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Sports
Friday, October 11, 2019 — 7
Young guns
New faces buoy Wolverines past tough Detroit defense as Michigan takes 1-0 victory behind Derick Broche’s winner
As
the
minutes
ticked
further and further down in
Wednesday
night’s
match,
the
Michigan
men’s
soccer
team’s intensity was gradually
building. After being knotted at
zero with Detroit Mercy after
nearly 75 minutes of action, the
Wolverines were in desperate
need of a big play to restore
order on the pitch.
That play came with 16
minutes to go in the second
half, as sophomore forward
Derick Broche connected on a
cross from freshman midfielder
Harry Pithers to give Michigan
(6-2-3 overall, 2-0-2 Big Ten)
the lone goal en route to a
1-0 win over the Titans (3-7-1
overall, 0-2-1 Horizon League).
Players
exchanged
chest
bumps, and Broche was mobbed
by his teammates in the corner
of the field. For the Wolverines,
who had struggled mightily
throughout most of the match,
Broche’s diving header came
with an overwhelming sense of
relief.
“It
was
definitely
frustrating,”
Broche
said.
“They’re a drop back team, and
to finally get that breakthrough,
it gave us all the life back in the
game. So, yeah, it was amazing
for the team.”
Michigan entered the game
expecting to cruise to an easy
victory, but its lackadaisical
approach in the early going
played right into the hands of
the scrappy Titans.
Throughout
the
game,
Detroit
Mercy
gained
a
competitive edge by exerting its
physicality and getting under
the skin of the Wolverines.
While
Michigan
dominated
possession, the Titans managed
to keep things close with their
chippy play and stingy defense.
They certainly succeeded in
getting reactions out of the
Wolverines as well, drawing 13
fouls including a yellow card
from junior midfielder Carlos
Tellez.
In the early goings Michigan
wasn’t
matching
Detroit
Mercy’s
intensity
according
to senior goalkeeper Andrew
Verdi. He quickly became so
fed up with the effort of the
team that his exasperated voice
could be heard throughout the
stadium.
“I saw that a lot of people
maybe weren’t giving the energy
in the game that they typically
bring,” Verdi said. “So I was
trying to lift that up. I think
sometimes you’re gonna have to
get on your teammates and try
to get the best out of them. I’ll
do as I expect somebody to do to
me if I wasn’t playing the way I
wanted to.”
While Verdi may have been
disappointed with the effort at
some points, the win did give
him his fourth straight clean-
sheet.
“It feels great,” Verdi said.
“Four
straight
shutouts
is
something that’s pretty rare.
I think me and the defense
take great pride in that. It’s a
reflection on the whole team.”
Michigan
managed
to
keep its shut-out streak alive
without two key starters, junior
defender Joel Harrison and
junior forward Umar Farouk
Osman. Coach Chaka Daley
decided to rest both ahead of
Sunday’s match against No.4
Indiana — though Harrison was
forced to sub in for the final
ten minutes due to an injury to
senior defender Abdou Samake.
In their stead, Pithers and
fellow freshmen Carter Payne
and Christian Pulselli saw a
sharp increase in their playing
time.
“A lot of new faces in this kind
of local derby type atmosphere
or game, and I thought they
stood up well and fought hard,”
Daley said. “And we got a
It was a slugfest.
At halftime of the Michigan
men’s soccer team’s match against
Detroit
Mercy
(3-7-1
overall,
0-2-1 Horizon), the Wolverines
(6-2-3 overall, 2-0-2 Big Ten) had
only registered one shot on goal
in the scoreless tie. The Titans’
defense was suffocating Michigan,
dropping almost everyone back to
ensure they always had numbers
on the defensive side.
Normally, in situations like
these, the Wolverines would look
to their main playmakers for
offense — All-American senior
forward Jack Hallahan or graduate
transfer forward Nebojsa Popovic,
both of whom have started every
match.
Instead, the big play came
from true freshman midfielder
Harry Pithers. Facing pressure on
the right sideline from a Detroit
defender, he lobbed a masterfully
placed cross to sophomore forward
Derick Broche, who buried a
header for the game’s lone goal.
The assist was Pithers’ first point of
his college career.
Still, Michigan’s 1-0 victory on
Wednesday did not come easy,
thanks to the Titans’ solid defense.
Their conservative
approach
ceded
time of possession
to the Wolverines,
but
it
allowed
almost no space
for their attackers
to
work
with.
Especially
in
the first half, the
Detroit defenders
filled the box and
clogged up passing
lanes,
keeping
Michigan from landing many
quality shots and forcing offensive
mistakes.
