take on No. 1 seed
Minnesota in the semifinals two
days later, a game that very well
could determine their NCAA
Tournament fate.
Ryan,
meanwhile,
believes
his team is safe either way.
He remains hopeful, which is
difficult, because this time of year
brings back memories of days that
were anything but that.
A
year
ago
Wednesday,
Michigan’s 2015 season ended in
its locker room. The Wolverines
lost to Penn State in the same
round of the Big Ten Tournament,
the semifinals. They thought
they’d be playing again the next
weekend. They weren’t.
Most teams’ seasons culminate
on the field — they lose in a
penalty shootout, or they give
up a late goal, or they’re just
outplayed. Instead, Michigan’s
players last year came home from
State College, gathered under the
stands at U-M Soccer Stadium
and found their name absent from
the NCAA Tournament field for
the second year in a row.
“We were just sick. I don’t
think there’s a good explanation
for it,” Ryan said. “There were
teams that were mathematical
points ahead of us by two that
we had beaten twice, and they
took them above us. There were
teams behind us RPI-wise that
they pushed in front of us because
they had beaten us head to head.
So from our perspective, we felt
like we’ve been left out two years
in a row.”
Ryan called those two days the
two most disappointing moments
he has had in nine years at the
helm of Michigan’s program.
And another tense day is coming
around Monday, when the NCAA
announces the field for this year’s
tournament.
The Wolverines are on the
bubble again — ranked No. 44
in the Ratings Percentage Index
— but given how their last two
seasons have ended, you can
understand why even Ryan is
hesitant to be optimistic.
“To be honest,” he said, “I’m
just sickened by what’s happened
the last two years.”
Michigan wasn’t as close in
2014 as last year, but still had
a chance. Two years ago, the
Wolverines entered the selection
show ranked No. 53 in the RPI,
which is typically not good enough
to make the cut. They also had a
mediocre strength of schedule
and played in the country’s fifth-
best conference, and they were
still rebuilding from graduation
losses after making the Elite Eight
the year before, the best season in
program history.
Last
year
stung
worse.
Michigan appeared to be in
good shape to make it back. The
Wolverines emerged from the
Big Ten Tournament ranked No.
46 in the RPI. They outranked
Washington, yet the Huskies
made the tournament on the
strength
of
a
head-to-head
win
against
Michigan.
The
Wolverines beat Northwestern in
the Big Ten Tournament, yet the
Wildcats made the tournament on
the strength of their RPI, which
was two spots higher.
Hence the feeling of sickness.
Last year, Michigan expected
to watch the show, see its name,
celebrate and then go practice
in preparation for an NCAA
Tournament game. Instead came
that feeling of emptiness that
plagues any team in any sport that
watches the show and doesn’t see
its name.
“It was pretty tough, mostly
because I just felt bad for the
seniors, and I felt like we let the
seniors down after they gave
so much to this program,” said
senior defender Madisson Lewis.
“It was just really disappointing
because we felt like we did
enough, but now we know that we
can’t ever think that we’ve done
enough — we just have to keep
winning. That’s the only thing
that we can do.”
A few hours after she said that,
the Wolverines left for Minnesota
to try to keep their season alive.
The Big Ten semifinal counted as
one game, the same as the other 18
Michigan played this season. But
Ryan’s team was not under any
illusions — he has been around
long enough to know that these
ones are more meaningful.
“They just are,” he said. “…
People that tell you, ‘Aw, it’s just
any other game,’ they’re just
trying to make everybody calm.
It’s not any other game.”
Friday, they gave up a goal in the
eighth minute and couldn’t sneak
an equalizer past the Golden
Gophers’ lights-out defense. It
has surely been an anxious couple
of days, and it will be an anxious
next few hours until the NCAA
announces the bracket, team by
team, Monday at 4:30 p.m.
But Ryan can still rely on his
optimism — he has his team’s
credentials
readily
available.
Last year, their best win was
against No. 44 Northwestern.
