The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
November 14, 2016 — 3B
Wolverines fall to BU, split weekend
After a 4-0 shutout of fourth-
ranked
Boston
University
(4-3-1) on Friday, the No. 18
Michigan hockey team (5-3-1)
returned to Yost Ice Arena on
Saturday to finish its weekend
series. In a much closer game
than Friday’s, with the score
knotted up 1-1 for the majority of
the second period, the matchup
boiled down to the third period
to determine a winner.
In a flurry of late-game goals,
Boston University managed to
edge out the Wolverines after
scoring three times in the last
ten minutes, earning a weekend
split with a 4-2 win.
“I think we got a little away
from our game,” said junior
forward Dexter Dancs. “In
the first two periods, the first
period
especially,
we
were
physical, we didn’t give them
much. Then in the third period
there were a couple defensive
lapses, and they have a lot of
skill, and they were able to
capitalize.”
Like
Friday’s
game,
the
Wolverines
capitalized
on
scoring opportunities quickly.
Just two minutes and 11 seconds
into the first period, senior
defenseman Nolan De Jong was
able to pass the puck between
two
Terriers
to
freshman
forward
James
Sanchez.
Sanchez fed it to the slot to
sophomore Brendan Warren,
who sniped it into the net for
the first goal of the game.
Unlike
Friday’s
game,
though, the Terriers retaliated.
At the 14:32 mark in the second
period,
Boston
University’s
Dante Fabbro, off an assist
from forward Patrick Harper,
managed a shot directly over
freshman
goaltender
Jack
LaFontaine’s left shoulder to
knot up the game, 1-1.
After Fabbro’s goal, both
teams battled it out to break
the tie in the second period.
In a particularly close call —
which had every Wolverine
fan in Yost standing on their
feet before they realized the
puck hadn’t gone in — senior
forward Alex Kile took a shot
that drifted behind Boston
goaltender Jake Oettinger. But
with no Michigan player close
enough to finish it off, the game
remained settled at a tie.
The Terriers almost broke
the stalemate at the end of
the second period as well,
as forward Bobo Carpenter
managed to find the net behind
LaFontaine.
However,
after
review, the goal was waved off
for high sticking, and the period
ended still tied up, 1-1.
Ultimately, the Terriers were
the ones to break the tie.
At the 10:56 mark, Boston
University
forward
Jordan
Greenway
passed
the
puck
straight to defenseman Charlie
McAvoy, who found the net
to put the Terriers up, 2-1.
Junior forward Dexter Dancs,
though, cancelled out the goal
barely a minute after McAvoy’s,
managing to slip the puck past
Oettinger to tie up the game
again, 2-2.
But two more goals from
Boston
University
would
ultimately
seal
Michigan’s
fate in the last eight minutes
of the game. The first was by
Greenway at the 7:29 mark, a
shot that went directly over
LaFontaine’s right shoulder.
The other was a tip by Harper
at the 4:57 mark to seal the
game, 4-2.
Despite
the
outcome
of
Saturday’s game, though, the
Wolverines are viewing the
weekend as a good opportunity
to prepare for Big Ten play later
in the season.
“It’s not all negative,” said
Michigan coach Red Berenson.
“In fact, there’s more positive
than it is negative. But we’ve
got to build on that positive
part of our game and our team.
We went through what we went
through last week and we’ve got
to have a good week this week
and we’ve only got one game
next week and then two against
a tough Lake (Superior) State
team, and then we’re in the Big
Ten. So we’ve got three games
to get ready for the Big Ten.”
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Junior forward Dexter Dancs scored a goal for the Michigan hockey team against Boston University on Saturday.
LANEY BYLER
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan’s season
ends at Regionals
The Michigan men’s cross
country team has been in the
middle of the pack all season,
just short of winning in multiple
meets. Friday, that was the case
again.
The Wolverines traveled to
Madison to compete in the NCAA
Great Lakes Regional. Michigan
placed fifth behind Wisconsin,
Michigan State, Indiana and
Eastern Michigan with 107 total
points. The results of the race
bring the Wolverines’ run in
the tournament, as well as their
season, to an end.
