The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, October 2, 2019 — 7A
Wolverines value chance to compete, with
exhibition against Windsor approaching
With more than 30 regular
season games slated from fall
to early spring, the college
hockey season can be long and
strenuous.
Opportunities
to
pause and fine-tune during
games are few and far between.
For the Michigan hockey
team, there are two chances
for
such
contemplation.
Sunday’s exhibition against the
University of Windsor marks
the first, while the second is
an exhibition in late January
against the U.S. National Team
Development Program.
To
the
Wolverines,
exhibitions matter. Sunday will
be the team’s first contest since
losing in the first round of the
Big Ten Tournament nearly
seven months ago.
“(Exhibitions give) you a
good indication where some
players are at,” said Michigan
coach Mel Pearson. “You know,
you’re just playing someone
else and it doesn’t count in any
of those statistics, so it’s good.
You try some things, you work
on some things.”
Such
a
baseline
assessment can
be quite valuable
for a team. This
is especially true
for
Michigan,
considering the
changes it has
seen since last
year
and
the
questions
that
still must be answered.
The Wolverines added eight
new players to their roster — all
of whom are seen to be viable
options. Kris Mayotte and Matt
Hunwick recently joined the
program, too, as an assistant
coach and volunteer assistant
coach, respectively.
Understandably, it’s not yet
perfectly clear what role all
the incoming players will fill.
It’s still not even certain how
all the returners will fit in.
For instance, the goaltender
position
still
seems
up
for
grabs
between
sophomore
Strauss
Mann
and
senior
Hayden Lavigne.
Thus
an
opportunity
to
try
different
things
is
beneficial.
In
fact,
Pearson
notes he wishes the team had
more exhibitions.
Sunday’s trial run will be
meaningful for players, such
as senior defenseman Luke
Martin. He injured his left arm
last February and had to miss
the rest of the season.
“Anytime you get to put
on the ‘Block M’ you gotta be
thankful for (the opportunity),”
Martin said. “Especially after,
you know, it’s been a long time
coming this one. We were done
pretty early last year, so we’re
excited. We’ve been practicing
for a long time, ready to get after
somebody that’s not ourselves.”
Pearson plans on having
a
wide
focus
Sunday.
He
mentions his team has practiced
pretty much all its systems and
that he wants to see how that
practice translates against real
competition.
Pearson notes that he will
likely start the regular season
with the same lines that play
during the exhibition, but that
the exhibition could make clear
things that must be improved
before
the
opening
series
against No. 10 Clarkson the
following weekend.
“First and foremost you want
to win,” Pearson said. “I mean,
I don’t care if it’s exhibition or
whatnot. You want to win, but
more importantly, I think, is to
get as many players involved in
the game and you want to see
them execute the things that
we’ve been working on.”
With
experience
comes
understanding.
Entering
his
final year, Martin is no stranger
to growing pains. What he
wants
most
from
Sunday’s
exhibition
is
for
his
new
teammates to show effort. If
that comes, the rest will follow.
“It’ll be a little bit sloppy to
start, I would imagine, they
always are — you know, systems
and everything,” Martin said.
“Guys are going to be nervous,
you know, first time wearing
the jersey, everything. But it’s
a good game to get your feet on
the ground.
“I’m
excited.
We’re
all
getting tired of beating each
other up everyday in practice.
Ready to take it out on someone
else.”
Michigan draws with Indiana, 0-0
The Michigan women’s soccer
team (8-2-1, 3-0-1 Big Ten) tied
Indiana, 0-0, on Sunday behind
a strong defensive performance
anchored by sophomore defender
Sydney
Shepherd
and
junior
defender Alia Martin.
“It was a tough game,” said
Michigan coach Jennifer Klein.
“They’re difficult to play against,
to break down. We had 22 shots
to their eight and we just have to
have more production in the final
third to give ourselves a better
chance.”
The Wolverines got off to a
somewhat slow start. The first few
minutes saw some sloppy passing
from
Michigan
that
allowed
Indiana to put together some
attacks deep in the Wolverines’
defensive third.
Though a solid performance
from Michigan’s defense saved
any
damage,
the
Wolverines
struggled to find rhythm in their
attacking third. While at halftime,
though Michigan had outshot
the Hoosiers, nine to four, the
score remained tied at zero. The
Wolverines just barely controlled
possession at 51 percent and
spending only 19 percent of their
possession time in their attacking
third.
Michigan’s play cleaned up
significantly after halftime. The
Wolverines’ passing was much
smoother, and they moved the
ball well, spending more time
in their attacking third. They
still struggled to finish, though.
Michigan took ten more shots in
the second half to Indiana’s three,
but at the end of regulation time,
the scoreboard still showed a 0-0
tie.
“We’re still doing a good job
defensively,” Klein said. “Moving
forward, going into next week,
we need to continue to have a
strong and aggressive attacking
personality to give ourselves a
chance to be better once we get in
and around the goal.”
