The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
September 9, 2019 — 3B

Offense plagues Wolverines in loss

In the 86th minute of the 
Michigan 
women’s 
soccer 
team’s match against Notre 
Dame, junior midfielder Sarah 
Stratigakis received a strong 
cross from the wing and fired 
a header on goal. The shot 
was the Wolverines’ best and 
final chance to go ahead, but 
Fighting 
Irish 
goalkeeper 
Mattie Interian denied it with a 
diving stop. 
Seconds 
later, 
Michigan’s 
fortunes 
shifted 
drastically. 
Instead 
of 
celebrating 
a 
dramatic, 
game-winning 
goal, the Wolverines found 
themselves chasing Notre Dame 
forward Kiki Van Zanten as she 
charged through the Michigan 
back line and buried a header 
on a flawless cross. Instead of 
walking away with a solid non-
conference win, the Wolverines 
left the field with a 1-0 loss. 
For Michigan (3-1-0), the 
defeat 
was 
marked 
by 
an 
inability to convert offensively. 
The Wolverines only managed 
seven shot attempts to Notre 
Dame’s 13, despite roughly even 
possession time. 

“I think we just need to 
shoot,” said Michigan coach 
Jennifer Klein. “I think it looks 
like we’re looking for this magic 
opportunity, and I think you 
just gotta swing it and get the 
ball in the frame and see what 
happens.”
From 
the 
start, 
the 
Wolverines struggled to find 
any rhythm offensively, failing 
to register a shot until the 
20th minute, when a weak 
Stratigakis 
header 
bounced 
safely into Interian’s mitts. The 
first half featured conservative, 
possession-oriented 
soccer 
from both sides, characterized 
by short passes and a strong 
emphasis on defense. 
Still, turnovers in the midfield 
created some opportunities for 
Michigan, including its best 
first-half scoring opportunity. 
In the 25th minute, a Fighting 
Irish turnover in their own end 
led to a scoring chance at the 
top of the box for sophomore 
midfielder Raleigh Loughman. 
The 
shot 
was 
strong, 
but 
fired straight into Interian’s 
arms, and the game remained 
scoreless going into halftime. 
“Once 
the 
game 
settled, 
we 
started 
to 
gain 
some 

momentum,” Klein said. “We 
went into halftime with a really 
good fire and creating some 
really good opportunities.”
The second half featured 
much of the same, with both 
teams continuing to emphasize 
sound defense over explosive 
offense. Early on, a defensive 
lapse from the Wolverines left 
Notre Dame midfielder Luisa 
Delgado open at the top of the 
box, but her shot sailed just 
over the woodwork, keeping the 
game level at zero. 
Michigan used its superior 
speed in the second half to 
get behind the Fighting Irish 
defense on runs, but misplaced 
and overshot passes prevented 
it from capitalizing on these 
opportunities. For the latter 
part of the second half, the 
Wolverines appeared to be in 
control, with Stratigakis, junior 
forward Emma Cooper and 
fifth-year senior defender Sura 
Yekka all tallying shots in the 
final ten minutes.
But in the end, Van Zanten’s 
86th minute score proved to be 
too much for the Michigan to 
overcome, and the Wolverines’ 
inability to find the back of the 
net became their downfall.

Ragen leads Michigan to shutout win

Calm, cool and collected. 
Those three words typified 
Jackson Ragen’s play Friday 
night against Cornell. Thanks 
in large part to the junior 
centerback’s goal and defensive 
performance, 
the 
Michigan 
men’s 
soccer 
team 
(2-1) 
dominated the Big Red, 3-0, 
earning their second victory in 
a row. 
“We started a little bit nervy 
on defense with some of our 
clearances and back passes but 
after that we settled in,” said 
Michigan coach Chaka Daley. 
“I thought our (defenders) were 
absolutely spot on after that. 
They made some desperation 
blocks in the first half. In the 
second half, they moved their 
feet, they defended well and 
cleared their lines.” 
In a game where Cornell 
(0-1) registered only one shot 
on target, Ragen never looked 
rattled 
and 
commanded 
a 
restructured 
backline 
with 
relative 
ease. 
The 
junior 
displayed why he’s the clear 
leader of the backline with the 
most starting experience of 
Michigan’s defensive unit. 
Having entered college as 
a 2017 NSCA All-American 
and a member of the 2017 U.S. 
Soccer 
Nationals 
Best 
XI, 
Ragen played in 16 matches 
as a freshman Wolverine and 
started in 10 of them. As a 
sophomore, he started all 21 
games and was named to the 
All-Big Ten Tournament Team. 
With 
the 
departures 
of 
veteran 
defenders 
Daniel 
Mukuna, 
Marcello 
Borges 
and Peter Brown from last 
year’s team, Ragen is now 
the anchor of a Wolverines’ 
defense comprised of two first-
time starters — junior fullback 
Joel Harrison and freshman 
fullback Carter Payne — and 
senior 
centerback 
Abdou 
Samake, 
who 
started 
only 
seven games last season.

