Weekly Release #12
11/9/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Wednesday, Nov. 10 -- vs. Wright State (U-M Soccer Field), 2 p.m.
Tournament Bound
The 18th-ranked Michigan women's soccer team enters the 1999 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship this week. The Wolverines open with a 2 p.m. match in Ann Arbor on Wednesday (Nov. 10) against Wright State, the Midwestern Collegiate Conference champion. The winner of the Michigan-Wright State match will advance to face No. 15 Wake Forest on Saturday (Nov. 13) in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Scouting the Opponent ...
Wright State is 11-8-1 on the season ... the Red Raiders play in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference ... Wright State is making its second appearance in the NCAA Championship (1998) ... the Wolverines and Red Raiders did not face each other this season ... Michigan holds a 3-0-0 series advantage ... The Wolverine are 2-0 at home against the Red Raiders, winning 6-0 in 1997 and 4-1 in 1995 ... Current Wolverines vs. Wright State ... Amber Berendowsky 3-0-6, Kacy Beitel 2-0-4 ... Wright State on the Internet: www.wright.edu/athletics/wsoccer/wsoccer.htm.
Big Ten Tournament Recap
Michigan entered the Big Ten Conference Tournament (Nov. 5-7) as the No. 2 seed, on the strength of its 8-1-1 conference mark and second-place finish in the Big Ten Conference regular-season standings, and exited with its second tournament title in three years (1997). In doing so, the Wolverines became the first team in conference history to win two Big Ten Tournament titles.
The Wolverines won the title with a balanced offensive attack which netted 10 goals in the three games, including four in both the semifinals and final. Michigan was led by Kacy Beitel (Midland, Mich./H.H. Dow HS), who scored an unreal five goals and one assist for 11 points. Abby Crumpton (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams HS) added three goals and two assists for eight points and Emily Schmitt (Troy, Mich./Athens HS) contributed four assists.
Michigan opened the tournament with a 2-1 overtime win against in-state rival Michigan State. Beitel provided the Wolverines with all their offense, scoring at 28:35 of the first half to give Michigan a 1-0 lead and then adding the game-winner 3:31 into the overtime period.
In the 4-3 semifinal win over Illinois, Crumpton and Beitel pushed Michigan out to a 2-0 lead 8:26 into the match. Following an Illinois goal to cut the U-M lead to 2-1, Carly Williamson (Barrington, R.I./Barrington HS) netted her second goal of the season to give the Wolverines a 3-1 halftime advantage. The lead grew to 4-1 when Mari Hoff (Canton, Mich./Salem HS) tallied her sixth of the season at 51:50. Illinois scored at 52:05 and again at 69:13 to cut the lead to one, but could not generate the equalizer and Michigan held on for a 4-3 victory.
In the final, Michigan jumped out to an improbable 4-0 lead over No. 5 and top-seeded Penn State before holding on for a 4-2 victory. Crumpton then Beitel registered first-half tallies. The duo each added another goal in the second half to push the Michigan lead to four, before Penn State rallied for a pair of goals at 72:42 and 73:07 to close the scoring.
NCAA Championship History
This marks the third consecutive season the Wolverines have made an appearance in the NCAA postseason tournament and the second consecutive season they have opened with a home match. Michigan holds a 1-2 record in its previous two trips to the tournament. Last season, Michigan defeated Xavier 4-2 at home before falling to Notre Dame 3-0 in the second round. The Wolverines lost 5-1 at Nebraska in 1997.
Fire Away
The Wolverines set a Big Ten Conference record for most shots in a season. Michigan has fired off 483 shots, breaking the record of 457 set by the 1998 Penn State team. The Wolverines are averaging 22.0 shots per game, 1.7 ahead of the Big Ten record (20.3 spg) established by the 1996 Michigan team. Individually, Amber Berendowsky's 45 shots this season push her career total to 214, the sixth highest shot total in Big Ten history. Emily Schmitt (79) and Abby Crumpton (78) have both eclipsed the former school record for shots in a season -- 63 established by Berendowsky in 1997. Both Schmitt and Crumpton rank among the 10 highest single-season shot totals in Big Ten history, but have a ways to go to approach the conference record of 101 shots fired by Minnesota's Jennifer McElmury in 1995.
Season Games Shots Shots/G 1999 22 483 22.0 1996 20 406 20.3 1997 23 445 19.3 1994 19 364 19.2 1995 20 308 15.4 1998 22 280 12.7
Michigan When ...
The Wolverines are 11-0 when leading at the half, 8-0 when allowing 10 or fewer shots and 15-1 when scoring first.