“We
made
a
few
tactical
mistakes,” said Michigan coach
Chaka Daley. “ … Mistakes happen.
We strive for perfection, but there’s
always an error that can happen.”
The Titans kept up their
defensive
approach
early
in
the second half, holding the
Wolverines to only one shot in the
first 25 minutes of the half. Even
Michigan’s usual
stars
struggled
to make plays —
Hallahan failed
to register a shot
in the second
half before he
was
subbed
out in the 66th
minute. Detroit’s
excellent
defense
also
showed itself on
corners, as the
Wolverines failed to convert on any
of their 10 corner opportunities.
But as time ticked on, the talent
gap became apparent, as Michigan
managed to get behind the Titans’
back line, eventually culminating
in Broche’s 74th-minute goal.
“I think it was an early cross,”
Broche said. “Most of the time
early in the game, we took a little
too long, and they got a chance to
get players back, but this time we
got a good cross early from Harry
Pithers, and luckily I was at the end
of it.”
Though they only scored the one
goal, the Wolverines’ offense was
much more active late in the second
half, tallying four shots in the final
20 minutes of the match. This was
partially due to Detroit adopting
a more aggressive approach to
try and even out the score, but
Michigan’s
passing
was
still
visibly smoother and cleaner in the
closing minutes. Pithers, Broche
and junior midfielder Carlos Tellez
— who has only started one match
this season — were all central to
the Wolverines’ attack late in the
match.
“We just needed a little bit of
quality on service,” Daley said.
“Because we were in the final third
a lot in the second half.”
A little bit of quality on service is
exactly what Pithers delivered.
BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Writer
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Freshman midfielder Harry Pithers found Derick Broche for the game-winning goal in the 74th minute on Wednesday night as Michigan topped Detroit-Mercy, 1-0.
‘M’ set for tight series with Clarkson
Mel Pearson is quick to point
out that when this weekend’s
series was scheduled, no one knew
what Michigan and Clarkson’s
respective hockey teams would
look like by the time the games
were played.
So, the fact that the Wolverines’
home opener is against the No.
11 team in the country isn’t
intentional.
But
Pearson
is
embracing it as an opportunity to
test what his team is made of right
off the bat.
“It’s
obviously
a
tough
assignment for the first weekend,
but a great opportunity for us,
too,” Pearson said. “We’re at
home. I like where our team’s at.
We get to play a good opponent.
It’s a good measuring stick. We’ll
find where we are. Nobody’s going
to win a national championship
the first weekend or qualify to
the tournament, but these are big
games in the big scheme of things,
especially down the road.”
The two programs come into
the series in very different places.
Clarkson went 26-11-2 last season,
won the ECAC tournament and
lost in overtime to Notre Dame
in the first round of the NCAA
Tournament. Michigan, on the
other hand, entered last season
ranked No. 4 in the country, and
then proceeded to fall on its face
and win just 13 games.
And after that disappointing
finish
last
season,
Pearson
welcomes a chance to make a
statement in the first weekend of
the season. But it won’t be easy.
The Golden Knights return the
vast majority of their scoring from
last year, losing just two players
who finished top 10 on the team in
points. Their defense allowed the
fourth-fewest goals in the nation,
conceding just 78 goals on the
season.
Kris Mayotte, who Michigan
hired from Providence in the
offseason, has some experience
with Clarkson, as the two teams
were
frequent
non-conference
opponents. He knows what the
Wolverines are in for.
“In my career, I’ve seen that
school
a
lot,”
Mayotte
said
Tuesday. “I know it’s always a
big challenge. They are an older,
structured type of team. I think
that’ll be a great challenge for our
guys and something that, as a staff
and as a team, we’re excited for.”
Part of the challenge for
Michigan will be maximizing
its opportunities to score. The
Golden Knights are known for
their defense, and the Wolverines
will need to take advantage of the
chances they get — particularly on
the power play.
Early in the year, when teams
are still figuring out how to
maximize their personnel, special
teams can be a deciding factor.
Last year, special teams was key
for Michigan in a ranked non-
conference matchup with then-
No. 19 Western Michigan — the
Wolverines won the Friday game,
6-5, and went 3-of-7 on the power
play while holding the Broncos to
only one power-play goal in six
opportunities.
This weekend, Pearson expects
special teams to be no less
important than it was then.
“We have to make sure that
we’re disciplined,” Pearson said.
“We have to make sure that we take
advantage of the opportunities
that are presented on the power
play. We’re going to try to take it
to them a little bit with our speed
and aggressiveness. If we draw
penalties, that’s great, but you
have to make sure you can follow
through and convert on the power
plays.”
