The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, September 18, 2019 — 7A
In the 11th minute of the
Michigan men’s soccer team’s
match against Oakland, spectators
saw graduate transfer forward
Nebojsa Popovic fire a shot at
Golden
Grizzlies
goalkeeper
Sullivan Lauderdale. They saw
senior forward Jack Hallahan
bury the rebound in the back of
the net, and they saw him run off
celebrating.
But the most important part of
the play came before that. Faced
with a charging defender along
the sideline, junior forward Umar
Farouk Osman made a quick
stutter-step that put his opponent
on skates, creating space for a
cross to Popovic to set up the goal.
The Wolverines’ (3-2-1) ability
to maintain possession under
pressure was vital to their 2-0
win against Oakland (3-2-1) at the
U-M Soccer Stadium on Tuesday.
In the first half, Michigan’s
ball-hawking attack forced the
Grizzlies
into
mistakes
and
opened up passing lanes for the
Wolverines.
“I thought we were real
positive, I thought the forwards
were really lively early on,” said
Michigan coach Chaka Daley.
“And that caused their back four
some problems.”
Those problems on the Oakland
back line showed themselves
again minutes after Hallahan’s
goal. Catching the Grizzlies’
defenders out of position, senior
defender Abdou Samake lobbed a
perfectly placed ball up the middle
to Popovic, forcing Lauderdale out
of goal to challenge the Wolverine
forward. Popovic struck the ball
off one bounce,
cheekily
floating
it over the keeper
into the goal.
“If you can get
the second balls
and turn and face
the game, Daley
said, “ … we can
always be a little
bit dangerous.”
Once again, it
was
Michigan’s
patience that created a scoring
opportunity. Instead of forcing
a pass through traffic that could
lead to a turnover, the Wolverines’
midfielders cycled the ball around
and waited for their opponents to
slip up.
“The
two
central
guys
were really good,” Daley said.
“(Sophomore midfielder Kevin
Buca) picked up a lot of passes and
(junior midfielder Marc Ybarra)
dictated the tempo of the game,
and I thought those things helped
us stay on the front foot.”
In the second half, Samake
anchored a Michigan defense
that completely stifled Oakland’s
attack. When the focus shifted
from
creating
offensive
opportunities
to
controlling
the
game
defensively,
he and junior
defender
Jackson
Ragen
stepped
up
and
used
their
physical
presence
to
keep
the
ball
away
from
the
Grizzlies’
attackers.
“I think our fullbacks do a
really good job getting balls to
feet,” Daley said. “They balance
each other really well. Both are
really physically tough, physically
strong, high-level competitors …
and they’ve been excellent.”
Belief.
It’s a word Michigan men’s
soccer coach Chaka Daley used
a lot after the Wolverines’ (3-2-1)
2-0 victory over Oakland (3-2-1)
on Tuesday night.
More
specifically,
Daley
wanted to take that belief away
from the Golden Grizzlies. His
squad had plenty of their own.
The latter was evident from
the opening touches of the first
half. Led by senior forward Jack
Hallahan,
Michigan
created
turnovers
and
forced
early
attacks into its front third. Just
a few minutes into the match,
Hallahan found the back of the
net — only to have it wiped off the
board due to a foul off the ball.
Close calls like this have been
all too familiar for Hallahan this
season; he leads the conference
in shots, but had yet to score.
“The post is like my best
friend,” Hallahan said of his
scoring dry spell.
In
the
11th
minute,
the
Wolverines were able to force
more shots on target and finally
capitalize.
Hallahan
found
the ball at his feet after a shot
by graduate transfer forward
Nebosja Popovic was deflected
by Oakland goalkeeper Sullivan
Lauderdale, and he finally broke
the drought. But when asked
about what he did best, Hallahan
was quick to acknowledge his
achievements on the other side
of the ball.
“Everyone expects me to do
stuff in the attack and it’ll come,
but tonight, I didn’t let anyone
down
defensively,”
Hallahan
said.
Just a few minutes later,
Popovic, the former Golden
Grizzly,
streaked
downfield.
Upon receiving a well-played
through
ball
from
senior
defender Abdou Samake, he
snuck the ball over Lauderdale
from just outside the box on only
one touch. Popovic said his goal
and the game’s final outcome
“confirmed (he) made the right
decision” in choosing to come to
Michigan after being recruited
by
the
school
on
several
occasions.
The Golden Grizzlies’ fast-
paced and aggressive play proved
to all in attendance that they
were down, but not out. They
played a lot of balls into the air
in hopes of forcing some chances
on goal, but the Wolverines’ back
four worked as a unit and didn’t
let balls get over their heads.
