The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, October 3, 2017 — 7

So 
far 
this 
season, 
the 

Michigan women’s soccer team 
has had a consistent story — 
the Wolverines (2-1-3 Big Ten, 
5-2-6 overall) have utilized a 
talented crop of freshmen to fill 
in the gaps left by a multitude 
of injuries. Michigan’s battle 
against Nebraska (1-1-2, 7-3-2) 
on Sunday was consistent with 
this narrative, with one notable 
exception.

Fifth-year 
senior 
Ani 

Sarkisian returned.

Sarkisian was the only senior 

starter, and one of just three 
seniors to earn minutes in the 
drag out 110-minute, 1-1 tie.

“It feels like I’ve been out for 

a year, but it’s been like a week 
and a half,” Sarkisian said.

After a three-game absence 

due to injury, Sarkisian resumed 
her spot back on the field, but 
not in her usual position. The 
experienced co-captain had to 
make up for other Wolverine 
losses on defense in the first 
half, before she was moved to a 
more familiar midfield position 
to start the second.

“I 
put 
(Sarkisian) 
at 

centerback,” 
said 
Michigan 

coach Greg Ryan. “She’s played 
about 10 minutes of centerback 
before today. We were just 
trying to find answers.”

But just two minutes into 

the second half, after getting 
the wind knocked out of her, 
Sarkisian stayed down for an 
extended period of time. The 
game clock paused before she 
slowly reached her feet. She 
jogged off the blow, but just a 
few minutes later, Sarkisian 
drew a yellow card. Once 
again, she looked slow to get 
up. This time, her teammates 
capitalized on the free kick, 
and redshirt junior forward 
Taylor Timko found the back of 
the net.

Michigan would not score 

again.

“More 
than 
anything 

(having Sarkisian back) gives 
us a leader on the field,” Ryan 
said. “I think Ani’s presence 
was clearly felt by everybody 
in the game. If she got the 
ball she was calm with it, she 
connected us.”

While 
the 
Wolverines 

had scoring difficulties, the 
Cornhuskers were also unable 
to break the draw, but not for 
lack of shooting. Nebraska 
ended the double overtime 
game with 25 shots, six of 
which were saved by freshman 
goalkeeper 
Hillary 
Beall. 

Michigan had just nine shots 
all match.

With the shaken up defensive 

line missing key components 
in sophomore Brooke Cilley 
and freshman Alia Martin, 
Beall needed to perform at her 
peak. In the last seconds of the 
second overtime, Beall was 
forced to jump on a live ball in 
the middle of a scrum. She held 
on, solidifying the Wolverines’ 
sixth tie of the season.

“I 
have 
tremendous 

confidence in Hillary,” Ryan 
said. “This was a big game for 
her, to play against another 
real quality opponent and to do 
well. We’ve had her in some big 
games. We had her against No.1 
South Carolina; she played 90 
minutes in that game.”

Beall is one of six freshmen 

that earned a starting nod for 
Michigan. The injuries have 
caused players, like Sarkisian, 
to learn new roles quickly — 
and surprise their coach with 
their success.

“We 
had 
two 
freshmen 

playing wingback for us today,” 
Ryan 
said. 
“Sam 
DeVecchi 

hasn’t been out there — I don’t 
think she’s ever played there in 
her life — and I thought they 
both did really well. That’s 
been a big bright spot for us. 

These freshmen like (Faith 
Harper) and (DeVecchi) who 
we’ve been able to put into 
different spots and they do 
really well anytime we put 
them anywhere.”

While the Wolverines have 

been able to grind out even 
matches with a shuffled roster, 
they have not been able to push 
into winning territory. The 
shorter bench is an obvious 
obstacle that Michigan may 
soon be relieved of.

“I think we’re going to have 

at least two more (players) back 
next weekend,” Sarkisian said. 
“It will be nice to have fresh 
legs out there and have people 
sub in and out. We weren’t 
really able to do that much this 
weekend since we didn’t have 
as much depth.”

With freshmen proving their 

abilities and starters returning 
to the lineup, the Wolverines 
may soon regain their missing 
edge. 

It was a low, cannon of a shot off 

the laces of redshirt junior forward 
Taylor Timko that kept Michigan 
in the game. Facing Nebraska (1-1-
2 Big Ten, 7-3-2 overall) at U-M 
Soccer Stadium on Sunday, the 
Wolverines (2-1-3, 5-2-6) fought in 
a hotly-contested brawl, ending in 
a 1-1 tie after two, back-and-forth, 
sudden-death overtime periods. 

On an indirect kick just outside 

the 18-yard box, Timko took her 
teammate’s tap in stride. The ball 
was a bullet, powerful enough to 
penetrate the scrum and catapult 
itself into the bottom left corner 
of the net, evening the match at 
one. The goal was not out of the 
ordinary for Timko, as it was her 
fourth on the season.

Michigan’s formation, though, 

was far from the ordinary. Lining 
up in a 5-4-1 configuration, the 
Wolverines 
worked 
to 
assert 

defensive dominance, win the ball, 

connect and counter.

