The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, September 25, 2018 — 7

Rashan Gary sharpening his leadership skills in his junior season

Rashan Gary could have argued 
with his coaches on Saturday 
when they opted to hold him out 
for the second half of the No. 14 
Michigan football team’s blowout 
win against Nebraska.
Part of the reason for Gary’s 
rest could have been a possible 
shoulder injury he suffered in 
the first half. The trainers were 
around him for a while, and it 
looked like they were tending to 
Gary’s shoulder, but Gary smiled 
and shrugged it off as a problem 
with his pads at Monday’s media 
availability. It wasn’t the most 
convincing deflection, but he 
showed no sign of an ailment 
Monday, so there’s no reason to 
doubt that he could have played if 
needed.
Still, with the score already 
out of hand, Gary had to fight 
his competitive nature that was 
telling him to argue his way 
back into the game, and take an 
uncharacteristic backseat to let 
younger players get some action.
“You know, it’s the bigger 
picture,” Gary said. “Me sitting 
back, and, you know, me not 
taking those reps, I was actually 
happy, because I got a chance, you 
know, to help (freshman defensive 
end Aidan Hutchinson) with what 
he’s seeing in the game, helping 
(sophomore defensive end Kwity 
Paye) see what he’s seeing in the 
game. You know, just hyping 
them up. Getting hype with them. 
Letting 
them 
know, like, ‘While 
you’re 
on 
the 
field, this is yours. 
And anything you 
want you can go 
get.’ And it was 
fun.
“Yeah, 
of 
course, 
as 
a 
competitor, 
I 
want to be on the 
field every play, 
every snap. But, it’s the bigger 
picture.”
He is an unquestioned leader 

on a defense with a ton of 
experience. From the preseason 
until now, stories 
have been told 
about Gary taking 
Hutchinson 
under his wing — 
Gary admitted he 
tells Hutchinson 
he is better than 
Gary was as a 
freshman.
That’s 
saying 
a 
lot, 
because 
Gary 
was 
the 
consensus No. 1 recruit in his 
class, and the MVP of the 2016 
Under Armour All-America Bowl. 

He’s developed into a dominant 
player on the defensive line, 
and Saturday was his best game 
of the season so far — he had a 
season-high two tackles for loss, 
including a sack in a little less 
than one half of play.
“His 
preparation 
during 
the week, his intensity during 
practice, 
everything,” 
said 
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, 
“sets a great example for the rest 
of the players on the team. If you 
want to be, ‘I want to play like 
Rashan Gary. How do I go about 
that?’ Study Rashan. See how 
he approaches his workouts, his 
practice, you know, meetings, and 

you’re gonna see it at the highest 
level.
“It’s a great position to be in 
as a coach to say, ‘Okay, look at 
your best player. Look how he 
prepares.’ ”
Some of that work ethic and 
leadership ability has surely come 
from observations Gary has made 
of the players before him. He 
played alongside Maurice Hurst 
for the past two seasons, and was 
in Hutchinson’s position when 
Taco Charlton and Chris Wormley 
were the starting defensive ends.
Hurst, Charlton and Wormley 
are all in the NFL now.
But junior cornerback Lavert 

Hill came in with Gary and 
knew him from the start. He says 
Gary’s leadership qualities have 
progressed, sure, but were even 
present back in his freshman 
season.
“He always had it, like, as 
soon as he came in,” said junior 
cornerback Lavert Hill. “So him 
just getting older and getting 
more mature, I can see it, like, just 
progress over time.”
Whether 
Gary’s 
example 
has elevated the play of his 
teammates is something that can 
probably never be confirmed. 
Michigan’s defense is very good 
and extremely deep — it held 

Nebraska to 132 yards all game, 
and many reserves got solid 
playing time.
What is a sure thing is that 
Gary’s presence on the field 
obviously helps the Wolverines — 
after all, he’s a future early-round 
draft pick.
And 
if 
Gary’s 
words 
on 
Hutchinson replacing him for 
Saturday’s second half are to be 
believed, Gary is content to see 
his teammates make plays while 
he’s out.
“That’s my brother, I want to 
see him shine,” Gary said. “If 
I shine, we all shine, and vice 
versa.”

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Junior defensive end Rashan Gary has become a player that Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh can point to as an example of how hard work and dedication can help a player become elite. 

MIKE PERSAK
Managing Sports Editor

“... I can see 
it, like, just 
progress over 
time.”

WOMEN’S SOCCER
‘M’ falls to Minnesota, 
1-0, in double overtime

If you blinked, you may 
have missed it. Out of nothing, 
Minnesota senior April Bockin 
received the ball at the edge of 
the box, took a few touches and 
rifled a shot into the far corner.
Michigan players fell to their 
knees in disappointment. For 
the second time in four games, 
the Wolverines had lost in 
double overtime, 1-0.
The Wolverines’ previous 
loss came at the hands of 
another 
Big 
Ten 
rival 
— 
Indiana — just ten days ago. 
Senior forward Reilly Martin 
and 
sophomore 
midfielder 
Sarah Stratigakis had given 
Michigan 
an 
early 2-0 lead, 
only to see it 
disappear in the 
last five minutes 
of 
the 
game. 
The 
Hoosiers 
pushed the game 
into 
overtime 
with two quick 
goals and then 
finished 
their 
comeback 
operation just three minutes 
before the final whistle.
On Sunday, as the Golden 
Gophers 
rejoiced 
following 
their 
sudden 
death 
goal, 
Michigan 
coach 
Jennifer 
Klein 
was 
left 
pondering 
the unfortunate trend that 
seems to be developing for the 
Wolverines.
“You’re going to face games 
like that where it’s just not 
— everything’s not clicking, 
and you’re just gonna have 
to find a way to get a result,” 
Klein said. “We didn’t do that 
against Indiana and we failed 
to do it again today. We can’t 
check out in those moments. 
We have to be dialed in and 
ready to go. Those moments are 
championship moments and we 
have to be better in those.” 
Michigan 
may 
not 
have 
been firing on all cylinders, 