Thanks to their
efforts,
senior
goalkeeper
Andrew
Verdi
only
had
to
attend
to
two
shots on target.
The
second
half proved that
a game against
Michigan’s
in-state
counterparts
would be far from a tune-up
before Big Ten play. The Golden
Grizzlies made several crucial
adjustments to stay competitive
and
give
themselves
every
chance to score. They played
with three in the back, allowing
their supplemented front to
force
extended
stays
deep
in Wolverine territory. They
favored a ground attack over
playing balls in the air because
Michigan had been so effective in
forcing turnovers and otherwise
interrupting Oakland’s first half
aerial exchanges.
Aware of the dangers of this
revamped attack, Daley could
be heard exhorting his forwards
to hustle on defense. A bevy of
Golden
Grizzly
substitutions
with a baker’s dozen or so
minutes remaining confirmed
their commitment to attacking
with fresh legs until the final
whistle.
In some ways, according to
Daley, that means the Wolverines
failed.
“We
were
trying
to
get
a third (goal)
first,”
Daley
mused. “Can we
end the game,
or can we end
their
belief?”
The answer on
Tuesday
was
no.
Instead,
Michigan
had
to “see the game
out and manage the game to the
end.”
That meant neutralizing the
playmaking impact of Golden
Grizzly junior midfielder Noah
Jensen, according to Daley. And
in the last 10 minutes, his men
succeeded in doing just that.
After watching the Wolverines
build their lead in the first 15
minutes and protect it in the last
75, Michigan fans can be assured
that there is much to believe in
for the upcoming campaign.
Wolverines maul Grizzlies
Buoyed by possession, Michigan tops Oakland, 2-0, to move above .500 on the season
BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Writer
JACK WHITTEN
For the Daily
Michigan thrives at Inverness Club
To anyone deep in the golf
world, Inverness Club is more
than just a course.
Located in Toledo, Ohio, the
historic club has hosted some
of the sport’s most prestigious
events, including four U.S. Opens,
a pair of PGA Championships and
the U.S. Amateur.
And Monday and Tuesday,
women collegiate golfers walked
the fairways during the Glass
City Invitational. Among the pack
was the Michigan women’s golf
team, which shot 10-over par for
a second-place finish in its first
competition of the season. Florida
got in the clubhouse four strokes
better than the Wolverines to best
the 13-team field.
“It’s a great start to our season,”
said Michigan coach Jan Dowling.
“It was pretty special to be
playing at such a historic venue as
Inverness.”
Sophomore Sophia Trombetta,
freshman Hailey Borja and senior
Hannah Ghelfi were Michigan’s
three keys to success, finishing
third, tied for fourth and tied for
ninth, respectively. Sophomore
Ashley Lau and junior Ashley
Kim also started for the team
and finished 37th and 40th,
respectively.
“Our returners worked hard
and we have a strong freshman
class,” Dowling said. “The group
of nine of them are really pushing
each other to be better. Our hard
work is already starting to pay
off.”
Distance is a critical aspect of
Trombetta’s game. This week,
her length off the tee helped
turn short holes into scoring
opportunities by providing wedge
shots into many of the greens.
“She’s a really good wedge
player,” Dowling said. “She had
wedges in her hand a lot and just
took advantage of it.”
Trombetta sat in sixth after
Monday’s
opening
two
rounds at one-
over
par.
She
carded
a
71
on
Tuesday,
though, to jump
three spots on
the leaderboard.
Her jump fueled
the
team’s
movement from
fourth place on
Monday to runner-up.
Meanwhile, Borja excelled in
the first event of her collegiate
career. She led the team on the
first day, with a 143 (71-72) after 36
holes, at third overall.
“It’s a nice start to her collegiate
career,” Dowling said. “She’s a
really solid ball-striker — doesn’t
miss many fairways, doesn’t miss
many greens.”
Dowling
had
seen
Borja
compete in person prior to
Monday while recruiting her, but
this was her first time watching
up close, and Dowling enjoyed the
new perspective. The freshman’s
steadiness stood out to the coach,
and she was also pleased that
Borja was in contention to win her
first event.
“She’s got a very mature
process of how to hit golf shots,”
Dowling said. “She seems like
she’s a veteran out there already.
Nothing seems to faze her at all.”
When playing a landmark
course
like
Inverness,
rewriting history
is a tall task —
there are too many
major Sundays to
compete with.
Yet
Michigan
still made the most
out of the outing.
