The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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.