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SportsMonday
September 30, 2019 — 3B
Forward depth creates line challenges for Pearson
Filling in the lineup each night
will be quite the task for Mel
Pearson this season.
The Michigan coach will be
forced to narrow down the 17
forwards on the roster to just
12 for each game, possibly 13
if he chooses to dress an extra
forward as opposed to an extra
defenseman. And when you look
down the list, there are few — if
any — players that are easy to
leave out.
Since practice began three
weeks ago, Pearson has focused
on
getting
the
Wolverines’
five new forwards up to speed
on Michigan’s systems on the
forecheck and in the defensive
zone. But while doing that,
he’s put together different line
combinations every few days
to try to get a sense for which
players fit where in the lineup.
“You’re just trying to see what
type of plays they can make
offensively and if they can read
off each other,” Pearson said
Thursday. “You’re just looking
for chemistry on the line, and
you can see it. You can tell guys
come down the ice and there’s
just nothing there. No creativity,
no passes, just (nothing).”
Chemistry can be a fickle thing
to pinpoint. Sometimes it’s visible
right away, as Pearson says,
and sometimes it takes time to
develop. If there isn’t chemistry
right away, it’s hard to know if it
will never come or if it’s just going
to take more time to develop.
“It could take a week or two
before you start clicking with
someone, so the biggest thing
is to have that open mindset of
just trying to figure out and get
rolling with who you’re playing
with,” said senior forward Nick
Pastujov. “If right from the bat
you’re like, ‘Me and this guy don’t
mesh,’ every single time you mess
up, you’re just gonna be looking at
that (as proof).
“If you look at it in a more
positive light like, ‘OK, we
messed up this rep but why was
that?’ and try to get to the root of
the problem, you can progress a
lot faster.”
By moving the forwards to
different lines in practice, Pearson
has the opportunity to see how
a wide range of combinations
work. It also affords players
who only played on one specific
line last year a chance to test out
other groupings.
Sophomore
forwards Garrett
van Wyhe and
Nolan
Moyle
spent the vast
majority of last
season on a line
with
junior
forward Dakota
Raabe, and the
trio
finished
the
season
as
one of Pearson’s
favorite lines. But it’s a new year,
and Pearson doesn’t want any of
them to feel like they can only
play together.
“The thing about that line
is you could put them together
tomorrow and they’d be great,”
Pearson said. “You know you
have that. You know you have
that in your pocket so to speak,
where the other guys, if you put
them together, you don’t know
what you’re going to get. So, we’ll
always have that.
“I don’t know if they’ll be
together or not. I don’t want to
pigeonhole anyone to think they
only can play on that line or they
only can play in a certain role.”
With
just
under
a
week
until the Wolverines face the
University
of
Windsor
in
an
exhibition
matchup,
Pearson
has
time
to
figure
out
his
line
combinations.
Adding intrigue
to the puzzle of
which
players
go
where
is
freshman
forward Johnny
Beecher.
Beecher was selected No. 30
overall by the Boston Bruins
in this year’s NHL Draft and is
known for his size and speed, as
well as his ability to shoot the
puck. But Beecher is only in his
first season of college hockey, so
the players Pearson surrounds
him with will need to have the
ability to both keep up with him
and show him the ropes of college
gameplay.
“You’d like to play with him an
upperclassman or two that can
talk to him,” Pearson said. “It
doesn’t need to be, and shouldn’t
be, always the coach that is
coaching the player. That’s when
you have a really good team,
you’ve got the seniors and juniors
who can take a player like Johnny
and work with him and coach
him on the bench.
“...I
think
that’s
really
important that you find the right
guy that he will listen to and
someone who can communicate
with him, almost like a player-
coach.”
Pearson pointed to senior
forwards Jake Slaker and Will
Lockwood
as
players
who
have communicated well with
Beecher thus far. It isn’t hard
to imagine a situation in which
Slaker, Beecher and Lockwood
fill out Michigan’s top line.
The question then becomes
which of the other 14 forwards
get the nine remaining spots up
front for the Wolverines. It’s a
good problem to have, but it’s one
Pearson will need some time to
solve.
‘M’ holds off Purdue
The
Michigan
women’s
soccer team formed a circle and
started dancing, jumping and
screaming prior to their game
against
Purdue.
Moments
later, they were screaming
again — this time to celebrate
sophomore midfielder Raleigh
Loughman’s
goal
just
49
seconds into the game.
