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Singing
A Grand
8 — Friday, September 22, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
‘M’ salvages 2-2 draw
Sarah
Stratigakis
beat
a
defender, dribbled around the
goalkeeper and slid a desperate
left-footed attempt towards the
empty net.
All she could do was wait
and watch as the ball trickled
towards the goal for what
seemed like an eternity.
“If that hits the wrong piece
of grass, it’s going to hit the
post,” said Michigan women’s
soccer coach Greg Ryan.
Fortunately
for
the
Wolverines, it didn’t.
The freshman midfielder’s
shot found the back of the net
with just 10 seconds left in
regulation, salvaging a 2-2 draw
for Michigan (1-1-1 Big Ten,
4-2-4 overall) at Minnesota.
Despite
being
jam-packed
with tension, Thursday night’s
contest was in many ways
lopsided, and if all opportunities
were equal, the Golden Gophers
(0-1-1, 4-2-3) could rightfully
say they dominated the match.
Against
a
shorthanded
Wolverine squad missing five
regular
starters,
Minnesota
went on the attack early and
often. The Golden Gophers fired
off nine shots in the first 20
minutes, and outshot Michigan
for the entire match by a
whopping 39-7.
“We had hoped that we
would be able to take care of the
ball a little better and possess
the ball a little more, but it just
didn’t go that way,” Ryan said.
“We
definitely
worked to keep
it as tight as we
can in the back
and look for our
chances on the
break.”
In particular,
the
absences
of
defenders
Brooke
Cilley
and Sura Yekka
forced
the
Wolverines to adjust. Redshirt
junior Taylor Timko, the usual
starter at left back, had to move
to
central
defense
instead,
which cost Michigan a key
attacking threat.
“It’s her first game at center
back so it was a lot of learning
for her on the fly,” Ryan said.
“It’s a tough position to be
moved into. We missed Taylor
because she’s so good getting
forward wide.”
For
all
its
ammunition,
however,
Minnesota
failed
to
seriously
challenge
Sarah Jackson early on. The
Wolverines’ senior keeper had
to make just three routine saves
in the first half.
Meanwhile, the Wolverines’
two attempts were the two
best chances of the first half.
Just six minutes in, junior
midfielder Reilly Martin sent
a corner into the danger area.
The ball bounced to redshirt
sophomore
midfielder
Katie
Foug, but her point-blank effort
was swallowed up by Minnesota
goalkeeper Kailee Sharp.
Twenty
minutes
later,
though, Foug got a second
chance. Stratigakis corralled a
long ball on the break and sent a
chip-shot over a Golden Gopher
defender into the box. Rushing
in from the left, Foug volleyed
the ball off a bounce and coolly
slotted it into the bottom-right
corner for her first goal of the
season.
“It’s all about being clinical,”
Stratigakis said. “Even though
they did have more shots than
us, it’s about how important it is
to score that goal.”
In
the
second
half,
Minnesota continued its high-
pressure attack but was much
more precise. Four minutes in,
Jackson sprawled to her right to
deflect forward April Bockin’s
wide-open effort in the box —
one of five saves she recorded in
the first 20 minutes of the half
alone.
Despite the best efforts of
Jackson and the Wolverines’
back line, maintaining a shutout
while conceding over 20 shots
isn’t exactly sustainable.
For
Michigan,
it
was
sustainable for 75 minutes,
before Minnesota’s Julianna
Gernes equalized on a rebound
from close range.
The
Golden
Gophers
continued to attack, looking
to
put
away
the
scrappy
Wolverines once and for all. And
they very nearly did — with just
over four minutes remaining,
Gernes scored her second goal
off a nifty back-heel assist from
Sydney Squires.
With under a minute to
play,
Minnesota
had
one
final possession to ice away
the victory. But the Golden
Gophers were unable to run
the clock down
completely,
resulting in one
last
gasp
for
the Wolverines.
Foug launched a
ball downfield,
Stratigakis
caught up to it,
and
Michigan
had new life.
“Just a great
effort
from
Sarah,”
Ryan
said.
“For
a
freshman to make that kind of
effort to get your team back in
the game is amazing.”
In overtime, Minnesota didn’t
appear to show any signs of a
letdown after conceding with
just seconds left. The Gophers
mostly
dominated
the
two
10-minute periods, continuing
to be aggressive in and around
the box. Their best chance to
win came six minutes into the
first overtime when the ball
dropped in front of a wide-open
Athena Kuehn, but sophomore
defender Jada Dayne’s clutch
clearance
extinguished
the
threat.
Looking for a game-winner
and a hat-trick at the same time,
Gernes took Minnesota’s final
shot with 20 seconds left, but
it flew high over the crossbar,
and Michigan escaped with a
result.
“We gave game balls out to
everybody,” Ryan said. “This
was going to be a tough game
and we knew it. We had a lot
of inexperienced players and
players playing out of position.
