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.