This tournament
marked
the
Wolverines’
best
finish since the 2016-17 season.
Dowling hopes to use this
performance as a building block
for the rest of the season.
“It shows a lot of the talent
this team has and what they’re
capable of,” Dowling said. “We
got in contention to win a golf
tournament, and it was just a
really great experience for our
team.”
‘M’ starts slow under Zach Barlow
There were many firsts this
weekend for the Michigan
men’s
golf
team.
First
tournament of the season. First
tournament for a first-year
head coach. With pre-match
jitters and undeniable growing
pains under the direction of
Zach Barlow, the Wolverines
looked to break out of a three-
year rut and again become a
competitive team.
But there’s no denying the
struggles
Michigan
faced
in
the
Windon
Memorial
Tournament
in
Illinois
on
Monday
and
Tuesday.
Ultimately finishing 13 out
of 14 teams, the Wolverines
recognize
their
potential
and are working on ways of
harnessing a “refuse to lose”
mindset to be a competitive
team this year.
Michigan came out of the
gates strong in each of the
three rounds, but settled into
a lull in the middle of each.
Once the Wolverines started
digressing, they couldn’t stop
the bleeding. Barlow, hired just
four months ago, points to the
new season and coaching staff
as a part of the problem.
“We showed stretches of
what
our
potential
could
be, but we couldn’t sustain
that throughout the entire
tournament,”
Barlow
said.
“The sky’s the limit for these
guys.”
Barlow’s experience from
the well-established Illinois
golf team will surely aid him
in
this
process.
Over
the
past decade, he was both an
assistant coach and player
for the Illini. As an assistant
coach Barlow helped the team
win five consecutive Big Ten
titles, three NCAA regional
championships and advance
to five straight NCAA finals.
Last season, he was a finalist
for the Assistant Coach of the
Year award.
While their lulls lingered in
the rounds longer than desired,
the Wolverines’ driving was a
highlight for the tournament.
Senior and top scorer for
the tournament Brent Ito hit
almost 70 percent of fairways.
His solid driving skills helped
him secure an overall score of
one-under par, as he birdied
a short par five on the 17th
hole. While the driving was a
strength, Michigan’s Achilles
heel for the tournament was its
short game.
Both
Ito
and
Barlow
think
this
tournament
was reflective
of the team’s
overall
performance
both early in
this season and
last year. Their
biggest point of
emphasis going forward will
be consistency.
“They are as talented as any
team I’ve coached,” Barlow
said. “I just think today and
this week was a microcosm of
what they have been struggling
with in the past.”
This season is more personal
for Ito, as he is five months
into recovering from an ankle
injury. On Monday, he played
36 holes, a feat challenging
for anyone. Ito admits it’s
always tough to walk 36 holes.
However,
after
undergoing
rehad for his injury over the
past five months, he was
only able to compete in one
tournament this summer.
Ito looks forward to the
challenges
his
senior
year
holds with a new coaching staff
and weighing the possibility of
turning pro after graduation.
He wants it to be a learning
experience.
“Hopefully
(the
new
coaching staff) will be a breath
of fresh air,” Ito said. “Practices
already
feel
different.
It’s
more team oriented. He makes
practice
about
finishing a job
as a team rather
than necessarily
getting your two
and a half hours
of work in.”
As a senior,
Ito has turned
his focus to what
comes next. His
ultimate goal is
continuing
to
play after graduation.
“I want to take this last year
as an assessment of where I’m
at,” Ito said.
If he continues to play as
well as he did at the Windon
Memorial, there’s no stopping
Ito from turning professional
shortly after graduation.
Once the Wolverines and
coaching staff gets over the
hump of the getting-to-know-
you stage, Barlow is certain
Michigan
will
find
great
success.
“My goal is to get to know
each one of these guys down
to their core,” Barlow said.
“Figure out what makes them
tick. We will be a much better
team and I will be a much better
coach once that happens.”
ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore Sophia Trombetta finished third in the Glass City Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.
(Trombetta)
just had wedges
in her hand a
lot.
LILY ISRAEL
For the Daily
FILE PHOTO/Daily
The Michigan men’s golf team struggled at the Windon Memorial Tournament.
My goal is to
get to know
each one of
these guys.
CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily
Forward Jack Hallahan scored one of Michigan’s goals against Oakland.
Tonight, I
didn’t let
anyone down
defensively.
CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily
Graduate transfer forward Nebojsa Popovic scored against his former team, helping Michigan to a win.
I thought the
forwards were
really lively
early on.