Wolverines head into 2017
with talented, deep roster
Nearly nine months after a
penalty shot grazed off the post to
end the Michigan women’s soccer
season, they are set to retake the
field as the Wolverines embark on a
new season.
Memories of the 2-2, 5-4 penalty
kick loss against Illinois State
will be long in the rear view when
Michigan takes the field for its
exhibition opener against West
Virginia at U-M Stadium Monday.
And it will have to — this team is
too talented to linger in the “what
ifs” of 2016.
Spearheaded by a star-studded
group
of
upperclassmen
and
supplanted by a solid crop of young
talent, this team brims with the
potential to exceed last year’s first
round NCAA tournament exit — the
first such appearance for the team
since 2013.
Michigan returns three of its
top four offensive producers from
a season ago, only losing forward
Nicky
Waldeck
to
graduation.
Goalkeeper Sarah Jackson — who
won Big Ten defensive player of the
week twice last season — is also set
to return between the posts for her
senior campaign. Jackson posted
six shutouts last season and finished
fourth in the Big Ten in saves.
Jackson and senior forward
Ani Sarkisian will be two of the
presumed
leaders.
In
addition
to being the focal point of the
Michigan attack, Sarkisian has
already received the nod as a team
captain for the second consecutive
season. Losing Waldeck, the team’s
leading goal scorer a year ago, will
place much of the goal-scoring onus
on Sarkisian, who scored six goals
last season and was named to the
second team all-Big Ten in her own
right.
But Sarkisian won’t be short on
help up top. Lost to a knee injury for
all of 2016, redshirt junior forward
Taylor Timko makes her triumphant
return, and will likely assume a
starting role. The Rochester Hills
native netted seven goals and
started 18 games two years ago as a
sophomore.
There were positives to be
taken away from last season’s
heartbreaking NCAA tournament
loss. At the top of that list? The
emergence
of
centerback
Jada
Dayne. Dayne showed a flare for the
dramatic when she netted a second-
half equalizer in the tournament
game, and displayed an ability as a
dominant centerback at times last
season. Dayne started all 19 games
last season as a freshman for the
Wolverines and will undoubtedly be
counted upon to anchor a backline
that lacks experience.
But what it lacks in experience
it makes up for in talent. Alongside
Dayne,
the
team
expects
to
get
redshirt
sophomore
Sura
Yekka back, after the Canadian
international spent the 2016 season
preparing for the U-20 World Cup
for her country. Yekka played in all
21 games in her first season with the
program two seasons ago and was
named to the all-Big Ten freshman
team.
Senior defender Alyssa Dillon
— a team captain — will likely
compete for a starting spot despite
playing in just 17 games in her three
seasons with the program. Dillon
did, however, see an uptick in her
playing time last season, playing in
10 games as a substitute.
But the engine of this team — as
it was a year ago — will run through
the midfield. A year after leading the
team in points with 24, junior Reilly
Martin returns as one of the premier
players in the conference. Her 10
assists last season were good for a
tie atop the Big Ten. Combined with
junior Abby Kastroll, the two make
up one of the most talented midfield
tandems in the country, sure to give
the Big Ten defenses fits. Given their
pace and creativity, both Martin and
Kastroll figure to be potential first
team all-Big Ten players in 2017.
Meanwhile,
incoming
freshman
midfielder Alia Martin has a chance
to make an impact from day one.
Martin is ranked No. 36 overall in
the 2017 recruiting class by Top
Drawer Soccer.
In total, the team welcomes
11 freshmen as it replenishes the
roster after losing seven seniors to
graduation a year ago.
If Michigan coach Greg Ryan
is able to find a stable backline
to complement the plethora of
attacking options, this figures to be
the most talented Wolverines team
in several years. They head into 2017
unquestionably as one of favorites in
a competitive Big Ten.
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Writer
The string of commitments for
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and
his staff continued Monday, as four-
star linebacker Cameron McGrone
announced
his
intention to play for
the Wolverines.
McGrone
is
the
14th ranked outside
linebacker in the 2018
class, according to the
247Sports composite
rankings. He becomes
the
12th
commit
in Michigan’s 2018 class thus far,
in what is widely expected to be a
smaller class, given the larger classes
the Wolverines took in 2016 and 2017.
247Sports, however, actually ranks
McGrone as the 40th best player in
country in their own (non-composite)
rankings, far and away his highest
ranking among any of the major
outlets.
McGrone held offers from a
plethora of other Big Ten schools
in addition to other high-majors,
including Notre Dame and Tennessee,
before ultimately choosing Michigan.
He is known as a speedy, athletic
linebacker who should fit well into
defensive coordinator Don Brown’s
blitz-heavy scheme. Brown appears
to have been a major factor in
McGrone’s decision.
“Coach Brown, his knowledge of
the game is so great,” McGrone told
Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports. “When
I got the offer, I sat
down and watched
film with him and he
showed me exactly
how I was going to
play in the defense and
I was able to visualize
myself at the MIKE
position.”
In six games in his
junior season, McGrone totaled 52
total tackles including 15.5 tackles
for loss. Last season, the Wolverines’
defense finished second in the nation
with 121 total tackles for loss.
His commitment comes over
ten months after McGrone tore his
anterior cruciate ligament in his
team’s regular season finale, though
he has worked out in several events
since then and attended the Michigan
football barbeque at the Big House
this past week. His rebound appears
to be proceeding on schedule.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Michigan earns commitment from 2018
four-star linebacker Cameron McGrone
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Writer
McGrone is
known as a
speedy, athletic
linebacker.
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
John Beilein had to replace two members of his staff this offseason after Billy Donlon and Jeff Meyer took jobs elsewhere.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
11
Thursday, August 3, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTS