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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, September 26, 2017 — 7
‘M’ grinds to draw against Golden Gophers
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 centerback
instead, which cost Michigan a key
attacking threat.
“It’s her first game at centerback
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.”
JAKE SHAMES
Daily Sports Writer
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
Freshman midfielder Sarah Stratigakis scored with just 10 seconds left in regulation, locking the game at two and giving the Wolverines a tie aggainst Minnesota.
Coming into this weekend, the
Michigan volleyball team knew
it would be in for a tough test
— one that would require truly
tremendous play to pass.
After losing in four sets at No.
1 Minnesota (1-1 Big Ten, 12-1
overall) on Friday, the Wolverines
(0-2, 10-4) hoped to rebound in a
nationally televised game against
No. 5 Wisconsin in Madison.
With the second set hanging
in the balance, Michigan looked
poised to tie the match at one
set each. The Wolverines took a
pivotal 28-27 lead after a forceful
block from redshirt sophomore
Cori Crocker was slammed down
to the floor for a point.
But then, sophomore setter
MacKenzi Welsh fired a serve
out of bounds and the Badgers
(1-1, 10-1) took the next two points
to seal the second set, before
flattening the Wolverines in the
final set, 25-13.
Suddenly,
the
20th-ranked
Wolverines had an 0-2 Big Ten
record.
Both
losses
came
despite
the Wolverines holding several
considerable
leads
before
eventually crumbling.
“I think we got a little
undisciplined this weekend, and
we didn’t really stay with the
plan as much as we could’ve,”
said Michigan coach Mark Rosen.
“We weren’t able to stay with our
normal, consistent execution.”
Inconsistency
plagued
Michigan through both matches,
as it struggled to piece together
a
full
set
of
well-rounded
volleyball. The offense shined at
times, but for long stretches, it
sputtered. The Wolverines had
an astonishing 48 attack errors
while also posting six service
errors. They appeared to be
controlled by the blockers of both
Minnesota and Wisconsin, who
almost always seemed to know
where Michigan was going to hit
the ball. Both teams combined to
stuff the Wolverines 30 times.
In short bursts, the defense
appeared to be the mainstay.
Junior libero Jenna Lerg finished
the weekend with 26 digs and
Skojdt had a solid defensive
performance against Wisconsin,
contributing 10 digs.
But even those performances
were fleeting. On Friday, it
conceded
nine
consecutive
Minnesota points to open the
fourth set. On Sunday, it allowed
seven straight Wisconsin points
to fall behind in the third set.
“We had periods of time where
we executed very well,” Rosen
said. “But you got to be able to do it
over the length of the match, and
we didn’t do that well.”
Though the first test went
poorly, Rosen believes Michigan
is prepared to face the next one.
“We’re gonna be (ready),” he said.
No question about it.”
Wolverines
falter in
weekend test
DYLAN CHUNG
For the Daily
Big 5 Challenge shows potential to repeat magic season
The
Michigan
women’s
tennis team wrapped up its
spring season with something
the program never had before —
a national singles champion in
sophomore Brienne Minor.
This weekend, the Wolverines
dealt with the challenge of
launching a new campaign after
their
unprecedented
season.
And though there is room
for
improvement,
Michigan
demonstrated its potential to
duplicate the spring’s magic.
Freshman Bella Lorenzini’s
collegiate debut epitomized this
potential. Lorenzini stepped
up in her first invitational,
commanding three of her four
singles matches and sweeping
her three doubles sets.
“Bella
did
great,”
said
Michigan
coach
Ronni
Bernstein. “She’s come in and
really done a good job as far as
her work ethic goes. She fits
in well, works really hard and
brings intensity every day. It
was good to get her out there
and used to the college format.”
Lorenzini
got
her
introduction to the collegiate
tennis climate at the Big 5
Challenge, the commencement
of
the
Wolverines’
fall,
individual-scoring
season.
Texas
Christian
University
hosted Michigan, along with
Texas Tech, Georgia, South
Carolina,
Virginia
Tech,
Virginia and Arizona State in
the three-day invitational over
the weekend.
Bernstein
selected
the
invitational to kick off the
Wolverines’ fall action because
of the quality of the competing
teams — the Red Raiders,
Bulldogs and Gamecocks all
finished
their
2017
spring
seasons ranked in the top 15 in
the nation.
In addition to Lorenzini,
junior Kate Fahey had a stellar
outing of her own. It was a
return for her, as a lower back
injury hindered her ability to
play throughout the summer,
and Fahey picked up three
of her four singles matches.
She topped off her weekend
successes with a dynamic 6-3,
7-5 victory over her Georgia
opponent.
“(Fahey) did a good job and is
in great shape,” Bernstein said.
“She just hasn’t had matches
under her belt recently.”
Michigan didn’t have all
of its ammo at the opening
invitational,
as
Minor
was
unable to compete due to knee
procedures. Though she will
likely be out for the entire fall
season, she will be back to
compete when team scoring
commences in January.
The Wolverines began play
Friday, squaring off against
South Carolina and Virginia.
Michigan picked up five of its 11
singles matches, and two of its
five doubles matches.
The
Wolverines
upgraded
their doubles game Saturday,
sweeping both matches against
TCU opponents. Senior Alex
Najarian and sophomore Chiara
Lommer combined for a 6-4
victory, and Fahey and Lorenzini
paired up for a 6-3 win.
Sunday was more of the same
for Michigan, as the Wolverines
went 2-0 on the doubles court
again.
Fahey
and
Najarian
served their Vermont opponents
a 6-1 defeat, while Lommer and
Lorenzini combined for a 6-0
rout.
Michigan’s
singles
play
struggled on both of these
days, as the Wolverines picked
up a total of three wins. Fahey
contributed
heavily
to
this
output, providing two of the
three victories.
Bernstein emphasized that
this weekend was a jumping
off point and that there is
room for growth even before
Michigan’s Wildcat Invitational
in Evanston next weekend.
“(The competition) gave us
a good idea of where we are at
the beginning of the season,
and where we want to get to,”
Bernstein said. “The whole
weekend, the quality was really
good and we were pushed. It
shows us what we need to work
on both individually and as a
team.”
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Junior Kate Fahey returned from a lower-back injury and won three of four singles matches against Georgia, an encouraging sign as Michigan prepares for its season.
ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Writer
She fits in well,
works really
hard and brings
intensity every
day.
VOLLEYBALL