As 
a 
result, 
Ragen 
has 
needed to be much more of a 
vocal leader than in previous 
seasons. Friday night Ragen 
could be heard directing his 
teammates into the proper 
position constantly. 
“I have a lot experience after 
last year,” Ragen said. “I feel 
like I can help control the game 
with my comments and just 
helping the younger guys out.” 
With over 18 minutes to go 
and Michigan leading 2-0, 
Ragen sprawled out to block 
a shot from Cornell’s John 
Scearce in the box. Ragen’s 
6-foot-5 frame, 
speed 
and 
composure 
have made him 
a 
formidable 
defender 
to 
challenge 
in 
the air or on 
the ground. 
That 
size 
even 
helped 
him 
score 
a 
goal off a set-
piece against the Big Red. Out-
muscling his defender, Ragen 
reached out a foot to a deep 
free-kick from outside the box 
and nudged it past Cornell’s 
goalkeeper 
Brady 
McSwain 
from a tight angle. 
“It was a great ball by (junior 
midfielder) 
Mark 
(Ybarra),” 
Ragen said. “I was just trying 
to get across it and get my foot 
on it. Couldn’t have asked for a 

better ball in, though.” 
Though 
he’s 
mainly 
out 
there to stabilize the backline 
and 
limit 
the 
opponent’s 
chances, Ragen has also shown 
the ability to finish. It was his 
fourth career goal. 
Having given up four goals to 
Florida Gulf Coast in the season 
opener and a questionable goal 
to SIUE last Monday, shoring 
up the defense was a point of 
emphasis for the Wolverines 
coming into the game Friday’s 
contest. 
Ragen’s 
leadership, 
steadiness, 
and 
challenges 
— not to mention his goal — 
were crucial to 
Michigan getting 
its first shut-out 
of the season. 
“We 
want 
Jackson 
to 
continue 
to 
grow,” 
Daley 
said. 
“He’s 
obviously one of 
the main men in 
the 
group. 
He 
demonstrated 
that last year. His personality 
needs to match his quality and 
he’s getting there. He had a 
little bit of a taste of adversity 
and was a little quiet but now 
I think he likes being on top of 
games.
“From our standpoint, he’s 
done incredibly well and we 
hope he continues to grow 
exponentially over the next 
season.”

A year ago, the Michigan 
volleyball 
team’s 
offense 
started and ended with Carly 
Skjodt.
The senior outside hitter was 
responsible for nearly a third of 
the Wolverines’ total offense 
during their 2018 campaign, 
which ended in Michigan’s 
seventh trip to the Sweet 
Sixteen in program history. 
Skjodt served as the workhorse 
for most of the season, leading 
the Wolverines in kills in 
24 of their 34 matches. She 
recorded 29 double-digit kill 
performances 
and 
eclipsed 
the 20-kill mark seven times, 
earning 
second 
team 
All-
American 
honors 
for 
her 
efforts.
This year, the No. 14 Michigan 
volleyball team knows Skjodt’s 
production is gone. And with 
such 
a 
realization 
comes 
another: Nobody on the roster 
can replicate the numbers she 
posted.
So, the Wolverines (4-2) have 
chosen to adapt rather than 
force.
Their offensive makeover 
was 
on 
full 
display 
over 
the weekend at the Dayton 
Invitational, 
even 
as 
they 
lost two of three matches 
against unranked competition 
in the Flyers and Missouri. 
Throughout 
the 
non-
conference tri-match, senior 
setter MacKenzi Welsh turned 
to three relatively new faces 
— senior outside hitter Sydney 
Wetterstrom 
and 
freshman 
middle blockers May Pertofsky 
and 
Jess 
Robinson 
— 
to 
shoulder the majority of the 
burden.
Though it’s still admittedly a 
work in progress, as seen in the 
two weekend losses, things are 
moving in the right direction. 
When the team controls the 
ball, it gives those three new 
faces a chance to shine.
While 
Pertofsky 
and 
Robinson are still acclimating to 
the college level, Wetterstrom 
appeared in 23 of Michigan’s 

34 matches in 2018. She tallied 
163 kills on a mediocre .220 
attack percentage. Sophomore 
outside hitter Paige Jones, who 
finished with the second-most 
kills on the team last season, 
has seen a similar volume to 
begin 2019. 
Jones was the only Wolverine 
besides Skjodt to reach the 175-
kill milestone a season ago, 
a sign of dependence on the 
outside hitters. But through six 
matches without Skjodt, four 
different Michigan players — 
Wetterstrom, Jones, Pertofsky 
and Robinson — have already 
recorded at least 45 kills. For 
reference, that’s a 250-kill pace.
“There’s way more options,” 
Wolverine coach Mark Rosen 
said. “There’s way more things 
we can do and that’s a good 
thing.”
The new offense is a credit to 
Welsh’s willingness to embrace 
a fresh system. This season’s 
balanced three-middle offense 
is a far cry from last year’s 
outside hitter-reliant strategy, 
and its success is contingent on 
Welsh’s commitment to keeping 
every attacker involved.
“Setters don’t always set 
with a purpose, (sometimes) 
they just deliver balls,” Rosen 
said. “Today, I thought she 
was purposeful. Every set she 
set was with the objective of 
getting a kill. … The one thing 
with having more options is 
that you have to make more 
decisions. She’s handling that 
really well.
“You treat it a little bit like 

