The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, September 8, 2021 — 11
One aspect of soccer that is
often overlooked is moments of
transition. These are the few
seconds following a change in
possession. They are often the
time when the ball is the easiest
to win back and hardest to keep.
They can also be when a defense
is most vulnerable because their
players are set up to attack, not
defend.
People tend to focus on
what happens near the goals,
as finishing and goalkeeping
ultimately
decide
the
final
score. However, winning the
transition moments consistently
is how a team can dominate the
game. The No. 24 Michigan
women’s soccer team did just
that in its 1-0 victory over
DePaul on Sunday.
“It’s
something
that
we
have to work on every day
within training, so when it
comes to the game we’re able
to execute,” Michigan coach
Jennifer Klein said. “I think
it’s a mentality, it’s a work rate
that really puts us in a position
to do that.”
After
any
of
their
own
turnovers,
the
Wolverines
consistently won the ball back
within a few passes. When
they didn’t, they ensured that
they recovered their defensive
shape quickly enough to avoid
dangerous counterattacks.
Fifth-year senior midfielder
Sarah
Stratigakis
recovered
the ball multiple times, chasing
down the Blue Demons and
taking
back
possession
for
Michigan.
Senior
defender
Janiece Joyner was also crucial
to this process, particularly
in
stopping
counterattacks.
Any time DePaul tried to use
its forwards as a quick outlet,
Joyner was there to either
intercept the pass or slow down
the attack enough to give her
teammates time to recover.
“It’s
something
that
we
practice,” Joyner said. “Our
coach really trains us to win
the ball back quickly and win
possession.”
Winning
the
defensive
side of transition helped the
Wolverines keep a clean sheet,
while the offensive moments
won them the game. Joyner
was also crucial on that side
of the ball. After winning the
ball defensively, she constantly
found the first pass to keep the
ball and start attacks.
“One of our goals is to connect
the first pass once we get it
back,” Joyner said. “If we are
able to go we want to go quickly
and create chances, but if not,
we are totally comfortable with
just holding it and swinging it
around the back and waiting for
the right time to go.”
Quick counterattacks led to
some of the Wolverines’ best
chances and, most importantly,
the goal. The breakthrough came
following a DePaul turnover
in the midfield, followed by
a quick pass down the wing
before the ball eventually found
its way to a wide-open fifth-
year senior midfielder Nicki
Hernandez at the back post to
score. In the end, winning the
game came down to winning
the transitional seconds and
translating practice sequences
into the game.
“We build those moments
into
training,”
Klein
said.
“There were sequences where
we won it, we had players in
right positions and we had
players running, and I’m happy
that we’re getting there.”
Transition offense keys win over DePaul
Fifth-year
senior
midfielder
Sarah Stratigakis felt the pressure as
she trapped a pass in a sea of DePaul
defenders. Not wanting to give up a
prime scoring opportunity, she made
a short pass to senior midfielder
Raleigh Loughman at the top of the
penalty arc.
The Blue Demons moved up,
charging toward the ball but
forgetting about fifth-year senior
midfielder Nicki Hernandez near
the left corner of the goal area. A
quick pass to Loughman opened
up an angle to hit Hernandez as she
willed her pass around the defense.
Hernandez took two touches before
firing the ball safely into the bottom
right corner, breaking Michigan’s
goalless streak in its 155th minute.
The Wolverines’ aggressive play
— shown by Hernandez’s goal —
persisted on both sides of the ball to
propel No. 24 Michigan (5-1) to a 1-0
victory over DePaul (2-3) on Sunday.
The Blue Demons couldn’t adapt to
the Wolverines’ pressure, and they
were outshot 27-5.
But Michigan wasn’t always
in total control. After sophomore
forward Sammi Woods got early
chances to start the game, the
midfield forced many passes leaving
the Wolverines’ defensive half.
DePaul earned quick shots from
these errors.
As a result, Michigan switched
up its strategy, focusing on shorter
range passes between defenders and
the midfield that it then carried up
the side of the field. The Blue Demons
didn’t adjust, and the Wolverines
generated shot after shot.
