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