The early goal helped the
Wolverines
(8-2-0
overall,
3-0-0 Big Ten) to a 2-1 victory
in rainy conditions over the
Boilermakers (6-3-1, 2-1-0).
Michigan used the energy
of this goal to keep the
pressure on Purdue, forcing
its goaltender, Marisa Bova,
to make several
saves
under
duress.
“We
came
out
on
fire,”
said
Michigan
coach Jennifer
Klein. “Scoring
a goal in the
first
minute
really set the
tone.”
Junior
midfielder Sarah Stratigakis
played a large part in this fast
start. She relentlessly attacked
Purdue’s defense early, coming
away with three shots in
the first 20 minutes. But the
Wolverines could not find a
goal to add to their lead.
After halftime, Michigan
finally broke through on a
set piece. Freshman forward
Danielle Wolfe made a run up
the left-hand side of the field
and won a free kick just outside
the box. Instead of shooting the
free kick, Loughman played
a through ball to Stratigakis.
This caught the Boilermaker’s
defense off guard and allowed
Stratigakis to place the ball
into the bottom right corner of
the goal, just beyond the reach
of a diving Bova.
“That’s definitely something
we’ve worked on in training,”
Loughman said. “We have a
few different set pieces we like
to play and that’s one of them.”
The idea of practice concepts
translating to the game was
key throughout the night.
“I was really happy with
them
just
executing
our
gameplan,” Klein said. “(They
did) the things that we worked
on throughout the week.”
Michigan played well in
wide areas and constantly
switched the point of attack —
both ideas worked on during
the week — but its main
emphasis was on possession of
the ball.
“Purdue (had) the ability
to catch us just with their
attacking
personalities,”
said Klein. “We
knew that our
best
defense
was
going
to
be keeping the
ball.”
Throughout
the game, this
emphasis
was
evident, as the
Wolverines
had 68 percent possession,
quickly winning the ball back
whenever they lost it and
rarely letting Purdue out of its
half.
Klein’s plan to control the
Boilermakers’ attack worked,
as junior goaltender Hillary
Beall only had to make one
save.
Purdue’s
lone
goal
came off a deflection from
a Michigan player with 10
minutes left.
The
Wolverines
did
not
allow the Boilermakers an
opportunity to equalize, as
they followed the gameplan
and kept the ball in Purdue’s
half to finish the game.
As the final whistle blew,
Michigan celebrated in the
same way it started — singing
and dancing in one big group.
Michigan sweeps Ohio State in
dramatic fashion at Crisler Center
Queen’s
“Don’t
Stop
Me
Now” rattled through Crisler
Center, jolting Michigan fans
and players to dance as the
Michigan
volleyball
team
headed
into
the
third
set
leading, 2-0. The Wolverines
(9-3 overall, 2-0 Big Ten)
dominated the first two sets
and
were
met
with
little
resistance from their rival Ohio
State (8-6, 1-1). It was all good
vibes at Crisler in the volleyball
version of ‘The Game.’
Michigan, in the words of
Queen, was having itself a good
time. The Wolverines finished
off the Buckeyes in three sets to
sweep their rival — 25-14, 25-17,
25-19.
“Matches
like
this
give
you a ton of confidence,” said
Michigan coach Mark Rosen
after the match. “It’s earned.
You
can’t
give
somebody
confidence, it’s earned, and so I
thought tonight we did a great
job.”
The Michigan offense tore
apart Ohio State’s defense for
three sets. Sophomore outside
hitter Paige Jones and senior
setter MacKenzi Welsh led the
Wolverines offensively. Jones
dominated the attacking game
with 14 kills and a .483 hitting
percentage. Welsh added to
the
offensive
performance
with 36 assists. Senior outside
hitter
Sydney
Wetterstrom
didn’t make a positive impact
on the stat sheet. Wetterstrom
struggled with six attacking
errors
and
a
.167
hitting
percentage.
“She’s struggled a little bit
offensively lately,” Rosen said.
“She’ll get better. She’ll figure
it out. She’s a good offensive
player, but the fact that she’s
finding other ways to make an
impact and really impact us in a
positive way.”
But her energy and positive
attitude kept the team going
throughout the match.
“I think it’s a great example
for other players,” Rosen said.
“That’s a senior who kind of gets
it. I don’t know if she would’ve
done that as a freshman, so it’s
great for other players to see
that’s the way you respond.”