Both of the overtime periods
were much of the same. Though
Michigan put together a few
runs in their attacking third, the
Wolverines were still unable to
find the back of the net.
It wasn’t as if they weren’t
taking shots – they totaled 22 on
the match, and they’ve had similar
shot totals in several games this
season. But as the sun set on 5779
and the Jewish New Year began
anew, Michigan still could not put
the ball past the goal line.
The dreary weather seemed at
times to put a damper on the pace
of play. Rain drizzled throughout
the match resulting in more than a
few slips on the field. Despite this,
both teams played a fairly physical
match, contesting on the 50/50
balls and staying attached to their
marks.
“Anytime the ground is as slick
as it is, the ball is going to slip a
little bit,” Klein said. “I think from
that sense, that’s really what it
was as far as bounces. I thought
we moved the ball really well and
were good in possession. We just
didn’t have enough production in
the final third.”
Beall holds key to Michigan season
Hillary Beall came to Ann
Arbor typifying what it means
to be a highly-touted prospect.
The No. 1 goalkeeper in the class
of 2017 according to Top Drawer
Soccer, Beall was expected to
become an elite keeper for the
Wolverines. After all, the shot-
stopper was a five-star prospect
and had already accumulated an
impressive junior international
resume as an 18-year-old.
When prospects come with
the kind of laundry list of
accolades that Beall did, people
view them as a sure thing.
Consequently, everyone hears
the stories of uber-talented
busts:
four-
and
five-star
prospects that plateau, that get
beat out by competition, that
can’t shake the injury bug. Blue-
chip prospects don’t always pan
out.
Hillary Beall did.
After
making
a
solid
impression as a freshman and
an injury-shortened sophomore
year, Beall is proving in her
junior year exactly why she
earned that high ranking.
“She’s
been
great,”
said
coach Jennifer Klein. “I mean
she’s been really solid for us. I
think she’s done a great job as
far as, you know, being a great
goalkeeper and keeping the
ball out of the back of the net
and helping in our defensive
organization.”
This season, Beall has started
all 11 games and given up just
six goals. This while putting up
as many clean sheets — five — as
the team recorded last season
and not allowing more than one
goal in any game.
“You
can
tell
that
she’s
continuing to grow and mature,”
Klein said.
Beall’s
numbers prove
her
coach
correct as she
has
made
an
impressive
leap
in
save
percentage from
.756 in 2018 to
.854
in
2019,
along
with
a
significant goals
against average
drop from 1.06 to .52.
This impressive improvement
on already solid numbers begs
the question: What changed?
“I went home,” Beall said. “I
played a lot, worked a lot on my
confidence to make sure that
every game I’m locked in and
here for the back line. I trained a
lot during the summer.”
As she continues to put on
great performance after great
performance, including a four-
save, 110-minute clean sheet
in Sunday’s 0-0 draw against
Indiana, Beall’s work continues
to show itself. The improvements
she sought to make are plainly
visible, as Klein recognized.
“The big thing is just the
confidence that she has,” Klein
said. “She’s making really good
saves, she’s keeping us in good
games. She’s just doing a good
job all-around.”
Beall’s play has propelled
Michigan to an 8-2-1 record and
its first coaches
poll votes since
2017, even with
the
offense
managing
to
score more than
two goals only
once thus far.
With
the
offense
scoring
1.78
goals
per
game
through
September 26th,
a number that ranks 101st in the
NCAA, Beall’s exceptional play
has been all the more important.
She has stolen game after game
for Michigan.
If the expectations for a five-
star prospect are to be the team’s
X-factor, it’s pretty safe to say
Beall has reached that level.
Beall is the lynchpin of her team,
and the Wolverines’ aspirations
to end a 20 year Big Ten title
drought draw life largely from
her skill as a backstop.
JACOB COHEN
Daily Sports Writer
ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer
MICHIGAN
HOCKEY
new additions
Players
Cam York Freshman Defenseman
Eric Ciccolini Freshman Forward
Shane Switzer Graduate Transfer Defenseman
Jacob Hayhurst Graduate Transfer Forward
Johnny Beecher Freshman Forward
Keaton Pehrson Freshman Defenseman
Emil Öhrwall Redshirt Sophomore Forward
Nick Granowicz Freshman Forward
Coaches
Kris Mayotte Assistant Coach
Matt Hunwick Volunteer Assistant Coach
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senior defenseman Luke Martin said he and his teammates are eager to play another opponent after weeks of practice.
ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer
We’re all
getting tired of
beating each
other up...
ALLISON ENGVIST/Daily
Sophomore defender Sydney Shepherd anchored a strong defensive performance in a 0-0 draw on Sunday.
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Freshman goalkeeper Hillary Beall came to Michigan as the No. 1 goalkeeper in her recruiting class.
The big thing
is just the
confidence that
she has.