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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017 
RACKHAM AMPHITHEATRE

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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