but 
throughout 
regulation 
and overtime, it was the one 
creating the better scoring 
opportunities. 
Sophomore 
forward 
Nicki 
Hernandez 
was a consistent threat to the 
Minnesota 
defense, 
chasing 
balls into the box and testing 
the 
goalkeeper. 
Stratigakis 
was also creating chances both 
with her passes and long shots 
from outside the box. Despite 
this, the Wolverines couldn’t 
apply the finishing touch.
Until the final play, Michigan 
had kept it relatively tight at the 
back, too. In fact, sophomore 
Wolverine goalkeeper Hillary 
Beall didn’t have to record a 
save until the second overtime 
period.
And 
yet, 
this seemingly 
advantageous 
combination 
of 
offensive 
and 
defensive 
control 
led 
to 
nothing. 
At the end of 
regulation, 
the game was 
still scoreless. 
The 
Gophers 
proceeded to pull out the 
victory in double overtime, 
breaking Michigan hearts.
Although the score lines of 
the two games may have been 
very different, the storylines 
weren’t. Both games saw the 
Wolverines 
dominate 
early 
before crumbling in late game 
situations. 
Whether 
that’s 
down to inexperienced youth, 
or just a lapses in concentration, 
Michigan’s inability to seal the 
deal has cost it two pivotal Big 
Ten results.
“I think we just needed to be 
smarter in certain situations,” 
Klein said. “Not put ourselves 
in areas where we gave the 
ball away, when we could have 
simply just kept it. But overall, 
I don’t think fatigue was a big 
factor today, we just made 
some bad mistakes, and lost our 
focus unfortunately.”

CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer

“... we just 
made some bad 
mistakes and 
lost our focus...”

Wolverines’ pressure isn’t enough vs. Gophers

It only took one good shot.
After 14 minutes of overtime 
with only one previous shot, 
Minnesota’s 
April 
Bockin 
stepped into the top right 
corner of the box and fired a 
game-winning strike that beat 
the 
Wolverines’ 
sophomore 
goalkeeper Hillary Beall to 
the top left corner of the net. 
The Gophers (2-1-1 Big Ten, 
6-4-1 overall) streamed onto 
the field to celebrate, and the 
Michigan 
women’s 
soccer 
team (2-2, 6-5) was left to 
figure out what went wrong, as 
it fell, 1-0, in double overtime.
After a back and forth first 
half with no real scoring 
chances, 
the 
Wolverines 
changed 
their 
offensive 
scheme in the second half 
and began to put pressure on 
Minnesota. 
Sloppy passing throughout 
the first period held Michigan 
to six shots, with just two on 
target. For the second half, 

Michigan coach Jennifer Klein 
used two holding midfielders 
to increase passing efficiency.
“I felt that that (switch) 
gave us a little bit of some 
better balance and allowed for 
us to find the ball a bit better,” 
Klein said. “We created some 
better movement up top.”
For the majority of the 
second half — particularly 
from 
the 
70th 
minute 
on — the Wolverines put 
consistent pressure on the 
Gophers’ 
defense. 
Redshirt 
junior midfielder Katie Foug 
had an open chance near 
the box but just missed on 
the 
pass. 
Moments 
later, 
freshman midfielder Meredith 
Haakenson received a cross 
from senior midfielder Abby 
Kastroll and fired a shot that 
went just wide of the net.
With every close pass, every 
time a Michigan player chased 
down a loose ball near the net, 
every shot that just missed, the 
crowd at U-M Soccer Stadium 
grew louder. The anticipatory 
energy was palpable, and it 

almost seemed that a goal was 
inevitable for the Wolverines.
But as time ticked towards 
the 90th minute and regulation 
ended with the score still 
deadlocked, it became clear 
that the Michigan pressure 
may not be enough.
Open scoring chances were 
repeatedly 
blocked 
by 
the 
Minnesota 
defense, 
shots 
were saved by the Gophers’ 
goalkeeper 
Maddie 
Nielsen 
and the 90th minute came and 
went — and the score remained 
0-0.
The Wolverines remained 
tough in overtime, matching 
Minnesota’s 
physicality 
blow for blow. The game was 
highlighted by hard hits and 
tough tackles, as is somewhat 
expected from a Big Ten 
matchup.
“Every game is gonna be a 
physical battle,” Klein said. “I 
felt as if in some moments we 
were unfortunate to not get 
some calls our way, but that’s 
the nature of the game. We 
have to learn to push through 

that and make our necessary 
adjustments to give ourselves 
a chance.”
Seven minutes into the first 
overtime, Michigan had what 
may have been its best scoring 
chance of the game. Senior 
forward Reilly Martin passed 
a corner kick to sophomore 
midfielder Sarah Stratigakis, 
who sent the ball to the top 
of 
the 
box 
for 
freshman 
midfielder Raleigh Loughman.
Loughman’s shot bounced 
off the goalpost, and the 
Wolverines’ scoring chance 
— their only shot in either 
overtime period — was over. 
Minutes later, in the second 
overtime, after all the crowd’s 
anticipation and hope for a 
Michigan goal, it only took 
one strike from the Gophers 
to 
send 
the 
crowd 
home 
disappointed.
“We can’t check out in those 
moments,” Klein said. “We 
have to be dialed in and ready 
to go. Those moments are 
championship moments and 
we have to be better in those.”

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore midfielder Katie Stratigakis nearly got the game-winning assist against Minnesota, but the shot rung off the post, and Michigan lost in overtime.

BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer