The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 — 7A
DIAGNOSED WITH ADHD?
University of Michigan Study looking for Eligible Participants at the Jonides Lab.
Participants needed to complete visual attention tasks!
Duration of study: 1-2 hours, compensation ranging from 10$ to 15$ an hour,
located at B434 East Hall, 530 Church Street,
contact us back for a phone screening at JLabAttention@gmail.com!
Wolverines advance in NCAA Tournament
with 2-1 first-round win over Bowling Green
In
early
September,
the
Michigan and Bowling Green
women’s soccer teams faced off at
the U-M Soccer Stadium. Fittingly
for one of the season’s early games,
the halftime entertainment was
entitled “Pups on the Pitch.”
Last Friday, the two teams
met again at the same place. No
puppies were present — an accurate
representation of the maturity
that the Wolverines and Falcons
accumulated between then and
now.
The
early-season
mistakes
made by two teams about to
catch fire through regular-season
and
conference
tournaments
disappeared.
Ball
and
player
movement from both sides was
more
purposeful
and
more
problematic
for
the
opposing
defense. Set pieces, performed in
a premeditated fashion, created
more substantial opportunities on
goal.
But when the clock hit zero, the
result replicated the September
outcome. With a 2-1 victory, No.
19 Michigan (16-5-1 overall, 8-2-1
Big Ten) advanced to the second
round of the NCAA Tournament,
eliminating Bowling Green (14-6-3,
10-1-0).
The Falcons made it clear from
the onset that they wouldn’t let the
Wolverines play bully ball again —
Michigan’s 16-0 shot advantage
in the last contest took away all
chances of Bowling Green ever
climbing onto the scoreboard. On
Friday, 61 percent of possession
by both teams was at midfield
compared to just 51.5 percent
in the last contest, while the
Wolverines’ possession in its final
third fell from just over a third to
just over a quarter. These statistics
bear witness to Bowling Green’s
improved ability to neutralize
Michigan’s possessions before they
became dangerous.
On the offensive end, the Falcons
also
demonstrated
increased
potency. Michigan coach Jennifer
Klein acknowledged their ability
to foil the her team’s plans to push
the ball and players forward in
possession.
“We wanted to lock them
into their half and be a bit more
aggressive in our press,” Klein
said. “... (In) the first half, their
movement and interchange caused
us a little bit of problems.”
That
scheme
nearly
found
paydirt for Michigan in the fourth
minute.
Junior
defender
Alia
Martin received a penalty kick
opportunity, but grounded it wide
of the left woodwork. Following
the miss, Bowling Green recorded
a combination of six shots, corner
kicks and offsides calls, signaling
its intent — and ability — to create
higher up the field.
In the 35th minute, the Falcons
capitalized on this aggressiveness.
With numbers in their final third,
Mackenzie
Reuber’s
facility,
including a touch off the chest, gave
her the control needed to slot the
ball into the net’s corner, just out
of junior goalkeeper Hillary Beall’s
reach.
“They like to make games
exciting and difficult,” Klein said.
“They’ve done it all season, so
nothing has changed.”
Bowling
Green
closed
out
the first half and opened the
second with increased offensive
confidence which stemmed from
its draw of first blood. While the
ball was concentrated around
midfield,
any
possession
that
threatened in front of goal belonged
to the Falcons. The frustration of
the Wolverines’ inability to create
and extend possessions that posed
a serious threat was plastered on
the face of junior midfielder Nikki
Hernandez, who was trying to play
a role in every third of the field.
“As a forward I know I can’t get
caught up just in my attacking role,”
Hernandez said. “The team can’t all
be an attacking team.”
But just as Bowling Green only
needed one goal to make Michigan
and its fans come to the sober
realization that this game could
be the last, the Wolverines only
needed one to renew daydreams of
a second round.
With just under an hour to go,
freshman forward Danielle Wolfe
slid into the penalty box to poke
a ball — played in by junior Big
Ten Midfielder of the Year Sarah
Stratigakis and then Hernandez
— into the goal. When asked about
her contribution, Wolfe, who saw
limited minutes in relief, was
quick to defer the results to her
teammates.
“I just work my hardest for the
girls who worked the whole 90
minutes,” Wolfe said. “… Those 30
minutes are the best 30 minutes
that I can play.”