And with Nebraska’s attack, a 

five-back formation was extremely 
beneficial. The Cornhuskers ran a 
three-front offense, highlighted by 
skillful strikers, all able and willing 
to take on their opponents one-on-
one. Often, the outside midfielders 
would push up the wing and join 
the front line, as well.

“Nebraska is going to have a 

go at you,” said Michigan coach 
Greg Ryan. “They’re going to take 
you on and dribble, and if you 
take them on one at a time, you’re 
going to get beat. In our formation, 
if they beat one, there were two 
Wolverines there to deal with 
them. And some of our players had 
never been in the back before, so it 
was all new territory.”

Fifth-year senior Ani Sarkisian, 

typically a midfielder or forward, 
found herself playing centerback 
at the starting whistle.

One reason for Sarkisian’s 

appearance in the back five was 
the sheer number of defenders 

injured. As a two-time captain, 
Sarkisian’s presence as a composed 
player and a steady leader was 
indicative to Michigan’s success.

And 
after 
a 
three-game 

absence, Sarkisian’s presence was 
felt. In fact, it was the foul she 
drew that led to the Wolverines’ 
lone score.

“Our initial goal as a team is to 

not concede any goals,” Sarkisian 
said. “If you don’t concede any 
goals, it’s easier to get the one that 
counts to win the game.”

Unfortunately 
for 
the 

Wolverines, they were the first to 
concede a goal. Off a cross from 
outside the box, Nebraska forward 
Elise Huber finished with a header 
to the near post, taking a 1-0 lead 
30 minutes into the game.

And though Michigan often 

held possession, building slowly 
and smartly from the back, 
the 
Cornhuskers 
completely 

dominated 
the 
shot 
total, 

tallying 25 shots compared to 
the Wolverines’ nine. Freshman 
goalkeeper Hillary Beall was 
a stalwart between the posts, 
boasting six saves on the day.

“She’s very steady,” Ryan said. 

“It’s hard to get a shot past her, 
especially when you’re shooting 
from deep.”

Beall only had to make one save 

during the 20 minutes of extra 
time, though, as her teammates 
came out ready to pressure.

“We said anyone can come out 

and dictate this game and it was 
our opportunity to change our 
minds and go out and change to 
momentum,” Sarkisian said. “I 
think we did. You could see we 
were way more up the field and 
getting better opportunities. It’s 
an in the moment type thing, 
and you really only need one 
opportunity to create something 
and score.”

And though the Wolverines 

weren’t able to find one final 
opportunity for the win, they left 
the pitch with one more point, and 
a lot of season to go.

Wolverines go to double overtime once again, settle for another tie

Sarkisian’s return serves as promising sign for Michigan
‘M’ goes with 5-4-1 formation, holds off Nebraska attack

ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily

Fifth-year senior midfielder Ani Sarkisian returned as a defender Sunday, helping Michigan with its defensive effort.

KATIE CONKLIN
Daily Sports Writer

MAGGIE KOLCON

Daily Sports Writer

Flanagan, Michigan 
shine in South Bend

The 
Michigan 
men’s 

cross country team had an 
impressive 
showing 
Friday 

at the Joe Piane Notre Dame 
Invitational in South Bend, 
finishing fourth in a field that 
featured 10 nationally-ranked 
teams out of a total of 21.

Leading the way for the 

Wolverines 
was 
fifth-year 

senior Ben Flanagan, who 
finished 14th out of 177, pacing 
the team with a 24:05.0 time 
on the five-mile course.

“The 
race 

was 
actually 

pretty similar 
to one of the 
resources 
we 

have just off 
of campus (in) 
Rogers Farms,” 
Flanagan 
said. “I think 
we 
came 
in 

kind of with 
a little bit of 
an 
advantage 

understanding 
what to do on 
this 
type 
of 

terrain and (I) 
think that ultimately helped 
quite a bit.”

The fourth-place finish for 

Michigan comes two weeks 
after a first-place finish in the 
Adidas XC Challenge at North 
Carolina State.

This weekend’s invitational 

served as an important outing 
for a team filled with freshmen 
and 
other 
inexperienced 

runners.

“The 
thing 
that 
was 

wonderful about NC State and 
the Michigan Open starting 
things off is it gave guys the 
opportunity 
to 
figure 
out 

where they stood relative to 
other teammates and taught 
them how to work together in 
a smaller field, and ultimately 
run for a very high placing,” 
Flanagan 
said. 
“Whereas 

today, it gave us a lot of an 
understanding of what races 
are like down the road at 
national championships and 
(the Nuttycombe Wisconsin 
Invitational), where there are 
a lot of bodies around.”

The 
Wolverines 
also 

received top-50 finishes from 
fifth-year 
seniors 
Connor 

Mora and Billy Bund, redshirt 
freshman Isaac Harding and 
redshirt sophomores Keenan 
Rebera and Ben Hill, who 
finished 30th, 31st, 35th, 46th 
and 47th respectively.

