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4:00-5:30 PM
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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
October 2, 2017 — 3B
FIELD HOCKEY
‘M’ drops Terps for
first time since 2001
With a free hit outside the
circle and 10 seconds on the
clock, the No. 6 Michigan field
hockey team had one last chance
to knock off No. 15 Maryland. The
score was knotted at two and it
appeared double overtime wasn’t
going to be enough to decide the
game. Neither team could break
through for the game-winning
goal until junior forward Emma
Way finally saw the ball roll
through the goalkeeper’s legs.
Way took advantage of a scrum
in front of the net, and dove for
the ball to knock it in with one
second remaining. Not only had
she scored the game-winning
goal, but she also led her team to
a 3-2 victory over the Terrapins
(2-2 Big Ten, 6-5 overall) — the
Wolverines’ (4-0, 8-2) first win
over Maryland since their 2001
NCAA Championship.
“It’s been a while since we’ve
beaten Maryland,” said Michigan
coach Marcia Pankratz. “They’re
an excellent team, they’re well
coached and we have a lot of
respect for them. So that’s why
it’s really sweet to have a big
victory over them tonight.”
The Wolverines took control
of the game from the beginning.
Just a minute into the game,
fifth-year senior forward Carly
Bennett
saw
the
Terrapin
goalkeeper come off her line. She
took advantage of the commotion
in the circle for the first goal of
the game.
“I think it was a really
important goal,” Pankratz said.
“We’re coming off a big win
last weekend, so scoring first
really helped to continue that
momentum.”
While the first goal had
Bennett in the right place at the
right time, Michigan’s second
goal was as if it was drawn
straight from a playbook. The
Wolverines earned a corner and
executed the play perfectly. Way
sent the ball to senior midfielder
Katie Trombetta, who lined up
like she was taking the shot, but
purposely sent it wide where
freshman defender Hallie O’Neill
redirected it into the net.
The two-goal lead didn’t last
for long, though, as Terrapin
midfielder
Lein
Holsboer
charged the circle and scored
from the left side just over five
minutes later.
Maintaining the lead wasn’t
easy for the Wolverines. Once
Maryland saw the game-tying
goal in sight, it packed on the
pressure.
Senior
goalkeeper
Sam Swenson made plenty of
saves
throughout
the
night,
but with under 10 minutes left
in
regulation
the
Terrapins
evened the score. There was
nothing Swenson could do, as the
Maryland forward took the ball
out wide and reverse chipped it
to hit off the post and fall in.
While
the
Wolverines
controlled
overtime
by
maintaining
possession,
the
Terrapins made the most of
their limited touches. Maryland
took advantage of any mishap
Michigan made, including when
the
Wolverines
botched
the
corner and allowed the ball to roll
to the halfway line for Maryland
to scoop up for a breakaway with
a chance to upset the Wolverines.
Fortunately for Michigan, the
Terrapins had to get passed
Trombetta, who knocked the
ball away in time for her team to
recover.
While Way scored the game-
winning goal, it was the defense
from Trombetta that truly won
the Wolverines the game.
“She was a warrior today,”
Pankratz
said.
“She
is
the
senior leader of our team in that
defensive back field. Her one-on-
one defense was stellar, it was
All-American material.”
PAIGE VOEFFRAY
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan opens season with win over Oakland
For
the
Michigan
men’s
swimming and diving team, the
name of the game is redemption.
Even in the Wolverines’ first meet
of the year – a dual meet against
non-conference opponent Oakland
– the biggest thing on their minds
was how to rebound from their
disappointing second-place finish at
last year’s Big Ten Championships
after previously winning the title
seven years in a row.
Friday’s meet was a good start.
Michigan made a splash, winning
the meet by a score of 203-91. Nine
different swimmers and divers
claimed wins across 13 individual
events, and the Wolverines won both
relays: the 400-yard medley and the
200-yard freestyle. Michigan coach
Mike Bottom saw it as a positive sign
for the program.
“It shows the depth of that team,”
Bottom said.
Though the team was tired from
training hard all week, it didn’t let
that stop it from taking down the
Golden Grizzlies.
“We didn’t rest at all for this meet
… so it was really cool to see everyone
swim really fast and post some first-
place finishes,” said sophomore
Jacob Montague.
Montague was one of the
swimmers that stood out Friday. An
All-Big Ten second-team selection
last season, he won the 100- and
200-yard breaststroke and was part
of the winning 400-yard medley
relay team.
Another
standout
was
sophomore Felix Auböck. Auböck,
who was named Big Ten Swimmer
of the Year last year as a freshman,
won the 500- and 1000-yard
freestyle races, winning the former
by nearly 15 seconds with a time of
4:26.43.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay,
Michigan entered six teams. One
of them took first, but the other five
were disqualified for false starts.
That’s something the Wolverines
need to improve on, but Bottom
noted that it’s all about finding
a balance between getting fast,
aggressive starts while avoiding
early jumps.