More Team Tidbits
Michigan's offense came to life during the Big Ten Tournament (Nov. 5-7). In the three games the Wolverines netted 10 goals and registered nine assists for 29 points, an average of 3.3 goals and 9.7 points per game. Michigan entered the Big Ten Tournament averaging 2.2 goals and 6.5 points per game. The weekend raised the Wolverines' season totals to 152 points, the second highest mark in school history behind the 222 scored in 1997. Michigan's 53 goals scored are the second most by a Wolverine squad, 26 short of the school record set in 1997.
Six Named to All-Big Ten Team
Michigan placed a program-record six players on the 1999 All-Big Ten soccer team, including a conference-high four players on the first team. Kacy Beitel, Abby Crumpton, Shannon Poole and Emily Schmitt earned first team honors while Mari Hoff and Carissa Stewart gained second team recognition. Hoff made her fourth All-Big Ten team, the only Wolverine soccer player to ever receive the distinction in each of her seasons, while Beitel, a second team honoree last season, earned her second All-Big Ten distinction. Crumpton, Poole, Schmitt and Stewart all made their first appearance on an All-Big Ten team.
They Keep Going, and Going, and ...
Seniors Shannon Poole (Troy, Mich./Troy HS) and Emily Schmitt (Troy, Mich./Athens HS) have played in all 87 games during their tenure at Michigan. The two set the school record for appearances in the Alabama match (Oct. 29). Incredibly, Poole has started each of those 87 matches, breaking the school record of 82 set by Debbie Flaherty (1994-97).
Most Appearances
PLAYER (YEARS) GAMES SHANNON POOLE (1996- ) 87 EMILY SCHMITT (1996- ) 87 MARI HOFF (1996- ) 85 Debbie Flaherty (1994-97) 82 AMBER BERENDOWSKY (1996- ) 81
Assisting Her Way to the Top
Senior All-America candidate Emily Schmitt recorded four assists during the Big Ten Tournament (Nov. 5-7) and has 13 helpers on the season, the second highest single-season assist mark in Michigan history and the third most by a Big Ten Conference player in a single season. Schmitt has 19 assists for her career, one behind Debbie Flaherty (1994-97) for second on the school's all-time list. Classmate Mari Hoff has doled out 15 career assists, the fourth most by a Wolverine, two behind Jessica Limauro (1995-98) and two ahead of junior Kacy Beitel. Quietly, freshman Abby Crumpton has accumulated seven assists on the season, tied for the third highest single-season total by a Wolverine. Amber Berendowsky, who has a share of the Big Ten Conference career assists mark, holds the school records with 31 career assists and 17 assists in 1997.
Most Career Assists
PLAYER (YEARS) ASSISTS AMBER BERENDOWSKY (1996- ) 31 Debbie Flaherty (1994-97) 20 EMILY SCHMITT (1996-) 19 Jessica Limauro (1995-98) 17 MARI HOFF (1996- ) 15 KACY BEITEL (1997- ) 13
Most Single-Season Assists
PLAYER ASSISTS (YEAR) Amber Berendowsky 17 (1997) EMILY SCHMITT 13 (1999) ABBY CRUMPTON 7 (1999) Jessica Limauro 7 (1998) Debbie Flaherty 7 (1997) Debbie Flaherty 7 (1994)
Beitel Big Time In Big Ten Tournament
Junior All-America candidate Kacy Beitel (Midland, Mich./H.H. Dow HS) finished with a Big Ten Tournament-high five goals and 11 points in Michigan's three-match run to the title (Nov. 5-7). Beitel, an All-Big Ten First Team honoree, has netted a team-high 14 goals and 32 points on the season, the third most points by a Wolverine and tied for the second highest single-season goals total. The torrid weekend pushed Beitel's career totals to 33 goals and 79 points. Her 33 goals are the second most by a Wolverine and the seventh most in Big Ten history, while the 79 points are tied with Jessica Limauro (1995-98) for the second highest total by a Wolverine and the 10th highest in Big Ten history. Amber Berendowsky holds the school's career scoring records with 39 goals and 109 points.
Most Career Points
PLAYER (YEARS) POINTS AMBER BERENDOWSKY (1996- ) 109 Jessica Limauro (1995-98) 79 KACY BEITEL (1997- ) 79 Ruth Poulin (1994-97) 72 Debbie Flaherty (1994-97) 62 EMILY SCHMITT (1996- ) 60
Consistent Crumpton
Freshman Abby Crumpton, an All-Big Ten First Team honoree, had her best performance of the season in the Big Ten Tournament final, with two goals and an assist in Michigan's 4-2 victory over top-seeded Penn State (Nov. 7). In the three games of the tournament she scored three goals and two assists for eight points, raising her season totals to 12 goals, seven assists and 31 points. Crumpton needs just two goals and two points to tie the Michigan records for goals (14) and points (33) by a freshman. Both marks were established by Kacy Beitel during the 1997 season.