a kid in a candy store. She’s 
got to make a choice to get it 
to the right person at the right 
time and tonight she did an 
outstanding job.”
In Michigan’s five-set loss 
against Dayton on Saturday 
night, six players saw at least 
15 
attack 
attempts. 
Welsh 
has made the transition from 
setting one player at will to 
running an offense in which 
every 
weapon 
is 
involved, 
including herself.
Surprisingly 
enough, 
the 
Wolverines’ offense has taken 
a step forward since Skjodt’s 
departure. The unit’s attack 
percentage is 53 percentage 
points higher, Welsh is making 
the most of her new options and 
the middle blockers are more 
effective than they were at any 
point last season.
Though 
a 
two-week, 
six-games 
sample 
may 
not 
be 
enough 
to 
draw 
any 
conclusions, this season’s start 
has been an encouraging sign 
for the Michigan. A balanced 
offense could be what the 
Wolverines need to break into 
the upper echelon of the Big 
Ten, which boasts seven top-18 
teams in the national poll.
This year, such an offense 
rides on its setter — not its 
primary weapon. So far, that’s 
made all the difference.
“(Welsh) did a great job of 
making the people around her 
better,” Rosen said. “She’s our 
floor captain — that’s what you 
want that player to do and I was 
really proud of her.”

Call it inexperience or early-
season jitters, but the No. 14 
Michigan volleyball team’s first 
road trip of the year did not live 
up to the team’s ranking.
Its first match of the Dayton 
Invitational put the squad’s 
youth on full display.
Right 
out 
of 
the 
gates, 
Missouri’s aggressive offense 
and serving approach exposed 
the 
Wolverines’ 
biggest 
weaknesses: first contact and 
ball control. Consequently, the 
Tigers (4-0) breezed through 
the first two sets, winning 
them, 25-12 and 25-13. In 
the third set, Michigan (4-2) 
punched back, and at one point 
led, 18-14, before losing the final 
set, 25-23.
“One of the more frustrating, 
difficult matches I have ever 
been a part of,” said coach Mark 
Rosen. “Nothing was working.”
Several hours later, against 
Northern Illinois (2-5), the 
Wolverines could have easily 
succumbed to their frustration.
Against a Huskies team that 
came out playing with nothing 
to lose, Michigan’s first touches 
were more crisp and its passes 

were more accurate, but it still 
showed signs of cracks.
As 
the 
game 
wore 
on, 
though, 
the 
Wolverines 
grew more comfortable and 
elevated their defensive and 
offensive execution. In turn, 
they obliterated the Huskies 
and swept the match, 25-19, 
25-18, 25-9. Compared to their 
match against Missouri, the 
Wolverines made ten fewer 
errors, hit .322 points higher 
and registered 17 more kills.
“You 
could 
just 
see 
us 
shaking off the 
frustration from 
that first match,” 
Rosen 
said. 
“We 
allowed 
ourselves to just 
play 
volleyball 
the 
way 
we 
needed to play 
it.”
The following 
night, Michigan 
looked to parlay 
the previous night’s success 
into a win against tournament 
host Dayton (3-4). In front 
of the largest crowd in Flyer 
history, the young Wolverines 
were not fazed.
Michigan dropped the first 
set, 28-26, but rallied back to 

take the second. After trading 
sets through the first four, the 
Wolverines took the floor for 
the 5th in a race to 15. In such an 
expedited set, both teams knew 
the importance of a big lead and 
it was Dayton who grabbed it.
Redshirt sophomore Jamie 
Peterson propelled the run 
behind one of the nation’s 
deadliest serves. She stumped 
the Wolverines and secured a 
commanding 11-4 lead for the 
Flyers in the process.
Down but not out, Michigan 
battled to the 
end, 
drawing 
within two late 
in 
the 
game. 
But, the effort 
was not enough 
as Dayton took 
the set, 15-12, 
and 
thus 
the 
match to drop 
the Wolverines’ 
weekend record 
to 1-2.
“We don’t look for moral 
victories,” Rosen said after the 
match while trying to remain 
positive. “But at the same time 
we have to look at the process 
and make sure we are focused 
on doing what we need to do to 
get better as the year goes on.”

ADAM RICH
Daily Sports Writer

DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer

Dayton disappointment
Wolverines go 1-2 in Dayton Invitational, dropping two fifth sets, must find offensive balance after Skjodt’s graduation

EVAN AARON/Daily
Michigan coach Mark Rosen said that “nothing was working” for his team against Missouri in the Dayton Invitational.

EVAN AARON/Daily
MacKenzi Welsh must shoulder an increased load this season.

One of the more 
frustrating, 
difficult 
matches.

CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer

BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Writer

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Junior midfielder Sarah Stratigakis had Michigan’s best scoring chance in its 1-0 loss against Notre Dame on Friday.

CAMERON HUNT/Daily
Jackson Ragen helped Michigan to keep a clean sheet with strong defense.

I feel like I can 
help control the 
game with my 
comments.

