The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SportsMonday Monday, September 10, 2018 — 3B Wolverines move to 9-0 thanks to Jones Michigan up 24-23 in the third set against Colorado State, Wolverines’ senior libero Jenna Lerg received the Rams’ serve as the fans chanted “Let’s.” Junior middle blocker MacKenzi Welsh was next in line and set the ball as “Go” echoed through the arena. On the other end of Welsh’s set was freshman outside hitter Paige Jones, who promptly spiked the ball for the final point of the set as the crowd yelled “Blue!!!” In Michigan’s final match of the Michigan Challenge, the Wolverines (9-0) took care of Colorado State (6-3) in three sets, 25-21, 25-23 and 25-18, behind a dominant performance by Jones. In her best showing of the young season, the freshman notched 25 points with 18 kills and seven aces, including an impressive six aces in the first set alone. Senior Carly Skojdt and redshirt junior Cori Crocker contributed seven-and-a-half and eight points respectively, but the upperclassmen stood back as Jones had her moment. “Even when we didn’t have balance, this all-star right here just kinda took care of the ball, which is really not normal for our team, but she like blew it out,” Crocker said of Jones. “Even when we were balanced … she took care of the ball wherever she was.” After a back and forth affair early in the first set and with Michigan down 13-10, Jones delivered a ferocious spike right in the center of several Rams players to help ignite a seven-point run. Two serves later, she would follow up with back-to-back aces before adding yet another ace to take a 17-13 lead all during the seven-point stretch. Colorado State tried to inch its way back into the set, but was never able to fully close the gap as, of course, Jones nailed her sixth ace to win the set. “In the first play they get us out of system, they set the ball to Paige out of system and she bangs the ball off of the hands for a kill and I was just like ‘Way to follow directions!’ ” Wolverines coach Mark Rosen said. “I thought that was a great approach and I think that set the tone for the rest of the team because they were like ‘Hey, that’s what we’re supposed to do and it worked.’ “The more aggressive we were in the first game, the more we were paid for it. I think that summed up (Jones’) match, it’s just how she started it really set the tone.” The second set was also highly competitive. This time, however, Michigan did not put together any big scoring run and did not fully pull ahead until the very end of the set. Up 23-20, the Wolverines looked poised to put the set away. Two Jones mistakes gave the Rams life. But that was extinguished by a Crocker kill before Skodjt finished off the set for good. “I think that one of the things about tonight’s game is that, for the first time, we came out not on our right foot,” Crocker said. “We started out, we seemed a little bit timid or whatever emotions I think kind of got the best of us for a little bit in the first set. That’s the first time that it’s happened this (season), that that struggle has kind of hit us and we battled back.” After close first and second sets Michigan flipped a switch before the third, and ultimately final, set. The Wolverines scored the first point of the set on a service error by Colorado State and did not relinquish the lead from that moment on. Sparked by an early four-point run, Michigan took a 10-5 lead and dominated the rest of the set. “Our team did a great job of once we got them a little on their heels in that third set, we jumped on them pretty well and that (made) life a lot easier,” Rosen said. “I just thought that we did a great job.” Going forward, the Wolverines know they cannot rely on these types of stellar performances from Jones alone and must play a complete team game. Rosen, Crocker and Jones, though, are not concerned, as they claim the depth of the team means that anyone can step up on any day. “Sometimes you just have your night,” Jones said on her performance. “Sometimes it’s me, sometimes it’s Cori, sometimes it’s Carly. I just think that’s the great thing about this team, that if one person can’t perform, there’s another person that’s gonna step up.” Emma Way nets two game-winners for ‘M’ Maybe it was a coincidence or maybe it was fate. One minute and 47 seconds into overtime, senior forward Emma Way scored the game-winning goal — on Friday against Pacific (3-3 overall) and then again on Sunday against Monmouth (2-4). To the second. And the timing of the golden goals wasn’t the only similarity between the two games. Both times, the Michigan field hockey team (3-3) dominated possession for most of the contest, but struggled to finish its opportunities. Both times, it went to overtime tied 1-1. And both times, Way put the team on her back and carried it to victory anyway. Early in the second half against the Tigers, senior back Regan Leavitt took a penalty corner — the Wolverines’ seventh of the game. She passed the ball to freshman midfielder Kathryn