“They’re starting to feel free
to push their starts,” Bottom said.
“They’ve been timid in the past
because if you disqualify a relay,
there’s a lot of points lost.”
He believes the team will show
improvement as the season goes on.
“(Pushing their starts) here will
help them to do it at the end of the
season.”
On the diving side, sophomore
Jake Herremans won the one-meter
event with a total score of 351.6 while
freshman Ross Todd took first in the
three-meter with a score of 369.15.
Though the divers are just starting
to put together their sets, Bottom
believes there is plenty to like.
“Our divers did as best as they
could (at Big Tens last year) but we
didn’t have the personnel. This year
we have a great personnel,” Bottom
said. “I think that we’ll be a little
more competitive.”
Todd, a member of the Australian
national team, posted a score over 13
points higher than Herremans, the
next-highest finisher, in the three-
meter diving.
One of the biggest takeaways
from the meet was the sheer energy
the team had, even after an intense
week of training going in.
“You saw their spirit, how much
they were supporting each other,”
Bottom said. “The way we’re going
to get better is supporting each
other.”
Added Montague: “Everyone on
the sideline (is) cheering for every
single swim. (My favorite part) is the
team aspect. It’s really motivating
and really helps … me to swim really
fast. It’s good to start the year off
with some wins, so we’re gonna
work off of that.”
Pearson era begins with perfect 10
L
et’s begin with the
obvious.
This was an exhibition
game. In September. Against
a team
that isn’t a
member of
the NCAA
and finished
8-16-4 last
season.
This
was Mel
Pearson’s
first game
as head
coach of the
Michigan hockey team — the first
time in 34 seasons someone not
named Red Berenson has led the
Wolverines. And by the end of
the season, that’s probably all the
Wolverines’ 10-1 rout of Western
Ontario will be remembered for.
One could label this game as
entirely meaningless in terms of
actual hockey — that there are
no significant conclusions to be
drawn.
But if that’s the case, why
schedule the game at all?
Draw whatever conclusions
you like. But Michigan was
utterly dominant Saturday night.
The scoreline says as much.
The Wolverines’ highest-scoring
game last season was a 6-3
exhibition win over the U.S.
National Team Development
Program. On Saturday, Michigan
reached that total in the second
period.
Not even the high-octane
Wolverine attack of two seasons
ago — which averaged 4.8 goals
per game — scored 10 goals in a
single game. Michigan’s offensive
output was its largest since a
10-6 victory against Ohio State
in 2015.
The Wolverines had no
shortage of problems last season,
and one was quite simple: They
just couldn’t score. Michigan was
42nd of 60 teams in goals per
game and third-worst in Corsi
percentage, a measure of shot
differential and puck possession.
Against the Mustangs, the
Wolverines won the opening
faceoff and didn’t look back,
firing crisp passes and flying
around the rink. Just four
minutes after the game began,
Michigan had its first goal when
the puck deflected into the net
off of senior forward Dexter
Dancs’ stick. The Wolverines
were consistent throughout, with
another goal in the first period
and four goals each in the second
and third.
Quite frankly, Michigan
didn’t look like this, or even
close to this, at any point last
season. In their first exhibition
against Windsor last year, the
Wolverines won 2-0, outshooting
the Lancers just 36-32.
One of Pearson’s first
tasks as head coach has been
implementing a more possession-
and-speed based approach on
offense this season. That much
was on display Saturday, as
Michigan finished with 60 shots
on goal to Western Ontario’s 20.
“Guys just buying into the
system,” said senior forward
Tony Calderone. “A lot of guys
are starting to hold on to the
puck more, get more confident.
We had a young team last year,
now guys are older and getting
more confident in the college
game.”
It wasn’t just the volume of
goals scored, but who scored
them. Calderone found the net
twice to lead the way offensively,
but eight others lit the lamp too.
Five players didn’t score but
chipped in with assists as well.
Pearson attributed this
egalitarianism to strong team
chemistry, which the coaching
staff has sought to implement
while also hoping it continues to
develop naturally.
“We had some good line
combinations and some good
chemistry,” Pearson said. “It’s
hard to force that chemistry, you
either have it sometimes or you
don’t. There’s a real good vibe
in the locker room right now
and you can see that when they
played together.”
Again, this was just an
exhibition. After the game,
Pearson and his players were the
first to admit as much.
“There’s some areas we need
to be better at,” Pearson said.
“We need to understand that as
we go forward, we’re going to
continue to play against better
opponents.”
But Pearson and his players
have also been quick to talk
of a new team spirit — a new,
energetic dynamic with a new,
energetic coaching staff. One
could easily wave that off as
cliché.
But it certainly seemed to be
true Saturday night.
“It was good to get out there
and just get a feel for where we
are,” Pearson said. “I thought it
was a good start.”
HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily
Sophomore Felix Auböck won both the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle races in the season-opening meet against the Golden Grizzlies on Friday.
ARIA GERSON
For the Daily
JACOB
SHAMES