Most Goals (Freshman Season)
PLAYER GOALS (YEAR) Kacy Beitel 14 (1997) ABBY CRUMPTON 12 (1999) Mari Hoff 8 (1996) Amber Berendowsky 7 (1996) Ruth Poulin 7 (1994) Marie Spaccarotella 6 (1996)
Most Points (Freshman Season)
PLAYER POINTS (YEAR) Kacy Beitel 33 (1997) ABBY CRUMPTON 31 (1999) Amber Berendowsky 19 (1996) Mari Hoff 17 (1996) Ruth Poulin 15 (1994) Debbie Flaherty 15 (1994)
Captain Schmitt Leads the Way
Senior All-America candidate Emily Schmitt dished out an assist in each of Michigan's three Big Ten Tournament wins to tie a career-long three-match scoring streak. Schmitt, who had two three-match scoring streaks earlier in the season, has recorded a point in six of Michigan's last seven games. Further, with 15 shots during the tournament Schmitt is just two shot attempts shy of becoming the second Wolverine and 11th member of the Big Ten Conference to fire off 200 career shots.
Stewart Closes in on 2,000
Junior goaltender Carissa Stewart (Topsham, Maine/Mt. Ararat HS), who recorded her 30th career victory in Michigan's Big Ten Tournament first-round win over Michigan State (Nov. 5), needs 38:12 more minutes in net to become the first Wolverine netminder to reach the 2,000-minute mark in a single season. Stewart made nine saves during the tournament to raise her career total to 206, 17 saves behind Jessica Jones' (1995-98) school record of 223 stops. Her 81 saves this season are the third highest total by a Wolverine, eight behind Jones' school record of 89 in 1996.
Single-Season Saves
PLAYER SAVES (YEAR) Jessica Jones 89 (1996) Jori Welchans 85 (1994) CARISSA STEWART 81 (1999) Carissa Stewart 65 (1998) Jori Welchans 64 (1995)
Another Big Ten Record for Berendowsky
Senior forward Amber Berendowsky's assist on Michigan's second goal against Butler (Oct. 24) moved her career total to a Big Ten-record 31, tied with Penn State's Rachel Hoffman (1994-97). Berendowsky finished the game with a goal and assist for three points, moving her career total to 109, one ahead of Penn State's Carole Dutchka (1995-98) for the third most points in conference history. Berendowsky also owns the conference records for points in a season (53 in 1997) and goals in a season (18 in 1997).
Final Polls
The Michigan women's soccer team placed in at No. 18 in the final NSCAA soccer rankings of the 1999 season. The Wolverines moved up a slot in the regional rankings, tying with Kentucky for second in the Great Lakes Region. Michigan jumped four slots in the Nov. 8 Soccer Buzz rankings, moving into No. 18. The Wolverines reappeared in the Soccer America poll at No. 17, the first time Michigan has appeared in the poll since Aug. 30, when it ranked in at No. 16. Soccer Times ranked the Wolverines No. 21 in the Oct. 31 poll.
NSCAA/adidas Division I National Ranking (11/8/99 -- Final)
School Record Pts LW 1. Santa Clara 20-0-0 300 1 2. Florida 21-1-0 285 2 3. North Carolina 19-2-0 275 3 4. Nebraska 20-1-1 268 4 5. Notre Dame 18-3-0 250 6 6. Penn State 18-3-1 241 5 7. Harvard 14-1-1 217 9 8. Stanford 14-4-1 212 7 Clemson 13-6-1 212 8 10. William & Mary 18-3-1 180 12 11. Texas A&M 15-4-1 175 10 12. Connecticut 15-7-0 167 13 13. Kentucky 16-2-1 162 14 14. UCLA 14-4-1 149 20 15. Wake Forest 15-6-1 144 15 16. Virginia 12-8-0 135 16 17. Southern Cal 14-5-0 119 11 18. MICHIGAN 16-5-1 112 18 19. SMU 15-5-1 90 19 20. San Diego 15-4-0 75 17 21. Missouri 14-7-1 63 25 22. Duke 12-9-0 40 21 23. Brigham Young 20-3-0 34 23 24. Dartmouth 9-7-1 28 24 25. Maryland 10-9-1 23 NR
Contact: Jay Levin (734) 763-4423