“Sometimes at the start of the
game you’ve gotta get into it and
you’ve gotta settle in,” Michigan
coach Jennifer Klein said. “I think
what’s good about them is they don’t
get rattled in that moment … They
got into a rhythm and were able to
find the spaces.”
Energy
punctuated
the
Wolverines’
game
plan,
and
they utilized 19 different players
throughout the game. Relentlessly
attacking the ball led to countless
chances for Michigan, and that
eventually led to the game’s only goal
in the 34th minute.
“I really like that we have such
a talented group of players,” senior
defender Janiece Joyner said. “We’re
able to rotate a lot of people.”
Woods played a large role in that
energy, chasing the ball and keeping
DePaul from settling in. She took
three shots at the beginning of the
second half, but the Blue Devils
cleared the ball out of their zone to
end her attack.
“(Woods) was threatening in
some good areas,” Klein said. “ (She)
had some good interchange with
different players, and so I think that
movement really put her in some
great positions … she’s right there
knocking at the door.”
The Wolverines looked strong,
but their problems converting
ample shots into goals in Friday’s
loss against Southern California
continued against DePaul. They
forced Blue Demons goalkeeper
Mollie Eriksson to make tough
saves, but couldn’t find the back of
the net.
It looked like Michigan would
score a second goal in the 56th
minute when Stratigakis shot the
ball high above Eriksson. A hollow
clang rattled through the stadium
as the ball bounced straight down
off the crossbar. The Wolverines
thought the ball went in, but the
officials did not review it.
Outside of offense, Michigan’s
back line stood tall. Junior defender
Jayde Riviere and Joyner cleared
any DePaul attempts.
Much of this came from closing
on any Blue Demon attacker with
the ball. Forwards tried to pass back
to midfielders and reset plays, but
they never settled into the tight area
the defense gave them.
Michigan
thoroughly
beat
DePaul, but still struggled to turn
lopsided offensive chances into
multiple tallies on the scoreboard.
The Wolverines’ biggest question
— how to capitalize on huge
shot
disparities
—
remained
unanswered.
Adaptation leads to victory over Blue
Devils on Sunday
MATTHEW CHANG
Daily Sports Writer
CONNOR EAREGOOD
Daily Sports Writer
Three
months
after
its
last competitive match, the
Michigan
men’s
golf
team
returned to the course this
weekend. And after the hiatus,
the rust showed.
The
Wolverines
finished
3rd
in
the
Island
Resort
Intercollegiate,
their
first
tournament of the season. With
a final score of 880, course
management and a poor short
game ultimately led Michigan
to an underwhelming final
placement, losing to Michigan
State and Central Florida.
The Wolverines opened the
tournament scoring a group
290, led by a career-best 69
from sophomore Will Anderson.
Senior Patrick Sullivan finished
his first round with an even 72
par and matched it in the second
round. Michigan collectively
recorded a 285 in round two, led
by junior Pier Francesco De Col
and Sullivan’s 72. De Col ended
the day with a team-best 143.
With
a
few
individual
standouts, Michigan showed
the potential to challenge for
a top-two finish the next day.
What came next surprised the
Wolverines.
“The first day was fairly
windy,” Michigan coach Zach
Barlow said. “I thought we did
pretty well. Monday was much
cooler and the course was set
up much longer. From day one
to day two, there was quite a
difference in the course length
and that caught us off guard.”
Michigan entered day two
with Anderson dominating once
again. Tallying a 74, his score
proved to be the Wolverines’
best. De Col and Sullivan
followed his lead, both scoring
a 78 and ending with a 221
and 222, respectively. In the
final round of the tournament,
freshman Yuqi Liu recorded a
71, ultimately making up for the
team’s errors throughout the
match.
“(Liu) is just getting his feet
wet in the collegiate scene,”
Barlow said. “He’ll play a big
part moving forward.”