The game-tying goal provided
new life for the Wolverines and
their faithful. The former notched a
trio of shots and a quartet of corner
kicks in the following 12 minutes;
the latter used their feet to pound
out an emphatic “Let’s Go Blue”
on the bleachers. This momentum
made another Michigan goal seem
inevitable.
That’s why it came as little
surprise when Hernandez took
advantage of Falcon goalkeeper
Kathleen
Duwve’s
abnormally
high position in the 18-yard box,
chipping in a goal from 26 yards
that fluttered over Duwve’s fingers.
The 2-1 lead in the 79th minute
would prove to be insurmountable.
When asked about the crucial
tiebreaking
goal,
Hernandez’s
response was simple.
“I didn’t think it was going in at
first,” Hernandez said. “I was just
really lucky that I got that goal.”
After weathering the Falcons’
continued press until all 90 minutes
had expired, the Wolverines began
to look forward to next week’s
second round game against No. 15
Texas Tech.
Wolfe
put
the
night
in
perspective.
“Nothing better than being
under the lights, at home, with your
crowd, and your whole team here,”
Wolfe said, “and it’s the best feeling
to be repping Michigan at home.”
In East Lansing, goaltender Hayden Lavigne lends a helping hand
Midway through the final period
Saturday night in East Lansing,
the Michigan hockey team (3-7-2
overall, 0-5-1 Big Ten) went on the
penalty kill after graduate transfer
forward Jacob Hayhurst got called
for roughing.
The ensuing faceoff in the
Wolverines’ defensive zone resulted
in notable scoring opportunities for
Michigan State. First, defensemen
Dennis Cesana and Jerad Rosburg
passed back and forth before Cesana
took a one-timer from the high slot.
The puck was deflected by the
goaltender before forward Patrick
Khodorenko took possession on the
left side. He skated to the corner
and stayed behind the goal line
while attacking the post. At the last
second, he dished a pass through
the tip of the crease to Rosburg on
the other side, who took a shot at the
gaping hole on the right half of the
net. A goal looked inevitable, but the
goaltender extended his glove and
made the save.
That
display
of
staunch
goaltending was nothing new. It
has been Michigan’s staple for most
of the season and has given the
Wolverines a chance to win in most
games. Only this time, it was senior
Hayden Lavigne who held out the
hand and not sophomore Strauss
Mann.
Michigan was down 3-0 with six
minutes left in the second period
when Michigan coach Mel Pearson
decided to pull Mann to change
things up and potentially rejuvenate
the team.
“Just basically told him ‘Hayden
get ready, you’re going in.’ That was
about it,” Pearson said. “And he
knows, I mean, he’s a veteran. He
knows you don’t need a lot of words,
but I did talk to him after. I told him
I was happy for him. He played
extremely well, and I thought he
was really good.”
The decision put Lavigne on the
ice for the first time this regular
season. The last time he stood
between the pipes was during
an exhibition game against the
University of Windsor in early
October. And though his team fell
to the Spartans, Lavigne impressed
with 11 saves and no goals allowed
during his time in net.
“When you start a game, your
initial mindset is obviously just do
what you can to win,” Lavigne said.
“And then I think going in mid-
game, your mindset is kind of just to
hold it where it is. You’re not really
necessarily looking for that win.
Obviously that’s the goal at the end
of the day, but going in my goal there
with 26 minutes left in the game is
just kind of make sure that we leave
with three on board and it doesn’t
increase from there.”
Watching the first 11 games from
the sideline is likely not a position
Lavigne would have foreseen a few
years ago. Not for a guy who, as a
sophomore, won the starting job
mid-season and led his team to the
Frozen Four.
Last
year,
though,
Lavigne
couldn’t find his peak form and
thus shared the crease with Mann.
And at the start of this season, after
Lavigne let up two goals in the
exhibition, it was Mann who got the
final nod.
That brings us to the current
status. After coming off the bench
against Michigan State, it took some
time for Lavigne to settle in. His
heart raced early, but he mentioned
that after facing the first few shots
he found his composure.
“It was good. I mean, I’ve been
waiting a long time to get in a game,
working hard in practices to make
sure I was ready,” Lavigne said. “It’s
definitely nerve-wracking. Kind
of felt like a little freshman again,
playing my first game in a while, but
it was good. Good feeling to be back.
Felt like I was seeing the puck well,
just felt fast, felt good overall.”
