The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, September 15, 2021 — 11
Trailing
1-0
in
the
66th
minute, junior forward Evan
Rasmussen slid the ball past
the New Hampshire defenders
to sophomore midfielder Bryce
Blevins. Blevins took aim from
inside the 18-yard box and fired
a shot into the left-side netting,
failing to put it on target.
Blevins’s scoring opportunity
was one of many for the Michigan
men’s soccer team (2-2-1) in the
second
half,
but
none
found
the
back of the net. As
such, No. 12 New
Hampshire
(5-0-
0)
escaped
Ann
Arbor with a 1-0
victory
over
the
Wolverines.
New
Hampshire’s
single goal came
off of a corner
kick in the 38th
minute. The ball
took a deflection
in Michigan’s box,
falling at the feet of
Wildcat junior Bilal
Kamal, who then
swiftly placed it in
the top right corner
of Michigan’s net.
With the Wolverines losing 1-0,
Blevins’s opportunity sparked a
momentum change in U-M Soccer
Stadium. The fans got louder and
the offense opened up for the
Wolverines. A mere two minutes
after Blevins’s chance, fifth-year
defender Austin Swiech fired a
shot on goal after the ball landed
at his feet following a Michigan
corner kick. New Hampshire
goalkeeper
Jassem
Koleilat
saved the shot, but it bounced
back to Rasmussen for another
opportunity. Koleilat was there to
make the save yet again, keeping
the lead intact for the Wildcats.
“I think we absolutely tore
them apart (in the second half),”
Michigan coach Chaka Daley
said. “They were fortunate to get
out of here. But, the game is about
margins. They had a real chance
to miss in the first half, a half-
chance they scored on, and we had
five legit chances in and around
the box in the second half.”
The Wolverines finished the
game with 10 shots, eight of which
came in the second half. New
Hampshire finished with 11 shots,
five of which came in the second
half.
Despite the loss, there were
many positives for the Wolverines
to build off of going forward.
Rasmussen
displayed
a
knack for finding the ball in
scoring positions throughout
the game, as his three shots
led the Wolverines. His best
chance came in the 85th minute
when he found the ball at his
feet shortly after a Michigan
free kick was played into the
box. Rasmussen fired a rocket
toward the top left corner of
the net, but Koleilat managed
to tip it over the crossbar for a
Michigan corner kick.
Another bright spot for the
Wolverines was the talent on
display by their underclassmen.
Freshman
defender
Jason
Bucknor swept past opposing
players with the ball at his feet,
making it look easy in the process.
After pushing up the field in the
84th minute, he played a cross into
the middle of the box that could
have produced a goal on another
day.
Despite pushing forward into
the attack, Bucknor’s most notable
moment came in the Wolverines’
defensive third. With a Wildcat
pressuring him from behind,
Bucknor displayed
some flair, flicking
the ball into the
air and clearing it
with an impressive
overhead kick.
Another
underclassman
with an impressive
performance
was
freshman
goalkeeper
Hayden Evans. In
the 84th minute,
New
Hampshire
forward
Victor
Menudier got on
the end of a long
pass
and
found
himself one-on-one
with Evans. Evans
stayed
composed,
managing to deflect Menudier’s
shot to the right of the net, and
ultimately finished the game with
four saves.
Despite
some
strong
performances,
this
young
Wolverine team ultimately fell
short Friday.
“Everything is not always
going to go your way. And again,
that doesn’t mean you need to
concede goals, right, or concede
momentum,” Daley said. “You’ve
still got to be comfortable in your
own skin if things are against you.
Just kind of weather the storm,
a little bit, and that comes with a
little bit of maturity.”
Blown fourth set downs Wolverines
With the game in its infancy,
the Michigan women’s soccer
team made a rare mistake:
It turned the ball over in
its defensive third. Cincinnati
midfielder Lauren Bastian moved
the ball to forward Vanessa
DiNardo, who took the first shot
of the game and scored.
The 16th-ranked Wolverines
(6-1-1 overall) then found their
backs against the wall, a position
that
felt
unfamiliar;
usually,
they take the ball early and
relentlessly attack the opposition.
Cincinnati neutralized that attack
all through the first half, and
Michigan looked like it would
return home from its weekend
road trip without a win.
Heading into the locker room
at
halftime,
the
Wolverines
needed a change.
“We
were
kind
of
the
underdogs in that moment, and
we decided we’ve got 45 minutes
to change that,” senior midfielder
Raleigh Loughman said. “It’s a
Sunday game, so you’ve always
gotta fight it out. We went into
that with a fighting mindset.”
That mindset led to a pair of
second-half goals and guided
Michigan’s
approach
to
its
weekend road games. On Friday,
after tying Louisville (4-1-1) at
a goal apiece in a game where
they dominated possession, the
Wolverines utilized their deep
roster to battle for a 2-1 win
against Cincinnati (4-3-1).
Michigan’s offense has found
a consistent pattern this season.
It generates dozens of shots
every game, but struggles to turn
them into goals. The Wolverines
addressed those challenges this
weekend.