The Wolverines have played nine
games against top-50 opponents
and beaten three top-25 teams,
including No. 5 Notre Dame, 2-0,
back in August.
So
even
after
Michigan’s
elimination loss on Friday, Ryan
stayed positive: “Honestly, I think
they’re gonna call our name. I
think they’re gonna put Michigan
in the NCAA Tournament. I don’t
think it’s questionable. I think it’s
100 percent that we’ll be in, but
based on the last two years, I do
have some concerns.”
The Wolverines could have
made it much easier on themselves
by eking out a couple of wins
this weekend and stealing the
automatic bid. Now, they’ll just
have to wait through a tenuous
time. They know they have reason
to believe this year, and they know
they can compete if they see their
name announced Monday. But the
wounds from past heartbreak are
still fresh.
“I would say,” Ryan started,
pausing. “What can I say? There’s
a lot of determination in this
team to get back into the NCAA
Tournament. … We’ve got a lot to
prove.”
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
JAKE
LOURIM
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
The Michigan women’s soccer team will have another day of waiting to hear whether its name is announced in the NCAA Tournament field on Monday.
Michigan falls to No. 1 Maryland
in Big Ten tournament shootout
It was déjà vu for anyone
who follows the Michigan men’s
soccer team. The Wolverines
played No. 1 Maryland for the
second time in one week and took
the game to a second overtime
once again, but they couldn’t
change the result this time
around. For the second straight
week, Michigan fell, 3-2, and this
time, the loss ended its season.
The golden goal went to the
Terrapins. Maryland midfielder
George Campbell shielded senior
defender Lars Eckenrode from
the ball and managed to rattle off
a shot to the lower-right corner.
He beat the Wolverines’ backup
goalkeeper — redshirt junior
Braden Horton who replaced
injured starter Evan Louro — and
maintained Maryland’s unbeaten
record.
The Wolverines opened their
Big Ten Tournament run on
Saturday afternoon in College
Park against Rutgers. Goals from
sophomore
forward
Francis
Atuahene
and
sophomore
midfielder Ivo Cerda propelled
Michigan passed the Scarlet
Knights, to win 2-1.
It was a quick turnaround
for the Wolverines, who had to
play the Terrapins on Sunday
evening. They opened the game
with a lot of energy, but they
were constantly trying to fight
their way back after trailing for
most of the game.
Michigan
senior
defender
Andre Morris was the first to
score in the 30th minute, though
not for his own team. Maryland
crossed it to the near post, and
Morris attempted to clear it wide,
but it grazed the top of his laces
and found its way to the back of
the net for an own goal.
It just took two minutes
for the Wolverines to find an
answer. Eckenrode headed a
ball to the top of the box to the
feet of senior midfielder Tyler
Anderson, who buried it into the
back of the net for the first goal
of his career.
Only a minute later, the
Terrapins were ahead again.
After a slow clearance attempt
from
sophomore
defender
Marcello
Borges,
Maryland
connected passes in the box and
forward DJ Reeves slipped it past
Michigan’s goalkeeper, putting
them up, 2-1.
It was clear from a halftime
interview that Maryland coach
Sasho Cirovski was not pleased
with
his
team’s
first-half
performance, and his team came
out firing in the second half.
The Wolverine defense could
barely catch a breath due to the
near-constant pressure from the
Terrapins. It seemed that any
time they got near the goal they
were a threat, but they struggled
to finish their chances.
Michigan had one shot on
goal in the second half, and it
found the back of the net. Senior
defender Rylee Woods crossed
it from the left to Atuahene who
easily headed it home, equalizing
the score.
The Wolverines managed to
force the game into overtime. The
last five minutes of regulation
found the two posts to be the
best defender on Michigan’s side,
stopping three goals.
The constant pressure on
Louro proved to be too much,
as he exited the game with an
injury before the start of the
first overtime period. Horton
had only played in one game this
season, and he entered the most
important game for Michigan
this season at the most important
time.
Unfortunately
for
the
Wolverines, he wasn’t able to
keep their season alive.