Peterson, who passed it to Way, who connected, finally, with a successful shot. The dearth of early goals hadn’t been for lack of trying, though. The seventh-ranked Wolverines dominated possession throughout. With the exception of one period with three straight penalty corners by Pacific, Michigan constantly had the ball in the Tigers’ territory. However, the Wolverines’ execution was never quite right, and their shots were blocked or saved. The second half was, by and large, more of the same. Michigan drew several corners, forced turnovers and stifled any possession by Pacific. For a time, it seemed as if the Wolverines’ early score would hold, but seconds after a timeout 25 minutes into the period, the Tigers tipped a shot in from the right sideline, and just like that the score was tied. It took until overtime — when Way intercepted an errant pass in the Bears’ territory and took it to the goal — for Michigan to finally secure the win. “I knew the second she intercepted the ball she was gonna score,” said Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz. “ … She’s very dangerous.” On Sunday, the script was nearly identical. Early opportunities dissolved with the Wolverines’ inability to finish. The Hawks scored first on a tip in from the left post late in the first half. Despite going into halftime with 11 shots and four corners to Monmouth’s two and three, respectively, Michigan was down 1-0. But in the second half, Dowthwaite intercepted a pass and drew a penalty stroke. Sophomore midfielder Kayla Reed took the direct shot and connected for the equalizer. But again, despite commanding the possession, the Wolverines failed to score for the rest of the game. “A goal really lifts the intensity of the team and the momentum of the team, so it really flipped it around,” Reed said. “I think after that, we kind of all hyped up a lot more and had a lot more scoring opportunities, but unfortunately we couldn’t put them away.” Then came overtime, and after a green card on a Hawks player, Michigan drew a corner. Way’s shot found the left corner of the cage with 8:17 remaining in the period — the exact same game time she had scored the game- winner against Pacific. On a weekend when not much was going right for the Wolverines, Way came through again and again, and as the players mobbed her after the game, the missed chances were all but forgotten. “We’re really calm, we know what we’re doing, we have the set game plan, and I believe in all their skills,” Reed said. “When it comes to overtime, I’m real confident.” Wolverines dominate Central Michigan, 6-1 In the 70th minute, Central Michigan forward Lexi Pelafas sprinted down the right side to receive a through ball near the box. Pelafas was in a foot race with her defender, but used her physicality to shrug off the opponent and win the ball. Staring straight at the keeper, she hammered a shot off the inside of the left post and into the back of the net. It was a display of quality football, but it was too little, too late. The Chippewas’ (1-5) late- game score was their sole shot on goal. The Michigan women’s soccer team had already notched all six of its goals in a 6-1 victory Friday evening. The Wolverines (4-3) dominated possession from the opening whistle and used give- and-go passes to expose holes in Central Michigan’s sloppy defense. This spurred scoring chances for Michigan, who finished with 10 shots on goal. “It’s just something that we’re constantly working on, and looking to have numbers and support around the ball and I think we just really got on the same page, and it just showed,” said Michigan coach Jennifer Klein. “I think we dictated play right away, and it allowed for us to get into a good rhythm.” The Wolverines’ back line faced limited pressure due to the Chippewas’ slow play and failure to attack open space on offense. Just over five minutes into the game, senior forward Reilly Martin settled the ball at her feet in the goal box. Martin broke away from her defender and found a gap to the right before hitting the bottom left corner to put her team up 1-0. This was the opening of the floodgates. Then the flood came full force, starting in the 14th minute with sophomore midfielders Nicki Hernandez and Sarah Stratigakis. Hernandez kicked a pass into a crowded box to Stratigakis, who sent the ball past the keeper into the bottom right corner. Less than a minute later, Hernandez came back in action. But this time, she found the netting herself — off a ball from Martin — to put Michigan up 3-0. The flood continued throughout the first half as Martin blasted one into the top right corner in the 17th minute for her second goal of the night, off a pass from Hernandez. And then in the 26th minute, freshman forward Sammi Atterbury scored following a smart through ball from freshman midfielder Raleigh Loughman. The second half was much less eventful for the Wolverines. They continued to control the game but only scored once, in the 64th minute, when Stratigakis delivered a through ball to