Despite its winning record heading into Friday’s
matchup against No. 12 New Hampshire, the
Michigan men’s soccer team had yet to play a
complete game well. The Wolverines’ slow starts
have led to missed opportunities and have forced
them to play catch-up with the opposing team.
Michigan hoped to change this narrative, but this
game was no different, as the team fell, 1-0.
The Wolverines’ offense struggled mightily in
the first half. They were unable to convert on passes
in the offensive zone, allowing the Wildcats to take
the ball up the field and into Michigan’s final third
for most of the first half. The Wildcats dominated
in the Wolverines’ box, creating numerous scoring
chances, but Michigan held them off with timely
saves and great stops by freshman goalkeeper
Hayden Evans and fifth-year defender Austin
Swiech.
In the 38th minute, New Hampshire punished
the Wolverines for their inability to retain
possession and take shots. Midfielder Bilal Kamal’s
goal put New Hampshire up 1-0, and it appeared as
if the Wildcats were going to walk away handedly
with a win.
At halftime, though, Michigan came out of the
tunnel looking like a completely different team.
“I think we absolutely tore them apart in the
second half,” Michigan coach Chaka Daley said.
“They were fortunate to get out of here with a win.”
The team’s fire and poise were plain to see. The
Wolverines tallied eight shots in the second half,
which created many scoring opportunities. But
even with the dominant second half, Michigan was
unable to equalize.
Twenty-two minutes into the second half,
Michigan had the ball in the Wildcats’ zone.
Effective passing led to a shot on target by Swiech
that rebounded off of New Hampshire goalkeeper
Jassem Koleilat. The rebound led to an even better
chance by junior forward Evan Rasmussen, but the
rebound opportunity went over the crossbar.
“We had five legit chances in and around
the box in the second half,” Daley said. “I’m not
discouraged in any way, shape or form: for a group
like that (New Hampshire) to come in here with all
those players with good experience and for us to
take it to them in the second half, I’m encouraged,
not discouraged.”
Even with Daley’s words, Michigan has struggled
to score offensively throughout the season, scoring
only five goals in five games. If the Wolverines want
to remain competitive in the Big Ten, they will need
to find the back of the net more often.
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In
a
game
billed
to
be
Michigan’s
first big test of the season, the
results are … dubious. Sure, the
Wolverines
beat
Washington
by three touchdowns and its
defense looked impenetrable for
most of the
game, when
Michigan
usually
struggles
in
big matchups.
But
also,
how good is
Washington
really,
and
what
in
tarnation was that offense?
The Huskies don’t seem primed
to be a contender in the PAC-12,
and maybe the embarrassing loss
to FCS Montana wasn’t a fluke.
All told, this game is probably not
the test we thought it would be
when Washington was ranked
20th at the start of the season, and
the “lessons learned” may just be
built on a house of cards.
The running game, though,
seems built with brick walls. It
is a unit that, at least, can lead
Michigan toward a season that
matches its (more reasonable)
preseason
expectations.
Doomsayers won’t have to worry
about embarrassing losses to
bottom-feeders
Maryland,
Rutgers or Nebraska if the
Wolverines can pound the rock
like that.
“It means a lot to me knowing
that we have two solid running
backs (and) that we can run the
ball and do the things we’ve
done the last two weeks, I think
it’s
phenomenal,”
sophomore
running back Blake Corum said.
“It definitely puts other teams in
a situation, cause you don’t really
know who to stop.”
This ‘thunder and lightning’
pairing of Corum and senior
running back Hassan Haskins
offense is the new evolution of
Michigan’s offense, closer to
the early days of Jim Harbaugh.
The days of Karan Higdon and
De’Veon Smith, when running
was the first-choice option and
the floor seemed to be 8-5, with
the ceiling one yard short of the
playoffs.
The offenses of Michigan have
evolved since then, but the one
thing they all have in common is
their ceiling: below Ohio State.
And that’s a pattern of behavior
that some Michigan fans have
said time and time again is not
enough.
But that Washington game
also gives glimmers of hope on the
other side of the ball, the defense.
One of the biggest weaknesses of
last season for the Wolverines, the
changes seem to have made this
defense formidable. But shutting
down Western Michigan, a good
MAC team — but a MAC team
nonetheless — and Washington,
which scored seven points against
Montana, aren’t necessarily good
measuring sticks.
The
stats
are
there
for
Michigan: It notched the third-
most
rushing
yards
under
Harbaugh’s tenure on Saturday
with 343. On the defensive end,
it held Washington to 50 rushing
yards.
Conversely,
Michigan
is
averaging 33.5 more rushing
attempts than passing attempts
through its first two games. The
next-closest Big Ten champion in
the playoff era is Ezekiel Elliott’s
2014 Ohio State, which averaged
18.7 more rushing plays than
passing.
But what made that team
even more dangerous was its
passing ability. It took big shots
and kept defenses honest through
explosive passing plays.
The Wolverines, meanwhile,
have recorded 60% of their
passing yards on two plays, both
against Western Michigan, and
are averaging 130 passing yards a
game. They didn’t want (or need)
to utilize the passing game to
beat the Huskies, but that won’t
be true forever.
Against teams as talented
as the Buckeyes or Penn State,
running every play won’t get
you anywhere in an eight-man
box. Junior quarterback Cade
McNamara will need to be more
than just the game manager
offensive coordinator Josh Gattis
has deemed him to be. To finish
better than 8-4, McNamara will
have to make game-changing
plays.
Can he? We don’t know yet.
The great yardstick that was
Washington turned out to be
no more useful than the game
against
Western
Michigan.
The next test — a real test — for
Michigan will be at Wisconsin, on
Oct. 2. Until then, we won’t be able
to figure out if this is a mediocre,
good or great team.
Managing Sports Editor Kent
Schwartz can be reached on
Twitter @nottherealkent
SportsWednesday: We don’t know what this team is yet
Michigan’s defensive proved capable at shutting down both Western Michigan and Washington.
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
KENT
SCHWARTZ
Missed scoring
opportunities hamper
Michigan in 1-0 loss
MARK PATRICK
Daily Sports Writer
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Michigan senior running back Hassan Haskins averaged 5.7 yards per
carry with a long of 20 yards.
10 — Wednesday, September 15, 2021