The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Sports Tuesday, October 1, 2019 — 7 Meet Nebojsa Popovic, Michigan’s newest star The Michigan men’s soccer team has a new player this season who is lighting up opposing defenses. His name is Nebojsa Popovic. The forward is a graduate transfer from Oakland University spending his last year of eligibility in Ann Arbor. Since stepping on campus, he’s made an immediate impact, notching five goals and three assists in eight games. The sports management program and overall academics at Michigan were paramount in his decision to play for the Wolverines. “What I was looking for was to go to a school that had a higher education standard,” Popovic said, “and Michigan was the best school.” So far, he’s happy with his choice, enjoying the University and its students — debating which is his favorite. “The campus and the facilities are beautiful, it’s either that or the people,” Popovic said. “I got to meet a kid who wrestles for the Serbian national team, and he just qualified for the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020. To me, that’s crazy. I can’t believe he’s in my class.” On the pitch, he’s loving the team and the game. “I haven’t enjoyed my soccer this much in, I can’t remember,” Popovic said in a team video. “I think this is the most fun I’ve had in a very long time.” The graduate student attributes his enjoyment to his teammates and their talent. “I’m around guys who are just as good as me, if not better, and I think that makes a big difference. You always want to be in those kind of situations because then you’re going to grow as a soccer player and you’re going to get to learn from them, and it’s going to just make me better overall, and that’s just enjoyable.” Popovic has connected with his teammates quickly, and fans watching the team can see the chemistry between the men up top. But he believes the team is far from its peak. “As we’re getting to know each other more and getting to know what we each like,” Popovic said. “I think that it is going to get better because then the communication aspect comes into it.” That may be a troubling prospect for opposing goalkeepers, with Popovic’s offensive ability emerging as a top weapon for the Wolverines. With 9 matches still on the schedule, Popovic is on track to finish the season with 10 goals and six assists — staggering numbers for any forward, and collegiate career highs for Popovic. Recognized for his combined two goals and one assist against Rutgers and Oakland, Popovic was awarded the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. It was the first of the season given out by the Big Ten — an impressive accolade to jumpstart his season. But the forward felt differently about the praise. “I mean I think it’s great, but that doesn’t come without my teammates,” Popovic said. “I think that’s just a testament to how well we’re playing together and I think if we keep that up, a lot of us will be getting those kind of awards ... Soccer is not an individual sport at all. If the team doesn’t do well none of us will flourish individually” Still, while he appreciates the early accolades, Popovic only has one thing on his mind. “I just want to win, that’s all I care about,” Popovic said. “I don’t care how we win. I don’t care if I score or assist or make a run that’s off the ball to create space for us to score... I think that’s the biggest thing for us right now, just to figure out how we can beat every opponent we play.” Michigan is currently 3-2-3 on the season and 0-0-2 in Big Ten play. Despite a tough schedule ahead, Popovic has confidence in the team’s ability and knows what it needs to do. “Just keep doing more of the same thing, getting the right preparation in before games, and then following the coach’s gameplans to a T,” Popovic said. “I think we still have a lot of potential that’s not yet fulfilled, so I think it’s only going to get better from here to be honest.” Why does he feel that way? To Popovic, it’s simple. And it’s his favorite part about the team. “The way we play,” Popovic said, “I love that style of play... I love to be a part of something like that, if we can keep that up, I’m just going to keep having more and more fun.” ‘M’ competes in preview The Michigan men’s and women’s cross country teams faced off against some of the best teams in the Big Ten on Saturday at the Buckeye Preview. The women won their meet — out of 12 teams — with a score of 41 points, while the men tied for second out of eight, with Grand Valley State with 69 points, losing only to Penn State. Just a week after freshman Erika VanderLende came in fourth place at the John McNichols invite, youth was once again the focal point for the Wolverines. VanderLende won her first 6,000- meter race — the first time the women have raced that distance this season — with a time of 20:17. Improving on her fourth-place finish at John McNichols last weekend. “Erika was outstanding again, against a good crew of people in her first 6K ever, ” said Michigan women’s coach Mike McGuire. The rest of the Michigan women had a strong outing as well. Junior Kathryn House came in sixth for the Wolverines at 20:55, followed by junior Maddy Trevisan in ninth, junior Micaela