We just told them how proud
we were of their effort and just
sticking together and fighting
until the last second.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan at Minnesota
5
Michigan regulars who sat out
10
Seconds left when Sarah Stratigakis
scored the game-salvaging goal
39
Minnesota’s shot advantage over
Michigan
110
Total time elapsed in the match
What to Watch For: Purdue vs. Michigan
The
non-conference
season
has come to a close, and frankly, it
hasn’t been very convincing.
The No. 8 Michigan football
team is fresh off a 29-13 victory
over Air Force that went far worse
than the point differential would
suggest. The Wolverines didn’t
score an offensive touchdown
until just over a minute was left
in the game, redshirt freshman
Quinn Nordin needed to hit five
field goals and freshman standout
receiver Tarik Black suffered a
season-ending foot injury.
Now, they are opening Big Ten
play on the road against a Purdue
team that has been playing above
its expectations. The Boilermakers
started the season with a narrow
seven-point loss against then-No.
16 Louisville, just before blowing
out Ohio and Missouri.
In short, what was once a
rollover game is now a legitimate
contest.
Here’s what to watch for when
Michigan opens its conference
season Saturday afternoon:
1. The secondary’s first true
test
For the most part, things
have gone off without a hitch for
Michigan’s secondary through its
first three games.
The
Wolverines
have
surrendered just two passing
touchdowns — one of which
came against Air Force when
the defensive unit was lulled to
sleep by the run-heavy triple
option. The 64-yard pass and
catch certainly hurt, but defensive
coordinator Don Brown described
it as a correctable issue Wednesday
afternoon.
Teams
have
a
40-percent
completion rate against Michigan
and are averaging 125.7 yards,
while the secondary has already
registered three interceptions —
two of which were returned for
touchdowns against Cincinnati.
Then again, the Wolverines
are only now facing their first real
passing threat. Purdue employs
a two-quarterback system with
David Blough and Elijah Sindelar,
and both look impressive.
Blough boasts a 76.1 completion
percentage with 597 yards and
six touchdowns. Sindelar, though
holding a 50-percent completion
rate, has thrown four touchdowns
of his own and racked up 263
yards.
Put simply, the Boilermakers
have the same amount of passing
touchdowns as Michigan has red
zone trips.
The Wolverines are about to
face a gunslinger in Blough. And
people may finally find out just
how good safety Tyree Kinnel
and cornerbacks David Long and
Lavert Hill are.
2. Can Nordin continue to
lead the Big Ten in scoring?
Maybe this Heisman hype has
some legitimacy.
Through three games, Nordin
is leading the conference with 42
points. The next closest candidates
are Penn State’s Saquon Barkley
and Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor,
both of whom have 30.
It may be a bad sign for
Michigan’s offense, but Nordin
probably won’t be complaining.
With 11 field goals through three
games, he is on pace to surpass
the program record set by Remy
Hamilton when he hit 25 in a single
season in 1994. He has missed just
two attempts while also converting
two from 50-plus yards.
Heisman? Probably not. But it’s
at least fair to joke about for now,
right?
3. Who replaces Tarik Black?
Much conversation has revolved
around who will take Black’s place
in the offense now that he is out for
the year with a foot injury.
That spot will likely be awarded
to
fellow
freshman
receiver
Donovan
Peoples-Jones,
with
sophomore Eddie McDoom seeing
an increased role as well.
But it’s also worth noting that
Grant Perry and Kekoa Crawford
will need to rise to the occasion.
Black led the unit with 11
receptions and 149 yards, but Perry
doesn’t trail by much — boasting
10 receptions and 124 yards of his
own.
Crawford, meanwhile, hasn’t
fared as well. His five receptions
for 86 yards and a touchdown are
noteworthy, but he has shown an
affinity for dropping balls lately —
the most notorious of which came
on what was arguably Wilton
Speight’s best throw of the game
against Air Force.
The
offense
has
struggled
enough in the red zone, and with
Black out, things are only going
to get harder. Keep an eye out for
Peoples-Jones, but bring your
binoculars for Perry and Crawford.
4. Is this when people see the
real Wilton Speight?
It may sound like a broken
record, but the Wolverines’ red
zone offense has been abysmal
this season. Michigan has gone
to the red zone 10 times and only
scored one touchdown.
Speight
and
Harbaugh
attributed the struggles on the
goal line against Air Force to
deceptive blitz schemes, but it’s
troubling nonetheless.
With Black out and the outside
chatter escalating with every
incompletion, Speight may be
facing more pressure than he has
in a long time.
Still, we know Speight can
play on the road. He did it at
Minnesota in 2015. He did it
at Ohio State with an injured
shoulder last year. He should be
able to do it now.
The Wolverines’ offense is
being questioned more than ever,
and with whispers of an upset in
West Lafayette, it’s up to Speight
to right the ship.
KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Junior safety Tyree Kinnel and the secondary will take on a pass-heavy Purdue.
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
Freshman midfielder Sarah Stratigakis scored with just 10 seconds left.
JACOB SHAMES
Daily Sports Writer
“We just told
them how
proud we were
of their effort.”