Junior Aaron Baumgarten led
the race through the six kilometer
mark, but in the final stretch,
Wisconsin’s Malachy Schrobilgen
and Morgan McDonald would
prevail as the two top finishers.
Baumgarten placed 10th overall,
finishing as the top runner for the
Wolverines with a time of 30:33.4.
Narrowly behind Baumgarten
was junior Billy Bund, who
finished 11th with a time of
30:34.0. Fifth-year senior Connor
Herr came in 18th (30:50.5),
freshman Jordy Hewitt came in
23rd (31:04.7) and senior Connor
Mora came in 45th (31:39.9).
Juniors Austin Benoit and Micah
Beller finished in 104th (32:38.8)
and 127th (33:11.2), respectively.
“Baumgarten and some of the
Wisconsin guys were pretty much
controlling the tempo of the race,
and some of us Michigan guys
were keying off each other right
behind Baumgarten,” Bund said.
“Over the last 2,000 meters the
race separated a bit and all of us
just tried to do our best to beat as
many jerseys as possible.”
Added Michigan coach Kevin
Sullivan: “You can let it get you
down and you can mope and
whine and stay pretty negative,
or you can use it as motivation
to do better the next time out.
Talent doesn’t change. You’ve got
to respond to performances that
don’t live up to your standards just
as you would to your exceptional
performances.”
Even though the cross country
season has come to an end,
Sullivan still believes in the talent
of his team.
“(Freshman) Jordy Hewitt was
really exceptional,” Sullivan said.
“He made up 10-15 places in the
second half of the race, and that’s
what we needed in a situation like
we were in today.”
“I think, at the end of the day,
we’re a team. We’re trying to
support each other, and we will
continue to get better from here.”
EMMA PHILLIPSON
For the Daily
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
The Michigan men’s cross-country team finished fifth at NCAA Regionals.
Wolverines fall in PKs, ending season
Nine
penalties
had
been
taken, and nine penalties were
scored. The game ended 2-2 in
regular time, and one kick would
decide what would happen next.
Illinois State was up 5-4 in the
penalty shootout, and Michigan
sophomore
midfielder
Abby
Kastroll stepped up to try and level
it for the Wolverines.
Her shot — headed for the top-
right corner of the goal — had
the keeper beat. The ball crashed
against the woodwork, though,
knocking Michigan out of the
NCAA tournament.
“Penalties are just penalties.”
said Michigan coach Greg Ryan.
“We’ve seen David Beckham
miss them badly, send them 20
yards over the goal. I’m glad we
drew and went out on penalties.
We didn’t lose, but we just can’t
go to the next round either.”
The Wolverines (6-3-2 Big
Ten, 10-5-5 overall) started
the game well against Illinois
State’s (5-0-1 Missouri Valley,
14-5-3 overall) high-pressing
tactics, and managed to win
the ball back quickly in the
midfield after losing it. This
resulted in two opportunities
for Michigan inside the first 20
minutes of the game, though
both were off target.
“You get a certain number of
chances in a game,” Ryan said.
“And if you put those away, then
you have a good game, and if you
don’t, you leave an opening for
the other team.”
With
its
first
real
bout
of
possession
in
the
final
third, Illinois State made the
Wolverines
pay.
Midfielder
Emily Dickman moved past
three Michigan defenders before
playing in midfielder Abby Basler
inside the box. Basler passed
to forward Lauren Koehl, who
let the ball roll past her body
before taking a touch to beat her
defender and curl the ball into
the roof of the net.
Michigan switched up its
tactics in the second half, moving
Martin further up the field
as a second striker alongside
Waldeck. Martin’s new position
on the field increased her influence
across the pitch, as she provided
two assists, and brought the
Wolverines back into the game.
The change had an almost
immediate effect five minutes into
the half. Martin won a free kick in
the Redbird half and from the set
piece floated the ball into the box,
where freshman defender Jada
Dayne headed it in to even the
score, 1-1.
Michigan asserted control of
the second half the same way it
had in the first, but once again let
its guard down and paid the price.