The new recruits continued
to show their value as freshman
Hunter Thomson ended the
weekend in 39th place, scoring
a 69 in the second round and
ending the tournament with
a total of 228. A highly-rated
player, Thomson showed why
his future is bright in Ann
Arbor.
“Sky’s
the
limit
for
(Thomson),” Barlow said. “It’s
different when there’s added
pressure playing as a team.
There’s a lot of pressure but his
second round held us together.
Showing the team and bouncing
back is a big deal.”
Michigan now has a three-
week break before heading to
Yale for the Macdonald Cup.
The Wolverines will have time
to work on reading course
conditions, adjusting to weather
and executing close to the pin.
“This was a step forward
in that we got in that final
group,” Barlow said. “It’s a big
deal. What we learned today
we will use later on in the year
… The more time we’re in that
situation, the better we’ll be.”
‘M’ finishes third in Island Resort
Intercollegiate
NICK MOEN
Daily Sports Writer
Monday,
the
Michigan
men’s
soccer
team
hosted
Loyola University Chicago. The
Wolverines rallied in the second
half, overcoming a halftime deficit
to win 2-1, their first home win of
the season.
The first half was largely
dominated by the Ramblers. They
struck first, 11 minutes into the
game. Midfielder Oscar Dueso
sent a long pass to forward John
Gates, who beat three Michigan
defenders to put it in the goal.
While
Loyola
got
going
offensively, its defense held the
Wolverines to only two shots.
Their defensive scheme forced
Michigan to take shots from the
corners instead of getting quality
chances in front.
In the middle of the first half,
junior forward Evan Rasmussen
sent a pass toward the box
where junior forward Moshtaba
Al-Hasnawi was wide open, but
the timing of the pass was off,
and the chance was lost. These
mistakes plagued the Wolverines
as the offense sputtered in the first
half.
“I think for us it is important
that
we
are
aggressive
and
unselfish,” Michigan coach Chaka
Daley said. “I think those are the
two things that we want to remind
the players about.”
After the intermission, the
Wolverines came out of the locker
room firing on all cylinders.
Michigan matched its first half
shot count in the first two minutes
of the second half.
Accurate
passes
led
to
longer possessions and scoring
opportunities. Fifth-year senior
midfielder Marc Ybarra drew a
penalty kick and scored to tie the
game at one.
“At halftime, we talked about
being aggressive in our mindset
and how we play,” Daley said. “The
second half was very frantic for
their back three and as a result,
they made a couple mistakes.
Fortunately, we took advantage of
those mistakes.”
Michigan held Loyola nearly
shotless in the second half, with
the Ramblers lone opportunity
coming in the 64th minute. The
Loyola attacker found himself
one-on-one with the goalie, but
freshman
goalkeeper
Hayden
Evans came up with a big save to
keep the game tied.
Four
minutes
later,
the
Wolverines
capitalized
on
an opportunity of their own.
Michigan had good movement in
front of the opposing net, leading
to a goal from junior forward
Inaki Rodriguez on a pass from
freshman defender Jason Buckner,
giving the Wolverines a 2-1 lead.
For the rest of the second
half, Michigan played aggressive
defense and kept the Ramblers
outside of the offensive zone.
All in all, the Wolverines held on
for the win, but left something to
be desired.
“We
created
mistakes
for
Loyola late in the game and stole
a goal,” Daley said. “We are now
creating them in the run of play,
so now we can put together a full
performance. We are gonna have
to start (putting together full
performances) as our games get
more challenging, certainly when
the Big Ten slate starts.”
Halftime adjustments key win for
Wolverines on Labor Day
MARK PATRICK
Daily Sports Writer
JEREMY WEINE/Daily
Michigan defender Janiece Joyner initiated multiple deadly counterattacks in its game against DePaul
JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily
Michigan sophomore attacker Sammi Woods created several chances against DePaul.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Michigan men’s golf placed third in the Island Resort Intercollegiate.
MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily
Michigan junior forward Inaki Rodriguez scored the game-winning goal against Duke on Monday.