Michigan’s
final
game
symbolizes its disappointing
season. The team almost pulled
it off, but just couldn’t finish
the job.
“They were very resilient,
much like they have been all
season,” said Michigan coach
Chaka Daley. “The soccer gods
went against us a little bit.
Certainly in those moments I
don’t think we deserved to have
that done to us. I don’t think we
deserved some of the unfortunate
things this year, but that’s soccer
sometimes.”
PAIGE VOEFFRAY
Daily Sports Writer
ELIZABETH XIONG/Daily
Lars Eckenrode and the Wolverines saw their season end on Sunday.
Wolverines fall in B1G Semifinals
Sarah Jackson picked the ball
out of the net and disgustedly
punted it to midfield. The redshirt
sophomore goalkeeper’s response
to Minnesota’s game-winning goal
was a summary of the Michigan
women’s soccer team’s frustration
the entire match.
The fourth-seeded Wolverines
(6-3-2 Big Ten, 10-5-4 overall)
were outplayed by the top-
seeded Golden Gophers (7-1-3,
15-3-3), losing 1-0 in the Big Ten
Tournament semifinals Friday in
St. Paul, Minn.
Forward
Julianna
Gernes
scored the lone goal for Minnesota,
as she buried an attempt into a
wide-open net off a rebound from
midfielder Josee Stiever’s shot that
drew post in the seventh minute.
Gernes was the beneficiary of a
Golden Gopher attack that rarely
gave the Wolverine defense a rest
in the first half. It was a Michigan
turnover just outside the box that
lead to the 3-on-2 scoring-chance
for Minnesota.
“We gave away a silly goal
— it was just so horrific,” said
Michigan coach Greg Ryan. “You
can’t give up those kinds of goals.
Those are layups. We talked about
not beating ourselves before the
match, but we beat ourselves on
that play.”
As
the
Wolverines
found
themselves with just 45 minutes
to equalize, Ryan attempted to
orchestrate a more offensively
threatening
formation
by
positioning his players higher
up on the field. That desperation
also contributed to a more
physical style of play — Michigan
committed seven fouls in the
final frame.
But the formation and tenacity
proved futile on the scoresheet,
as the Wolverines were able to
muster just two shots on net in
the second half, leading to Gopher
goalkeeper Sarah Hobbs’ 10th
clean slate of the season.
“At
the
end
of
the
day,
(Minnesota) got a couple good
looks on goal, and we didn’t get
any — that was the difference,”
Ryan said.
Michigan’s
best
scoring
opportunity came during the
game’s first minute, when junior
Ani Sarkisian cut quickly upfield
and blasted a shot off a Minnesota
defender and out of bounds,
resulting in a Wolverine corner.
But the nerves of the heavyweight
Minnesota club settled following
Michigan’s initial rush — the
Golden Gophers’ aggressive play
led to their possession and shot
domination in the opening frame.
With the loss, the Wolverines
will have their NCAA Tournament
fate determined by the selection
committee
for
the
third
consecutive year, as Michigan
hopes to hear its name called for
an at-large selection on Monday.
But after two consecutive years
without
a
postseason
berth
despite respectable seasons, Ryan
doesn’t have much confidence
in
the
selection
committee’s
inclination to give the Wolverines
their fourth appearance under the
current head man.
“Based upon what the NCAA
has done the last two years, I have
no evidence to support that (we’re
going to be selected),” Ryan said.
“We’ve got three wins against the
top 25 and a tie against Minnesota
— we’ve never had a better resume
to get in. I don’t have a lot of
confidence in the committee to
figure this out.”
Though
the
fate
of
the
Wolverines’
season
is
still
in
question,
Michigan
plans
on practicing Monday as if it
indeed has a place in the NCAA
tournament. If Ryan’s team gets
selected and breaks its two-
year postseason drought, maybe
practice will consist of Jackson
launching a punt in triumphant
joy rather than frustration.
MARK CALCAGNO
For the Daily
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Jackson and Michigan fell to Minnesota in the Big Ten semis.