Being a backup goalie requires
you to be on your toes. As Saturday
showed, Lavigne could be called
into action at any moment and
maintain his edge, even on the
bench.
“I just try and stay kind of
mentally and emotionally involved
even though I’m on the bench,”
Lavigne said. “Just makes it easier
to get in there so your mind doesn’t
have to turn on as well as your
body when you get in.”
From
the
bench
Lavigne
stays vocal, always pointing
out to teammates what they’re
doing well as this helps him stay
focused on the game. What’s
more, he looks for tendencies
in the opponent’s game and
imagines how he would handle
the various situations if he were
playing. This routine paid off, as
he was well prepared for the heat
in the third period against the
Spartans.
“I expected Khodorenko to
just kind of drive it to the net
since he had that little lane,
so I went down on that post,”
Lavigne said. “As soon as he
released it, I just kind of knew
that I had to get over there as fast
as I could. Stretched my hand out
as far forward as I could to kind
of cut down that angle.
“It’s one of those plays where
you play the odds and know
where the angle is likely to be
and then just kind of hope that it
hits you, and that was the case.
Just made sure I got over there
fast and got over there aggressive
and then luckily held on to it.”
Though it’s unclear when
he’ll play next, Lavigne is still a
key asset for the team. After all,
you never know when you might
need a helping hand.
‘M’ locks in 12th-
ranked class in 2020
In her eighth year at the
helm of the women’s basketball
program,
Michigan
coach
Kim Barnes Arico raked in
the
12th-ranked
recruiting
class in 2020 to join the
Wolverines, highlighted by the
No. 30 recruit in the country —
forward Cameron Williams.
Williams is one of four
players to sign her letter of
intent, and is joined by No. 40
ranked Seattle native, guard
Meghan Fiso, and two local
Michigan players — guard Elise
Stuck and forward Whitney
Sollom.
Williams’ decision to join
the Wolverines adds her to the
long list of impact forwards
recruited by Barnes Arico.
“Those kids as high school
kids want to go to a place
where they’re going to have
an opportunity to learn from
one of the best,” Barnes Arico
said. “Naz Hillmon wanted
to come to Michigan because
she watched Hallie Thome
develop over the years and
she wanted an opportunity to
learn from her and have a year
to spend with her. The same
was true when (Williams) was
going through the recruiting
process.”
Similar
to
what
Thome
meant
for
recruiting
bigs,
Williams could prove to be the
catalyst for a new recruiting
ground.
“Whitney
Young
High
School is traditionally one
of the best (basketball) high
schools in the country,” Barnes
Arico said. “(Williams’) head
coach there — her husband is
Mac Irvin, who runs the AAU
program. They traditionally
have one of the best AAU
programs in the country. Year
in, year out, they have shown
consistency and they just do
a tremendous job developing
their players and building high
character kids.”
The acquisition of Sollom
and Stuck, from Hartland and
Charlevoix, respectively, marks
the Wolverines’ first addition
of players from Michigan since
Deja Church transferred after
last season.
“That has really been a
point of emphasis since I’ve
been here is to try and get the
best players in the state to
stay home,” Barnes Arico said.
“When you want to build a
program and you want to build
a championship culture, you
want to do it with Michigan
kids that really bleed maize and
blue, were born that way and
want to win a championship for
their home state.”
Sollom
and
Stuck
were
also recruited by Michigan
State, whose roster currently
contains eight players from the
state. Three of the Spartans
were four star recruits in the
2019 class and are making
impact plays for the Spartans
this season.
What all four recruits bring
to the Wolverines is what
Barnes Arico mentions every
time she talks about recruiting
— the experience of winning.
Each player has moved far
in
their
respective
state
tournaments, winning all-state
honors along the way.
In order to win at this level,
Michigan needs more talent to
break into the upper echelon of
teams, and recruiting impact
players and gaining a foothold
in a fertile recruiting ground is
vital if it wants to take the next
step. Over the last few years,
with the acquisition of star
recruits like Amy Dilk, Izabel
Varejão, Hillmon and now
Williams and Fiso, it’s slowly
moving in that direction.
JACK WHITTEN
Daily Sports Writer
ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Junior midfielder Sarah Stratigakis won Big Ten midfielder of the year.
KENT SCHWARTZ
Daily Sports Writer
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senior goaltender Hayden Lavigne entered the game in relief on Saturday.