DeGenero in 11th, and junior Jena Metwalli in fourteenth. “Jenna Metwalli and Micaela DeGenero had outstanding races,” McGuire said. “We were solid throughout.” Winning shouldn’t come as a surprise for the Wolverines’ women. They’ve won the Big Ten three consecutive seasons and are expected to keep their title this season. The men’s team is looking to replicate the success of the women as they try and improve upon their fourth-place finish at the Big Ten meet last season. But for now, they remain a step behind. Juniors Jacob Branch and Jacob Lee led the Michigan men, finishing in third and fourth place, respectively. Branch had the second-fastest time through the third and fifth kilometers of the race. They both finished strong as well, as Lee recorded the second- fastest time over the final three kilometers and Branch had the third fastest time. Branch and Lee were followed by sophomore Dominic Dimambro in 20th, freshman James Gedris in 26th, and freshman Colton Yesney who rounded out Michigan’s top five in 29th. The Michigan men’s team held back its top lineup on Saturday — junior Isaac Harding, sophomore Christian Hubaker, and All- American junior Jack Aho — and instead opted to go with a younger group. Looking ahead, the women don’t race again until Oct. 19 at pre- nationals. McGuire said they’re going to use this time to ramp up training, but to also make sure they properly space out workouts. As the women move into this training block, the men are already prepping for a short turnaround as they race at Notre Dame on Friday. This will be a good opportunity for the men to find their stride before the end of the regular season. Wolverines fall to NW To say Sunday’s field hockey game between Michigan and Northwestern had humble origins would be an understatement. Passes skidded across the Evanston turf, still wet from two days of rain, and past the outstretched sticks of their targets. Possession deep in enemy territory was incredibly rare. Shots on goal were nonexistent. But when the dust cleared, after 60 minutes of regulation and 20 of sudden-death overtime, followed by a penalty shootout that extended into sudden death, No. 7 Northwestern (10-2 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) edged out No. 9 Michigan (6-3, 1-1), 1-0 on Sunday. After the dreary defensive gridlock that was the first quarter, the game began to open up for both squads. Buoyed by a group of forwards with elite stick technique and ball security, as well as legs that refused to turn into jelly, the Wildcats became dangerous in transition at a moment’s notice. The coast to coast capabilities of Northwestern forward Bente Baekers, among others, meant that the Wolverines’ back three had their work cut out for them. That’s not to say Michigan didn’t do its own damage on offense. The Wolverines worked as a unit to gain an edge in time of possession and spent significant portions of the game with numbers in Wildcat territory. Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz thought the team’s success stemmed from “(focusing) on basics to keep possession and making good decisions around the ball.” As regulation expired and teams shrunk from eleven to seven players, per the rules of overtime, common sense would have it that Northwestern and its talented group of attackers would have an advantage. “(They) play really fast,” said senior midfielder Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort. “On defense (we tried to) get to the ball first.” Michigan’s aggressiveness in only playing two at the back put the Wildcats on the ropes in the first overtime period. Led by senior midfielder Fay Keijer, junior midfielder Kayla Reed, and Lacort, the Wolverines tacked on four shots on target in the first golden goal session alone. Northwestern appeared to find their offensive footing in the second half of overtime, controlling possession thanks to their aforementioned ability to change fields on even the smallest of turnover opportunities. But when overtime was over, neither unit had landed a decisive punch. In the penalty shootout, four Wolverines and four Wildcats scored. The lone Michigan miss, originally a score by Fernandez Lacort, was wiped away because of a goalkeeper obstruction foul confirmed by video referral. With a chance to win for Northwestern on the 10th stroke of the penalty session, Wildcat Kayla Blas had the ball knocked away by sophomore goalkeeper Anna Speiker at the last moment. Then it was onto sudden death, in which video referrals would haunt the Wolverines in a fatal way. Saar de Breij opened the scoring for Northwestern. Needing a goal to stay in the contest, Michigan sophomore Kathryn Peterson made junior Wildcat goalkeeper Florien Marcussen miss and appeared to score well within the eight allotted seconds. But when Northwestern asked for a replay review, the goal was negated after it was determined that the ball struck Peterson’s foot. After a long sigh, Lacort talked about some positives she and the team will take away from Sunday. “I think we really had them,” she said. “We didn’t get the win, so it hurts, but I think today we got a little bit better.” NICHOLAS STOLL For The Daily JACK WHITTEN For The Daily SPENCER RAINES For The Daily KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily The Michigan cross country team went to the Buckeye Preview last weekend. MILES MACKLIN/Daily Graduate transfer Nebojsa Popovic has given a spark to Michigan’s attack since coming over from Oakland. I think this is the most fun I’ve had in a very long time. FIELD HOCKEY Similar but different, York is no Quinn Hughes One hand carried his stick. The other rose to his lips, motioning outward in a big, exaggerated wave as he glided to a stop in the corner of the rink. Cam York had skated down the ice at Yost Ice Arena — empty to all except the Michigan hockey team and a few spectators. The team was practicing a continuous two- on-zero drill, and the freshman defenseman received the puck at the blue line. Skating toward the goaltender, he shot the puck and found the back of the net. And then came the celebration — the blow of an unmistakable kiss to a nonexistent crowd. He pretended to bathe in the limelight before continuing to practice. But make no mistake. Where there was emptiness, there will soon be a crowd, shouting and cheering in response to his celebration. After all, people had done the very same a year before for Quinn Hughes — the player York is expected to replace. And it’s hard to not compare the two. They were both highly- touted defenseman who were products of the U.S. National Team Development Program. They were both first-round picks, and they were both similar-framed offensive- minded players that everyone pointed to as difference makers. But despite their similarities, Cam York is no Quinn Hughes. “I don’t think there has to be this big ‘Oh, Cam and Quinn’ thing,” said senior defenseman Luke Martin. “Because they’re different players.” Cam York, in his final year with USNTDP, set the record for amount of points tallied by a defenseman with 65 points. His skill set includes his vision and passing abilities, but his shot is also at an elite level. “Cam? … He is,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson when asked if York was a pass-first defenseman. “But he can score too. Like I’m just watching today, and he’s so smooth. He’s got a really good stick. I think Yorkie set the all- time record (at the USNTDP) as far as points. There’s a reason for that.” His ability to create on offense is one of his strong suits, and subsequently, people expected him to fill the role left by Hughes. But there are differences in their approach. Whereas Hughes would be a puck-centric top-tier skater, preferring to bring the puck through the zones himself, York likes to pass the puck around in give- and-go type fashion and then push forward without the puck. “Cam will pass and follow up ice,” Pearson said. “Cam’s not afraid to just move it up and then join the rush but Quinn liked to have it on his stick, maybe leading the rush.” And the different styles of bringing the puck forward furthers their differences as players. As a result of carrying the puck through the zone, Hughes jeopardizes his defensive positioning in ways York doesn’t. “Yorkie’s a little different though,” Pearson said. “I don’t think he’s as — I don’t want to say high-risk, that’s not the right way to put it, but (not) looking to get up the ice as much. Cam will join, but he’s not leading.” Hughes would dominate the puck and lead the offense. Players and coaches alike knew that, leading them to pair him with someone who knew the way Hughes liked to play and cover for his displacement — a player who was more defensive- minded and didn’t like to push up. And as a result of his far-up positioning, Hughes’ defense was spotty, ending the season with a plus/minus of negative- two despite leading the team in points. On the other hand, York has the option to sit at the blue line and watch the play develop. It prevents him from jeopardizing his positioning as someone who doesn’t push with the puck. “Cam is really strong defensively,” Martin said. “I’m playing on him in practice right now. And we were working really well together on the blue line.” York’s role is to support, and not spearhead the offense. “I think the main thing that (differentiates them) is Quinn was more the skater,” Pearson said. “And where York’s more, ‘Well, I’m going to give you that pass even if it’s a short pass I’m going to give it to you.’ ” And even though he’s pitted to take on the responsibilities that Hughes once held, Pearson thinks it will take time for York to transition into that spot. After all, Hughes was a second-year defenseman with collegiate experience under his belt. But Martin doesn’t see it that way. “For him, I don’t think he has to be focused on replacing anyone,” Martin said. “I think you know, he’s a great player, and he does things really well. And I think he needs to continue to do those really well, for us. “But I think for him, just, you know, not really listening to any of this outside noise.” It’s not the outside noise he’s trying to hear, but the noise inside of Yost. And with every goal scored and kiss blown, it’ll come. TIEN LE Daily Sports Editor COURTESY OF RENA LAVERTY/USA HOCKEY PHOTOS Freshman defenseman Cam York has an offensive-minded skillset but with subtle differences to Quinn Hughes’ game. He’s just so smooth. He’s got a really good stick.