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Singing
A Grand
8A — Thursday, September 21, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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‘M’ falls to Western Michigan,
1-0, in second consecutive loss
The ball bounced to Noah
Kleedtke at the top of the box,
and the Wolverines had one
final chance to tie the game.
The
junior
midfielder
stepped up and fired off a
shot, but he missed — badly.
The ball sailed high and wide,
the whistle blew and the game
ended.
The Michigan men’s soccer
team (4-2-2) dropped its second
straight game on Wednesday,
1-0, in Kalamazoo against No.
12
Western
Michigan.
The
Wolverines went without a
shot on goal for the second
game in a row, putting an ugly
exclamation mark on the loss.
“We didn’t have four regulars
playing, so it was a little
challenging for our group. But
the guys who stepped in, I’m
proud of,” said Michigan coach
Chaka Daley. “Two 1-0 losses
isn’t devastating to our group,
our staff, or any of our players.”
Michigan’s first chance of
the game came early. Freshman
forward
Mohammed
Zakyi
had space down the left wing
off a nicely threaded pass.
His shot hit the near post,
but
unfortunately
for
the
Wolverines,
that
was
the
closest they came to putting
one on goal for the entire game.
It wasn’t necessarily for a
lack of effort, though. While
Western Michigan mustered
more shots, Michigan was on
the attack for nearly 10 straight
minutes at one point in the
first half. The best chance from
that stretch came from junior
midfielder Robbie Mertz. After
a corner kick leaked out to the
top of the box, Mertz had the
space he needed to get a shot
off. He did, but the attempt
missed wide.
The Broncos had a sustained
attack of their own afterwards,
with just as little success. Senior
midfielder Brandon Bye was the
catalyst, taking a threatening
volley inside the box in the 34th
minute. Michigan managed to
block it, but that wasn’t the end
of the attack. Senior forward
Jay McIntosh had Western
Michigan’s best chance of the
half just a few minutes later — a
header, which sailed wide, after
an undefended Bronco cross.
Five minutes into the second
half, the dam broke. Junior
midfielder Kosti Moni scored
with a header after a Western
Michigan throw-in. His goal
was all the Broncos needed.
Western
Michigan
came
closer to a second goal than the
Wolverines ever did to a first.
In the game’s 50th minute,
the Broncos forced a save out
of Verdi, who punched away a
threatening cross. Five minutes
later, Connor McNulty’s header
flew just high off a corner kick.
It took a while longer before
Michigan started to attack more
aggressively. The Wolverines
didn’t get their first shot of
the second half until the 70th
minute. That was from Zakyi
as well, who found himself in
space after the ball came free
in Western Michigan’s box. At
that point, a familiar refrain
kicked in for Michigan: his shot
went wide.
“(Western
Michigan)
was
very direct, drove it over the top
so there’s no buildup play, and
it was hard to get a rhythm,”
Daley said. “That made it very
difficult for us (to attack).”
Though the Wolverines spent
most of the remainder of the
game attacking, they never
forced a save out of Bronco
fifth-year
senior
goalkeeper
Drew Shepherd. In the match’s
last 15 minutes, the Wolverines
managed three shots.
Two
of
them,
one
by
sophomore
midfielder
Jack
Hallahan, the other by Mertz,
were
blocked
by
Broncos’
defenders.
The
third
was
Kleedtke’s, which felt like a Hail
Mary in more ways than one.
Peoples-Jones ready to shoulder burden
Donovan
Peoples-Jones
doesn’t want anyone making
excuses for him.
Chris Partridge, Michigan’s
special teams coach, said as much
Wednesday afternoon.
Right now, fresh off a 79-yard
punt return touchdown against
Air
Force
and
a
breakout
receiving
performance,
the
freshman phenom doesn’t need
anyone to.
A week ago, well — that’s a
different
story.
Peoples-Jones
was responsible for a fumble that
gave Michigan fans a heart attack
and took a seat on the sideline.