“A lot of it has to do with 

just preparation 
that 
we 
put 

into this race,” 
Flanagan 
said. 

“Aside from the 
championship 
portion of the 
season, 
with 

the 
Big 
Ten 

(championship), 
regionals 
and 

nationals, 
we 

put 
a 
pretty 

good 
priority 

on this race and 
the 
Wisconsin 

invite 
in 
two 

weeks.”

With momentum building, 

the team is putting itself in 
position 
to 
accomplish 
its 

biggest goal this season: a Big 
Ten championship.

“That’s 
something 
we 

decided on very early, and we 
believe we’re very capable 
of doing (it),” Flanagan said. 
“Nationally is a bit of a harder 
discussion just because of how 
many teams there are and how 
chaotic the meets tend to be.”

With the regular season 

drawing 
to 
a 
close, 
the 

Wolverines 
will 
look 
for 

a 
similar 
performance 
in 

Madison on Oct. 13 when 
they face 34 other teams in 
the Nuttycombe Wisconsin 
Invitational, another marquee 
race for the upward-trending 
team.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

EFE EDEVBIE
Daily Sports Writer

The race was 
actually pretty 
similar to one 
of the resources 
we have just off 
of campus (in) 
Rogers Farms.

Harbaugh makes splash at Water Carnival

Michigan 
football 
coach 

Jim Harbaugh stayed busy 
during 
the 
football 
team’s 

bye week when he dove into 
the pool during the Michigan 
swimming and diving teams’ 
Water Carnival event.

Always 
the 
showman, 

Harbaugh 
had 
agreed 
to 

be a judge for a cannonball 
competition 
but 
was 
then 

baited into diving himself — 
stepping onto the platform 
donning his iconic pair of 
khakis and a Michigan hat 
before executing a near-perfect 
can-opener dive into the pool. 
The crowd went wild, as tweets 
from sports publications across 
the country started pouring 
out 
regarding 
Harbaugh’s 

fully-clothed descent into the 
pool.

“That was just Jim,” said 

Michigan men’s and women’s 
swimming and diving coach 
Mike Bottom. “Jim and I have 
a great relationship — so that 
was like a bait, and he took it, 
and he took it to the next level.”

Harbaugh did indeed take it 

to the next level, both literally 
and figuratively, as he executed 
the dive from the five-meter 
diving board. The cannonball 
competition 
that 
Harbaugh 

was judging was between a 
group of head coaches around 
the athletic department who 
were jumping off the one-
meter board.

The dive took place during 

the Michigan Water Carnival, a 
fun-filled swim meet between 
the Michigan, Oakland and 
Calvin swimming and diving 
teams. This carnival-themed 
meet included a wide array of 
unorthodox events including 
the 300-yard butterfly with 
fins and the 25-yard freestyle 
knockout.

The 
freestyle 
knockout 

was the most intense race of 
the day as swimmers went 
head-to-head in this unique 
competition. The event was 
structured 
so 
that 
eight 

swimmers began the race each 
swimming a 25-yard distance. 

Then, the slowest of the eight 
was 
eliminated, 
reducing 

the competition by one. This 
process was repeated until 
only one swimmer remained 
and earned bragging rights 
around the locker room.

With 
each 
swimmer 

eliminated, 
the 
noise 
level 

increased as the crowd itched 
to see who would be crowned 
the winner. Eventually, it was 
Junior Catie DeLoof who won 
the women’s knockout and senior 
Paul Powers who won the men’s.

The rest of the meet was 

just as wild as former longtime 
diving coach Dick Kimball led 
a clown-themed diving show 
while other events were being 
conducted. The show featured 
members 
of 
the 
Michigan 

diving team, as they completed 
intricate 
dives 
including 

leap frogs, belly flops and 
even a dive off a bicycle. All 
of the divers were wearing 
carnival-themed costumes and 
many were utilizing unique 
props such as umbrellas and 
streamers.

While this event was just 

for kicks, the Wolverines still 
exhibited 
incredible 
talent, 

winning every single event 
except for the final mixed 
400-yard freestyle relay, an 
event they lost by nine one-
hundredths of a second.

This is the first time that 

Michigan 
has 
hosted 
the 

carnival in four years due to 
negotiations with Kimball over 
his eccentric dives.

“Dick was going off the 10 

meter without his hands and 
landing on his head, and I said 
we can’t do this anymore,” 
Bottom said. “The pool’s named 
after him, so I can’t tell him 
what to do — so we couldn’t do 
it until he agreed not to do the 
dive.”

Thankfully, Kimball agreed 

and the Water Carnival is 
now back in the Canham 
Natatorium for all to enjoy.

“We had so much fun, I think 

we’re gonna be calling for it 
every year now,” said junior 
Becca Postoll. “It’s good fun, 
and you don’t get to do stuff 
like this all the time.”

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Michigan coach Mike Bottom held the Michigan Water Carnival on Saturday.

JACOB KOPNICK
Daily Sports Writer

