The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, September 7, 2022 — 7
Michigan scoreless against
Bowling Green in 0-0 draw
CHARLIE PAPPALARDO
Daily Sports Writer
With just three minutes remain-
ing in Sunday afternoon’s con-
test between the Michigan men’s
soccer team and Bowling Green,
the Falcons found themselves in
a familiar position — deep in the
Wolverines’ attacking third and
dominating possession.
A well-placed through ball to
a Bowling Green striker set up a
prime opportunity within the pen-
alty box, but senior defender Ryan
Schultz blocked the shot. The ball
ricocheted to another attacker who
once again fired a laser that was
intercepted. Twenty seconds later,
the Falcons lobbed a short free kick
into the box, where it was headed
twice, and knocked just past soph-
omore goalkeeper Hayden Evans
and out of bounds.
With little time left on the clock,
Michigan did what it had done the
entire game; it survived. But by no
means was the 0-0 draw a strong
showing for the Wolverines.
“We knew it was going to be a
tough, physical game,” Michigan
coach Chaka Daley said. “They
stood up sharp in the back and gave
a good account of themself defen-
sively, but we went missing a little
bit in the attacking side … but a
well learned, tough draw … I think
either team will just take the point
and move on.”
From the very first whistle,
Bowling Green emerged as the
aggressor, forcing the ball deep into
Michigan’s box with a cross from
center back Joey Akpunonu on
the first play of the game. The ball
floated around the box for a few
seconds before midfielder Alberto
Anaya ripped a ball towards the top
of the net that a diving Evans just
barely poked away.
The game shifted to a more
rhythmic pace, but throughout the
entire contest the Falcons acted as
the aggressors. They dominated
possessions and won almost every
50-50 ball, but were never able
to convert. Despite chance after
chance where it seemed impossible
for the ball not to find the back of
the net, Bowling Green was sty-
mied by solid goalkeeping from
Evans, along with gutsy plays from
Schultz and sophomore defender
Jason Bucknor.
Starting in the tenth minute, the
Falcons once again built momen-
tum, holding the ball in the attack-
ing third and pressing. But slightly
wayward crosses and a solid save
from Evans on a shot by Kale Nich-
ols snuffed out any opportunities to
take the lead.
Michigan struggled to find any
real offensive footing until the
final five minutes of the first half.
Suddenly it caught a slightly over-
zealous Bowling Green defense off
guard with a counter attack, slot-
ting pass after pass into and around
the Falcon’s box, but failing to con-
vert on any chances.
The Wolverines’ momentum
carried into the early second half,
when they recorded their one and
only shot on goal of the contest,
which goalkeeper Logan Kowal-
cyzk comfortably saved. But their
best chance came a few minutes
later when senior forward Derick
Broche launched a ball into the
Bowling Green box. It pinballed
around before bouncing towards
the left post where a charging
senior forward Cameron Martin
just missed the ball.
But this momentum quickly
died out, and from the 55th min-
ute onward, the Falcons once
again maintained control, and
Michigan didn’t have a counter.
“The hardest thing in this
game is to score goals,” Daley
said. “It’s definitely the most
challenging thing because we’ve
got a lot of moving pieces and
freshmen playing with a new
system. It’s challenging, tough to
figure out, but we’ll get there.”
In moment after moment,
Bowling Green found itself just
inches away from scoring, but a
mixture of bad luck for the Fal-
cons and defensive standouts
from the Wolverines left the
game notched at 0-0 and sent
both teams home with a point.
But this was less of an earned
draw. It was more of an escape
act.
“We’ve had four games and
two shutouts,” Daley said. “We
just gotta get it going on both
sides of the ball.”
Daley’s right; Michigan has to
find an offense. Because with just
one goal in four games, surviving
games will only get harder and
harder for the Wolverines.
Sports
MEN’S SOCCER
SportsWednesday: Michigan’s quarterback competition isn’t
over, but the door is closing
JARED GREENSPAN
Managing Sports Editor
Cade McNamara sat at his press
conference
Saturday
afternoon,
fresh off a 51-7 victory in Michi-
gan’s season opener, and spoke like
a quarterback cognizant of his tenu-
ous job security.
“It looked like a first game, I felt
like, on the offensive side of the
ball,” McNamara, a senior, said.
“We definitely need to clean that up
and I’m gonna be a part of that.”
McNamara is both uber-com-
petitive and a perfectionist; those,
if anything, are his defining traits.
He lamented an errant throw to
senior receiver Cornelius Johnson,
a would-be touchdown; he did the
same with a pass that nearly turned
into an interception in the red zone.