Hernandez who blasted one off the keeper’s hands and into the twine to finish with a stellar two goals and two assists. “Overall just really happy with the result that we were able to get, for our last game of non-conference,” Klein said. “You know, it’s been a journey and a process for our non-conference games and we really felt like we learned a lot and we put ourselves in good position heading into Big Ten.” Michigan’s sizable victory will certainly serve as a confidence booster, but for a team heading into conference play just barely holding a winning record, there is always room for improvement. And Klein is fixated on shutting out opponents as an area to work on. “I was disappointed in giving up a goal,” Klein said. “Our focus going into the game was to have a clean sheet.” Michigan survives second half collapse vs. WMU As the ball was played out from a crowded midfield to Jack Hallahan on the wing, a collective fervor resonated throughout the stadium. Spectators stood up in anticipation. All eyes were glued on the movements of the junior forward. After cutting back and getting the ball onto his right foot, Hallahan whipped a cross into the box. And there to meet it was senior midfielder Ivo Cerda, who sent the perfectly placed ball into the net. “Thank God it went in,” Cerda said. “After that it was just madness.” The goal clinched a 3-2 overtime win for the Wolverines (3-1-0) over in-state rival Western Michigan (1-4). The pandemonium that ensued within the Michigan Soccer Stadium, as both the Michigan players and the student section stormed the field, can be summed as Cerda said — madness. “We don’t win that game without the fans,” said Michigan coach Chaka Daley. “At the end of the day, you don’t find a way to win those games if you don’t have the tremendous support of the Michigan Ultras, the Michigan student body and our local community.” A game which ended up being highly contested in the end was far from it in the first half. The Wolverines dominated, both offensively and defensively. Sophomore forward Umar Farouk Osman caused all sorts of problems for the Bronco defense, using his speed to his advantage down the wings. Within 14 minutes, Osman was already on the scoresheet. Michigan missed several opportunities in the first half to extend its lead though. Osman and fellow Ghanan native, sophomore striker Mohammed Zakyi, combined multiple times in the first half to no avail, as their final few touches let them down. Fortunately for the Wolverines, the defense led by senior Daniel Mukuna and sophomore Jackson Ragen kept things tight at the back despite Western Michigan continually lofting balls into the box. Ragen even capitalized on a set piece to double Michigan’s lead early in the second half. But as the game grew more chippy, the pace and quality of the Wolverines’ play seemed to subside substantially. The Broncos clawed their way back into the game as a result. The breakthrough came in the 72nd minute as a ball was played in behind the Michigan defense and slotted past charging sophomore goalkeeper Henry Mashburn. With the momentum clearly having shifted, the Broncos scored again within 10 minutes to tie the game at 2-2. “They just put the ball up and it’s tough when you face 50 balls inside the box,” Cerda said. “It’s not easy. Our back four did very well but some dip in concentration and focus let in the first goal and after that went in they had the momentum. They say 2-0 is the most dangerous lead in soccer.” What looked like a comfortable outing for the Wolverines was no longer that. And yet, a second yellow card administered to Western Michigan defender Ben Thornton in the dying embers of regulation gave Michigan a bit of confidence entering the overtime period. That confidence was evident as the Wolverines once again asserted themselves. Their precise passing moves from the first half were again on display, and it wasn’t long before they paid off. After a whirlwind of a game, Michigan fans went home happy. “These things happen,” Daley said. “It’s college soccer. From our perspective we played well for 75 minutes and had a little lull, but after that, everything was good. We rallied the troops in overtime and they took care of business. Certainly from our perspective, finding a way to win is more important than dropping the game.” BENNETT BRAMSON Daily Sports Writer KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily Senior libero Jenna Lerg played a part in Paige Jones’ success by feeding her quality passes throughout the match. CONNOR BRENNAN Daily Sports Writer AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily Senior midfielder Ivo Cerda scored the game-winning goal in Michigan’s thrilling win over Western Michigan. ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer FIELD HOCKEY WOMEN’S SOCCER BENNETT BRAMSON Daily Sports Writer Cerda gets the game-winning goal in overtime as Wolverines top the Broncos “Thank God it went in. After that it was just madness.” “They say 2-0 is the most dangerous lead in soccer.”