Halfway through the second
half, Illinois State midfielder Kelli
Zickert found herself with space
in midfield. She managed to play
a perfect pass for Dickman, who
was unmarked inside the box.
Dickman made no mistake, as she
buried the ball into the side netting
at the far post.
“We gave them just two good
chances,” Ryan said.
Traling
once
again,
the
Wolverines needed another goal
to stay in the NCAA Tournament.
With 15 minutes left in the half,
Michigan crossed the ball into
the box, where Martin flicked
it on to Waldeck. Waldeck took
her chance this time around and
headed it over the Illinois State
keeper, tying the game once again.
“It’s always tough coming in
from behind,” Martin said. “And
we knew that set pieces were going
to be a big part of this game, so it
was good that it gave us a chance
to stay in the tournament.”
Michigan
had
two
great
chances in extra time. Both were
off corners, and each time the ball
found the back of the net. Twice
the Wolverines thought they had
put the game to bed with a golden
goal, and twice the referee waived
it off for what appeared to be a foul
in the box.
One hundred and 10 minutes
weren’t enough time to separate
the two sides, so penalties decided
which team would advance to the
next round. After scoring all their
spot kicks, it was the Redbirds that
gained the right to do so.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Finn wins Great Lakes
Regional, on to NCAAs
Friday,
one
week
after
bringing home the Big Ten
championship,
the
Michigan
women’s cross country team ran
its way to its 11th win in the Great
Lakes Regional, all of which
have been under the instruction
of coach Mike McGuire.
The
win
marks
the
Wolverines’
second
straight
regional title, adding to an
already impressive year.
“It feels good,” McGuire said.
“(The win) validated our Big Ten
performance with a solid race
again today.”
The
Wolverines
finished first out
of 32 teams in
the tournament
with 61 points,
30 points ahead
of second-place
Notre
Dame.
Host Wisconsin
and
Michigan
State each tied
for third place
with 97 points each.
Beyond
winning
the
tournament as a team, senior
Erin Finn won the individual
competition, becoming the first
Michigan runner to do so since
2011. Finn clocked in at 19:27.5
in the 6,000-meter race, just
beating Notre Dame’s Anna
Rohrer, who finished with a time
of 19:35.7.
Finn has had an illustrious
college career as a three-time
individual Big Ten champion,
two-time All-American, and a
three-time Big Ten Athlete of
the Year. But this season may
end up being her best.
“I’m just more prepared than
I’ve ever been,” Finn said, “I’m
fitter than I’ve ever been, I’m
smarter than I’ve ever been.”
McGuire also praised Finn,
saying that she has “done a great
job” this season.
Two
other
Wolverines,
juniors Gina Sereno and Avery
Evenson, also finished in the
top 10, with times of 20:15.5 and
20:19.1, respectively. In addition
to Finn’s performance, Sereno
and Evenson were essential in
winning the race for Michigan.
Juniors Jamie Morrissey and
Jaimie
Phelan,
along
with
sophomore
Claire
Borchers
and
freshman
Madeline
Trevisan, also contributed to the
Wolverines’ win.
With the cross country team
riding high on momentum and
working well as a
collective team,
it is now focused
on
preparing
for
next
week’s
NCAA
Championship.
“It’s
the
pinnacle
of
racing,”
McGuire
said.
“We’re
just
looking
to
embrace it.”
The Wolverines have little
time to rest before Saturday’s
championships, but the team
does not plan to change anything
from its winning formula.
“It’s been working so far, so
we’re not going to change it too
much,” Finn said. “(We want to)
get excited, but not too excited
too early.”
Despite wanting to keep calm
ahead of the tournament, Finn
could not help but express some
excitement over next week’s
championships.
“It’s really exciting,” Finn
said. “We wanted to keep the
momentum
rolling.
We’re
excited heading into nationals,
and we’re confident we can do
big things there.”
“It’s the pinnacle
of racing. We’re
just looking to
embrace it.”
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Senior star leads Wolverines to team
win, places first individually, too
CHRISTIAN NEUBACHER
For The Daily
FAHD AHSAN
Daily Sports Writer