Michigan was also boosted
by self-inflicted wounds from
Ohio State, with a surplus of
mistakes including 16 errors
between serving, attacking and
ball handling. The Buckeyes’
errors allowed Michigan to go
on substantial runs in every
set — most notably a 14-5
run to close out the first set.
These Michigan runs forced
Ohio State to use all of its
timeouts in each set, proving
the Wolverines’ dominance in
this game. In a rivalry game,
it counts for more than just
a number in the win column,
especially in the fashion that
Michigan won.
“Knowing that there’s such
an actual rivalry versus just
two schools, it’s really cool
and
it’s
super
emotional,”
Welsh said. “Knowing that this
rivalry game means a lot to our
program, and not just Michigan
as a whole, is super cool to go
out and play in these games and
fight for everything that our
program means.”
Wolverines dispatch Indiana, 5-0
Dominate.
That’s what the Michigan
field hockey team (6-2 overall,
1-1 Big Ten) did Friday afternoon
in their Big Ten opener against
Indiana (4-4, 0-1).
For some teams, playing on the
road for the conference opener
would pose a problem, but for the
Wolverines it resulted in a 5-0
shutout of the Hoosiers.
After eight saves by Indiana
goalkeeper Sachi Ananias in
the first 10 minutes, Michigan
didn’t lose hope of scoring first.
Ten minutes into the game,
sophomore midfielder Kathryn
Peterson lined up for a corner.
Redshirt sophomore midfielder
Emma Tamer received it and took
a shot up the middle. Another
save by Ananias forced the
ball back into play when senior
midfielder Fay Keijer connected,
catching Ananias off gaurd to
give the Wolverines their first
goal of the night.
“We
were
really
putting
emphasis
on
getting
to
rebounds,”
Keijer
said.
“My
teammates really set me up by
getting those good shots on goal.”
The concentrated emphasis
on small details mattered just
seconds after the first goal as
the Wolverines took advantage
of poor passes and forced three
Indiana turnovers over the next
minute. Eventually the turnovers
led to another Michigan corner,
this time by Keijer. She inserted
the ball to Tamer, who found the
back of the net for the Wolverines’
second goal of the night.
Michigan’s
early
offensive
domination set the tone for the
rest of the game as it scored
three more goals, one in each
remaining quarter. The third
came late in the second quarter
as Indiana gave up yet another
corner. Again, Peterson inserted
the ball, this time to senior
midfielder Guadalupe Fernandez
Lacor, who sent a shot up the
middle. Another save by Ananias
launched the ball into the air
where Keijer connected, and hit
it back into the net.
“When it came high up in the
air, I was just looking at the ball,”
Keijer said. “(Michigan coach)
Marcia (Pankratz) always tells us
to bunt it.”
Keijer’s focus gave her two
goals on the night, already tying
her mark from last season.
The fourth goal came from
junior midfielder Kayla Reed,
with a cross-field pass from
freshman
midfielder
Nina
Apoola.
With
a
flick
over
Ananias’s head, the Wolverines’
were up 4-0.
Sophomore
forward
Tina
D’Anjollel contributed the fifth
goal off another penalty corner.
Indiana
allowed
Michigan
ten
penalty
corners,
which
the Wolverines used to their
advantage, scoring three of the
five goals off them.
While Michigan dominated
on
the
offensive
side,
the
Wolverines’ defense also only
allowed the Hoosiers one shot
on goal, and it came late in the
fourth quarter.
After a preseason full of tough
opponents, Michigan was ready
to prove itself in the Big Ten, and
prove themselves the Wolverines
did. They dominated on both
sides of the field and started their
conference season on a high note.
“It was a really big game for us
because it was our first Big Ten
game,” Keijer said. “You always
want to set the tone. We’re ready
to take on the Big Ten and make a
good run.”
MATTHEW CHANG
For The Daily
BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Michigan senior forward Nick Pastujov sees positives in working with a variety of line combinations in practice.
You’re just
trying to see
what ... plays
they can make.
ABBIE TELGENHOF
For The Daily
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Senior midfielder Fay Keijer scored twice against Indiana as Michigan beat the Hoosiers, 5-0, in its Big Ten opener.
We’re ready to
take on the Big
Ten and make a
good run.
BRANDON TRACHTENBURG
For The Daily
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Sydney Wetterstrom struggled with six attacking errors in Michigan’s win over Ohio State on Sunday.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Scoring a goal
in the first
minute just set
the tone.