It’s not unusual for McNamara to
be particularly hard on himself; he
nitpicked last season, too, as most
quarterbacks tend to do. But this
season’s rendition made for a bit
of a jarring scene: The Wolverines
had just won by 44 points in a game
where 84 players appeared, and yet
McNamara spoke in short, terse
phrases while sporting a stern glare.
This is the backdrop right now
for Michigan’s quarterbacks. Every
move is scrutinized, every errant
throw conjuring a quick glance to
the sideline and groans from the
fans. It holds true for McNamara
and, in due time, will for sophomore
J.J. McCarthy, too. But right now,
at this juncture in the nation’s most
intense quarterback competition, it
is most apt for McNamara.
“I’d definitely say it’s pretty
unusual,” McNamara said Satur-
day, speaking for the first time since
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh
revealed his plan to start McNa-
mara in Week One and McCarthy in
Week Two. “It was kind of a thing
I wasn’t expecting by the end of
camp. I thought I had my best camp
and put myself in a good position.”
Michigan’s quarterback com-
petition is, contrary to popular
belief, not over. Harbaugh is going
to wait until after this week’s game
to appoint a starter, a stance that he
reiterated Monday. And, as he has
maintained, the door is open to an
ongoing rotation beyond this week-
end.
“If things are exactly the same
as they were coming out of camp,
which was close to dead even, then
we are going to have to, as coaches,
find a way to maximize both of
their talents for the best piece of
the team,” Harbaugh said. “That
remains a very viable option.”
The ‘if’ here carries the most
weight. At the moment, its condition
doesn’t appear to be true.
Harbaugh
maintained
that
McNamara played a “really good”
game Saturday, but it was not inspir-
ing. The performance — 9-of-18 for
136 yards and a touchdown — did
not reflect McNamara’s declaration
from fall camp that he was playing
the best football of his life. That
buzz has fizzled.
Instead, against Colorado State,
McNamara fueled the narrative
that Michigan can be good with him
under center, just not great.
McCarthy, by contrast, was
“electric” — “no question about
it,” Harbaugh said after the game.
McCarthy’s attributes, to be fair, are
inherently more flashy than McNa-
mara. He is lightning quick and
touts superhuman arm strength;
McNamara, meanwhile, is gritty
and reliable. On a highlight reel,
McCarthy is bound to stand out.
Yet, what is increasingly appar-
ent, is that Michigan has more
options, and a wider playbook, with
McCarthy under center. The razzle
dazzle, whether it be cross-field
throws or video game-esque jukes,
is meaningless. A greater arsenal of
in-game opportunities — whether it
be through read options or whatnot
— are significant.
McCarthy’s first highlight of the
2022 season, a scamper into the
endzone off a read option, did not
seem to be a call available to McNa-
mara.
“They’re similar,” Harbaugh said
of the playbooks for the two quar-
terbacks. “There’s a couple of quar-
terback runs. … JJ has that electric
type of ability when he’s running
the football. And I thought he
acquitted himself really well.”
That is where, perhaps, we get
a look into where the quarterback
competition is headed. McNama-
ra’s performance against Colorado
State, though uninspiring, could
not have moved the needle signifi-
cantly. Would Michigan really take
more stock in a so-so game against
a Mountain West opponent than
McNamara’s greater body of work,
which includes a full season under
center and a Big Ten Champion-
ship?
But what if McCarthy brings that
electricity on a consistent basis, add-
ing a new dimension to Michigan’s
offense? Then the calculus changes.
Then an offense that should be
one of the nation’s best becomes
even scarier. What if McCarthy
adds that dimension while elimi-
nating his drawbacks: a knack for
turnovers and bone-headed plays,
which marred his freshman year
cameos?
Then he should be QB1.
“I thought that he went through
his reads very well,” Harbaugh said.
“Great to see him playing super
calm, cool and collected. He’s doing
a great job, too. Really improved a
lot, as you would expect going from
his freshman year to his sophomore
year.”
This all brings us back to McNa-
mara’s press conference. He felt
blindsided, clearly, by Harbaugh’s
decision, noting he felt “confident”
in his fall camp performance.
Yet Michigan has waited for
McCarthy — through growing
pains, gut-wrenching turnovers
and an offseason shoulder injury —
because his talent is apparent. His
grand audition beckons Saturday
under the lights against a woeful
Hawaii team. If McCarthy does
indeed light up the Rainbow War-
riors, will that really push him past
McNamara?