Against
the
Cardinals,
Michigan started the game in
its usual position: the driver’s
seat. Fifth-year senior midfielder
Nicki Hernandez scored the
Wolverines’ goal in the 19th
minute after Loughman and
junior midfielder Dani Wolfe
worked the ball past the defense.
But
Michigan
faced
stiff
competition following the goal.
Midfielder Nina Nicosia slipped
Louisville’s first shot of the game
past fifth-year goalkeeper Hillary
Beall in the 21st minute. The
Wolverines dominated possession
and made 24 shots, throwing all
they had on net. But the finish that
has eluded them all season proved
absent once again.
Substitutions came early and
often in both games. A calling
card of Michigan’s team, those
decisions kept the Wolverines’
energy
high
against
both
opponents.
Michigan
coach
Jennifer Klein utilized 19 outfield
players against the Cardinals and
18 against the Bearcats.
“You’ve
gotta
trust
your
players,” Klein said. “And you
have to trust that the work that
they’re doing every week in
practice is preparing them for
those moments.”
In adjusting from its first
game of the weekend, Michigan
focused
on
maximizing
the
danger of its chances against
Cincinnati. This was a marked
change from Friday’s match in
which the Wolverines peppered
the
goalkeeper
with
lower-
quality threats.
“Sometimes we can have a lot of
shots, but they weren’t necessarily
great opportunities,” Loughman
said. “So I think we actually did
better (against Cincinnati) with
creating good opportunities.”
Cincinnati scored its early goal,
but the Wolverines refused to roll
over. As the midfield worked the
ball toward the Bearcats’ goal,
Loughman played deeper in the
offensive zone. Senior midfielder
Meredith Haakenson found a
break in the Cincinnati defense,
connecting with Loughman for a
goal. Michigan had drawn even in
the 62nd minute.
Loughman wasn’t done scoring
though. Her deep pressure forced
a yellow card from Cincinnati
midfielder Taylor Nuncio that
resulted
in
a
penalty
kick.
Loughman ripped it deep into the
net in the 64th minute, giving her
team the lead. After a back-and-
forth battle the rest of the game,
Beall put the finishing touches on
the Wolverines’ victory when she
snagged a penalty kick in the 87th
minute.
Michigan’s changes had paid
off.
The result in Louisville wasn’t
what
Michigan
wanted,
but
the team switched its approach
after a slow start in Cincinnati.
Questions
about
finishing
opportunities came closer to
answers than they’ve been all
season, which bodes well as the
Wolverines enter a tough Big Ten
campaign.
‘M’ utilizes adjustments to come
away from road trip with win, draw
JACK GLANVILLE
For The Daily
CONNOR EAREGOOD
Daily Sports Writer
Victory
against
North
Carolina was in their hands
in front of an energetic crowd
at
Crisler
Center.
Leading
the match 2-1 and building a
comfortable 23-18 lead in the
fourth set, all the Wolverines
needed was two points to hand
the Tar Heels their first loss of
the season.
But two points were evidently
too much for Michigan.
Instead,
the
Michigan
volleyball team (4-2 overall)
crumbled under a punishing
7-0 run from North Carolina.
Despite
calling
multiple
timeouts and making difficult
digs to extend points, the
Wolverines had no answer
for
outside
hitter
Mabrey
Shaffmaster’s aerial assault.
The freshman carried out
four demoralizing kills in the
final seven points to secure
the set that would propel
the Tar Heels to a five-set
victory.
“(Shaffmaster) started just
teeing off,” Michigan coach
Mark Rosen said. “... And
next thing you know, now all
of a sudden the momentum’s
spinning.”
Before
Shaffmaster’s
mastery at the net, however,
Michigan was cruising in the
would-be-clinching fourth set.
Early in the set, junior
middle blockers Jess Robinson
and May Pertofsky combined
for an emphatic rejection of
a Shaffmaster attack. Their
block traveled near the back
line of the court, soaring past
the North Carolina defense and
out of reach.
Senior outside hitter Paige
Jones, who was quiet earlier
in the match, was starting to
heat up. Following a clean set
by sophomore setter Scottee
Johnson, Jones ran up the
sideline
and
took
flight,
launching the volleyball into
the face of North Carolina
outside hitter Parker Austin for
a savage kill that tied the game
at four.
Two
points
later,
Jones
continued her display of force,
attacking Austin once again.
This time, Austin managed to
get a hand on the ball, but it
shanked out of bounds and into
the stands.
Jones entered into a serious
rhythm
by
the
middle
of
the game. At 12-9, she was
commanding the outside with
multiple strong attacks that
had the Tar Heel defense
scrambling. She then ran in
for a finishing blow following
another great set from Johnson
to finish the lengthy point.
The array of kills from
Jones had the defense on their
heels. Eyeing a clean set, Jones
leaped into the air and cocked
her hand back. Expecting yet
another strong attack, North
Carolina retreated, only for
Jones to roll-shot the ball over
the net, landing on the floor
before a sprawling Tar Heel
could dig. The crafty kill put
the Wolverines up 16-12, and
momentum was squarely with
them.