While Michigan and the Golden
Knights have met only once before
— in 2017, when the Wolverines
won 3-0 on the road — two players
bring an element of familiarity to
the matchup.
Sophomore
forward
Nolan
Moyle and Clarkson forward Josh
Dunne spent two years on the same
junior team, the USHL’s Green Bay
Gamblers and even lived together
during that time. In their second
season, Dunne centered the line
that Moyle played on all year. That
season, Dunne finished second on
the team with 48 points and Moyle
finished third with 45.
Each is excited to see his friend,
but it’s clear that the competition
will be intense on the ice.
“It’s obviously going to be a little
different seeing him in another
color,” Moyle said. “But down
there on the ice, he’s the opponent.
Gotta work hard against him. Not
going to take it easy.”
Added Dunne: “I’m always
looking forward to seeing him,
and we’re both competitive so
we love the competition between
each other. We’re both excited for
this weekend.”
In Pearson’s view, playing
against a friend always adds an
extra level of competitive drive.
And in this series, which both
Pearson and Mayotte expect to be
closely contested, that extra level
of motivation may help Michigan
come away with at least one win.
For Dwumfour, this may be the start
After a win over Iowa, Michael
Dwumfour texted his defensive
coordinator.
“Coach, I jumped some gaps,”
he said, according to Don Brown.
“It won’t happen again.”
That’s just how Dwumfour
is. The redshirt junior defensive
tackle is always hungry for
improvement,
even
after
demolishing
his
opponent
the way he did against the
Hawkeyes, when he mauled
Iowa’s vaunted offensive line
in a game Michigan coach Jim
Harbaugh called a “defensive
masterpiece.”
Aiding his effort, Dwumfour
has an impressive set of athletic
abilities, especially for a 282-
pound defensive lineman. Brown
doesn’t want to admit where
he was when he saw a video of
Dwumfour running a slant route,
but he will admit his reaction: a
little smile creeped across his
face.
Still, after spending much of
the spring dealing with a torn
plantar fascia and then getting
injured again one play into the
season, it hasn’t all been easy for
Dwumfour.
“It was tough,” Dwumfour
said Tuesday night, a maize towel
still draped around his neck from
the practice he’s finally healthy
enough to participate in. “ … But
I’m back now, so I forgot about
that.”
It had to have been frustrating
for Dwumfour to sit on the
sideline as the defensive line
got pushed around in a loss at
Wisconsin, with the Badgers
picking on Michigan’s lack of
size. Converted fullback Ben
Mason, drastically undersized,
was forced to start at three-
technique with Dwumfour out,
and his inexperience there was
on full display.
Harbaugh
called
out
the
entire defensive line in front of
the team after that loss, telling
them they had to play better.
That
unit
has
stepped
up,
with Dwumfour’s return the
following week against Rutgers
aiding that growth.
“Mike’s a great player,” said
fifth-year
senior
offensive
tackle Jon Runyan. “He’s really
active with his hands, really
quick twitch. Really hard to
block in practice sometimes,
that’s for sure. Seeing him back
and healthy, I know he’s been
struggling
a
lot,
especially
throughout the summer as well
and going to the fall, it’s hard
to see that guy sitting on the
sidelines, sitting in the training
room, battling through all these
injuries he’s got, but I’m happy
for him, that he’s back out there.”
Dwumfour especially excels
in stopping the run game — a
vital piece of the Wolverines’
game plan against Iowa. Now,
the next step for Dwumfour is
getting more involved in the
passing game, highlighted by
Brown’s explosive and tough-to-
master blitz packages.
With so much time missed,
Dwumfour hasn’t been able to
condition as much, but once
he’s had a little more time back,
Brown hopes to utilize him more
in those looks and make the pass
rush even more fearsome than it
already is.
“The thing that Mike brings to
the table is the ability to come out
of his stance, 100 miles an hour,”
Brown said. “… He’s athletic and
again for him, he hasn’t played
a whole heck of a lot of football
lately around here. So now he’s
going through another practice
week, a chance to kind of sink
your teeth into the game plan,
sink your teeth into your stance,
your footwork, your techniques,
your fundamentals, your eyes, all
those things.”
Dwumfour called it a blessing
to be back on the field the past
two weeks. But if his texts to
Brown are any indication, he’s
not taking any of it for granted —
and in Brown’s eyes, it only goes
up from here.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Redshirt junior defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour is growing into an impact player for the Wolverines.
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor
BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Sophomore Nolan Moyle roomed with Clarkson’s Josh Dunne from 2016-18.
ARTHUR POTTER
For The Daily
We strive for
perfection, but
there’s always
an error.