It’s hard to believe that it will.
JENNA HICKEY/Daily
What would vault McCarthy into
QB1, though, is if he showcases the
capabilities that McNamara lacks; if
he is electric while not turning over
the football, if his mobility makes a
tangible difference.
In other words: If he is the quar-
terback that he is billed to be, and
has been touted to be, since his
commitment, then we might have
an actual answer to the quarter-
back competition by Harbaugh’s
superimposed deadline.
And right now, the road is
careening towards McCarthy.
Cade McNamara is yet to lose the quarterback competition, but the job may soon be J.J. McCarthy’s.
In blowout win over Central
Michigan, Wolverines
demonstrate their identity
LINDSAY BUDIN
Daily Sports Writer
After splitting the first two games
of the season and struggling to excel
on the road, the No. 3 Michigan
field hockey team entered Sunday’s
home-opener with the chance to
cement its identity. In front of their
home crowd, the Wolverines wasted
no time showing exactly who they
are.
On Sunday, Michigan (2-1 over-
all) beat Central Michigan (1-2) in a
dominating 9-0 fashion and outshot
the Chippewas 39-1. With the state-
ment win, the Wolverines displayed
more than just an ability to score —
they showed their relentless mental-
ity.
And with that ethos — charac-
terized by high intensity and strong
communication — it didn’t take long
to translate to on-field success.
Less than two minutes into play,
sophomore forward Abby Tamer
opened up the scoring for the Wol-
verines. After finding herself open
near the left post, she put Michi-
gan on the board with a shot past
the outstretched Central Michigan
goalkeeper. Tamer continued to
shine, scoring a second goal a minute
later to add to the lead.
“I think we came out with great
intensity,” Michigan coach Marcia
Pankratz said. “I was really proud of
our team for that.”
Throughout the first quarter,
the unyielding mindset from every
Wolverine on the field proved effec-
tive, preventing the Chippewas from
running any form of offense. Not
only was Central Michigan unable
to create any shots off, they didn’t
even get the ball into Michigan’s
striking circle.
And as all of the Wolverines’ lines
locked in, the offense found further
success. In the final three minutes
of the opening quarter, sophomore
midfielder Alana Richardson scored
two goals, giving Michigan a 4-0
lead entering the second quarter.
“What our team is known for,
especially the forward line, is just
high pressure all the time,” Rich-
ardson said. “We just like to put the
defenders under pressure constant-
ly.”
Michigan also flexed its strength
on defense.
Despite
Central
Michigan’s
attempts, the Wolverines kept the
ball out of their striking circle, limit-
ing the Chippewas to just one shot —
the only one they would get all game.
“We’ve been working really hard
on good communication and good
organization (from the defense),”
Pankratz said. “I think we’re gain-
ing confidence about stepping up
and intercepting balls and keeping
the pressure on.”
That strong and coherent com-
munication is something Michigan
has prioritized, not just from the
defense, but from the entire team.
It’s crucial to the identity it exhib-
ited on Sunday, and it’s something
that continues to play a critical role
in its success.
“(The communication) is every-
thing, it really is everything,”
Richardson said. “Every single
line, you have to have that connec-
tion and that starts with commu-
nication. If you’re going to step up,
you need to step up as a unit.”
Coming out of halftime — even
with a 5-0 lead — the Wolverines
maintained the intensity they dis-
played from the start of the game.
They continued to showcase their
“don’t let up” mentality, prevent-
ing Central Michigan from taking
a single shot and adding four more
goals to their lead.
Early in the third quarter,
Tamer netted another goal, com-
pleting her hat trick and extend-
ing the lead. Along with Tamer’s
individual accomplishment, the
Wolverines thrived as a team. Six
different players scored and six
more chipped in with assists. The
prioritization of communication
and playing as a unit was evident
from start to finish.
“I think (it’s) that ‘don’t let up’
mentality, just continuing, no mat-
ter what the score is,” Richardson
said. “The score isn’t what we’re
looking for, it’s just the progress
and how we play, because no mat-
ter what the score is … we should
just keep playing hard.”
As Big Ten play nears, Michi-
gan not only needs to find ways
to win, but it needs to do so coher-
ently as a unit. On Sunday, it made
a statement:
The Wolverines know exactly
who they are.
FIELD HOCKEY
TESS CROWLEY/Daily
In their blowout of Central Michigan, the Wolverines executed their “don’t let up” mentality to a T.
JENNA HICKEY/Daily
Against Bowling Green, Michigan’s offense remained dormant, taking only one shot on goal.