“We have four really good
scoring positions,” Rosen said.
“We were playing very well. …
We were playing phenomenal.”
The
phenomenal
play
continued for Michigan as
sophomore outside hitter Jess
Mruzik, coming off a career-
high
31
kill
performance
on Friday, painted the back
corner of the court for an ace,
forcing North Carolina to call a
timeout.
The
Wolverine
lead
continued to grow, but at 23-18,
a block by Austin and middle
blocker Skyy Howard on an
attack by Jones turned the tide,
sparking the 7-0 run that ended
the game. Following Michigan’s
collapse, it was clear the tables
of the match had turned.
With
the
Tar
Heels
rallying,
the
crowd
grew
loud
in
response,
but
a
miscommunication
involving
Jones led to a service ace by
defensive specialist Karenna
Wurl,
whose
serve
landed
relatively slowly onto the floor
with no defender there to pass,
bringing the margin within
two.
With the score tied at 23,
Robinson’s attack was rejected
by outside hitter Kaya Merkler.
Next, it was none other than
Shaffmaster who ended the
furious comeback with yet
another kill.
The
momentum
North
Carolina carried after its late
surge was too much for the
Wolverines to overcome in the
final frame, as they lacked a
consistent attack and made a
handful of unforced errors in
the 15-9 fifth-set loss.
“It’s easy to say, ‘Hey let’s
just move on to the next set,’ ”
Rosen said. “But that’s a hard
hurdle to kind of get over. …
(This was) hopefully a good
learning opportunity for us.”
Poor first half spells doom for
Michigan in ranked matchup
PAUL NASR
Daily Sports Writer
Confirming its newly minted
No. 1 national ranking, the
Michigan field hockey team
made a statement in a 12-0 rout
of Ball State in its home opener
on
Friday.
The
Cardinals
were
prevented
from
even
attempting to make a dent in
the score, finishing with zero
shots and zero corners in the
game.
In contrast, the Wolverines
posted 39 total shots, 33 of
which were on goal. Notably,
none
of
Michigan’s
goals
came off a corner shot, despite
the Wolverines receiving 14
opportunities to do so. In the
three games since their 3-2
dogfight over former No. 1
North Carolina, Michigan has
scored 22 unanswered goals and
allowed only six shots.
While
seven
Michigan
players joined in on Friday’s
scoring, senior midfielder Sofia
Southam provided the plurality
of the goals, scoring five and
breaking the Michigan record
for goals in a single game,
previously set at four by Rachael
Mack in 2013.
“It feels great, but it’s a team
sport, there’s no one single
person,” Southam said. “We’ve
always had this great team
connection.”
Asked about the dominant
start to the season, Southam
emphasized
the
team’s
mentality.
“We’re not focusing on the
outcome, we’re focusing on
doing the right thing every
practice, every play,” Southam
said. “We’re keeping it day-by-
day, game-by-game.”
For the Wolverines, any fears
of fatigue from their springtime
national runner-up campaign
appear to be unfounded. With
this year’s finals being hosted
in Ann Arbor in the 20th
anniversary year of Michigan’s
lone national title win, Michigan
coach Marcia Pankratz — who
has led the team to all five of
its Final Four appearances —
welcomed her team’s early-
season play as they look toward
a formidable Big Ten conference
season and beyond.
“We’re a very deep and
versatile team, so we can run
lines almost like an ice hockey
game,” Pankratz said. “(The
team is) going to play as hard
as they can until they get tired
and switch out. In practice, the
younger players are getting reps
at a high tempo against some
of the country’s best players.
They’re
getting
better
and
better and better.”
In addition to Southam’s
five goals, senior forward Tina
D’Anjolell
also
scored
two
goals in two shots. Freshman
midfielder Abby Tamer led
the team with two assists,
adding a goal for three points
in total. Redshirt senior mid-
back Emma Tamer and redshirt
senior
back
Halle
O’Neill
finished second and third on
the team in shots with six and
five, respectively, but both
players were unable to find the
back of the net. Freshman back
Emmy Tran and sophomore
forward Katelyn Clarke scored
their first career goals in the
third
and
fourth
quarters,
respectively.
With this being Michigan’s
first home game with fans
since the 2019 season, emotions
were high, both in the stands
and on the field. Following the
game, Pankratz summed up her
elation:
“What a great night to play
field hockey in Ann Arbor,
right?”
No trouble for new No. 1 as Wolverines
easily blow out Ball State
DAVID WOELKERS
For The Daily
GRACE BEAL/Daily
Michigan senior outside hitter Paige Jones dominated the start of fourth set.
JEREMY WEINE/Daily
Michigan senior midfielder Raleigh Loughman built chances through the
midfield.
BECCA MAHON/Daily
Michigan junior forward Evan Rasmussen failed to capitalize on
chances.
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Michigan freshman fullback Emmy Tran scored her first goal in the rout of Ball State.