He had won a starting job.
Then he lost it, albeit only for a
half.
In the span of two games,
Peoples-Jones
has
already
experienced the highs and lows of
college football. And as Partridge
explained, given the difficulties
that come with returning punts,
he wouldn’t want it any other
way.
“To me, I think that catching
a punt outside in an open
environment like that is the
hardest thing to do,” Partridge
said. “… For a freshman to have
to do that, those game reps are
invaluable. We can do everything
we want in practice, but when
all the pressure is there … and
everybody’s releasing everybody,
those reps are valuable.
“And he just continues to lock
it in and get better at it. You don’t
want that stuff to happen, but that
happening is gonna make him
so much better moving forward
here.”
The touchdown against the
Falcons is evident of how apt
Partridge’s theory is.
But even when he’s working
with a player who was ranked as
the top receiver in his class, there’s
a balance Partridge must strike
between allowing Peoples-Jones’
natural talent to flourish while
still teaching him week by week.
“I can take a lot of the blame
on myself and the coaches too,
to make sure we progress in
the right way,” Partridge said.
“You’ve got to make sure that
these guys are comfortable, can
be fast, and can be who they are.”
If he can’t, there’s the risk
that a repeat of Cincinnati could
happen. And while Peoples-Jones
doesn’t want anyone making
excuses for him, Partridge was
willing to.
“For a young guy, I get it to
an extent,” Partridge said. “He’s
trying to catch the ball first, he’s
trying to get to where the return
is going, he’s trying to wonder,
‘Should I fair catch it? Should I
play it?’
“There (are) a lot of things
going in his mind, and taking
charge might take a back seat in
that moment. I think he realized
now that it can’t take a backseat.
He needs to take charge out
there.”
Partridge
may
have
been
talking
about
Peoples-Jones’
role as a punt returner, but it
could just as easily apply to him
at receiver given the Wolverines’
circumstance. They are suddenly
without Tarik Black — the man
who leads Michigan in receiving
yards and receptions — and have
a date with a suddenly resurgent
Purdue in West Lafayette this
weekend.
And yet, what the Wolverines
lost in Black they may find again
in Peoples-Jones. There is, of
course, the obvious: At 6-foot-2
and 199 pounds, Peoples-Jones
compares well to Black’s 6-foot-
3, 203-pound frame, and he has
next-level speed and athleticism
to go with it. As a junior in
high school he won the SPARQ
competition at The Opening —
a recruiting showcase for the
nation’s top seniors.
That
all
goes
without
mentioning that in his limited
snaps at receiver, he has still had
a tremendous impact. His two-
reception, 52-yard outing against
Air Force is the obvious example,
but he has consistently shown
an ability to get open for Wilton
Speight — something the redshirt
junior quarterback needs now
more than ever.
There is no question that
Peoples-Jones
has
had
his
spotlight in the punt return game.
Now, that spotlight is only getting
brighter. And it’s in his mistakes
that Peoples-Jones may find his
next big play.
After all, Peoples-Jones has
already shown plenty of people:
For him, mistakes are just fleeting
moments.
“It can’t (linger) for big-time
players, or for anyone,” Partridge
said. “This game is all about
highs and lows. If everything was
all great, you’d always win and
everyone would be doing it.
“It’s overcoming that kind of
stuff, and the mistakes, that really
make a true, true competitor,
warrior, top athlete, who they are.
And Donovan is that. Donovan
is going to be an unreal football
player for this team, this year, and
moving on.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan vs No. 12 Western Michigan
0
Shots on goal for the Wolverines
4
Michigan regulars who didn’t suit
up to play
22
The Wolverines’ national ranking
before their second straight loss
50
Minute Western Michigan scored
the only goal of the game
ETHAN SEARS
For the Daily
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore forward Jack Hallahan and the Wolverines have hit a rough patch.
KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Freshman receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones will be depended upon to help fill the void left by the injured Tarik Black.