Weekly Release #10
10/24/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Oct. 27 -- at Dayton (Dayton, Ohio), 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 29 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 1 p.m. CST
Saturday, Nov. 4 -- vs. Ohio State (Elbel Field), 1 p.m.
This Week
The University of Michigan men's soccer team (5-7, 0-4 Big Ten) has two away games this week. The first is a match on Friday (Oct. 27) against the Dayton Flyers in Dayton, Ohio, at 5:30 p.m. U-M will then head to Northwestern for its last road conference game of the season, on Sunday (Oct. 27) at 1 p.m. CST at Lakeside Field in Evanston, Ill. The Wolverines are looking to crack the win column in Big Ten play.
Scouting the Opponents
Dayton -- Dayton is 12-3-0 overall and 7-1 in the Atlantic 10 standings for first place in the conference. U-M is the second Big Ten opponent for the Flyers, as they lost 3-1 to Ohio State back on Sept. 8. Dayton and Michigan have shared two opponents so far this season in Oakland and Bowling Green. The Flyers won both contests, 2-1 and 3-1, respectively. U-M tied Oakland 3-3 in an exhibition game (Aug. 29), and lost a 2-0 decision to Bowling Green (Sept. 28). Dayton is led by RJ Kaszuba with 16 goals and 37 points this year. Sunday Isename and Patrick Wirtz give the Flyers a balanced attack as Isename adds nine goals, while Wirtz leads the team with nine assists. Matt Hutchins is 10-3 in goal, with a 1.17 goals against average. Dayton on the Internet: www.DaytonFlyers.com.
Northwestern -- Northwestern is 0-14, 0-4 in Big Ten play. The Wildcats have been outscored 45-15 on the season. On the offensive side, Ian Herrick and Brandon Swalve have two goals apiece this season. Paul VanHuysen has a team high three assists for the Wildcats. Chris Berlin leads the Big Ten in saves with 72, but does post a 3.37 goals against average per contest. Northwestern on the Internet: www.nusports.com.
Last Week
Michigan went 1-1 for the week, with a 4-1 loss at Wisconsin (Oct. 20) and a 3-2 win at home against Drury College (Oct. 22). The Wolverines matched the Badgers in shots (17) in the losing effort. The Maize and Blue held Wisconsin scoreless for the first half of play but went down 2-0 on consecutive goals by Badger Dominic DaPra at 54:17 and 80:40. Ryan Yoder (Whitehouse, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit HS) retaliated 37 seconds after DaPra's second goal to cut the lead to 2-1, but the Wolverine comeback was halted when the Badgers scored twice in the last four minutes of play.
The Wolverines got back on the winning side with a 3-2 victory over Drury College in front of 516 fans on Elbel Field. Michigan had a trio of goals in the first half and let its defense hold off a Panther surge late in the second half to win the match. Mike White (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS), Tom Gritter (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) and Kevin Taylor (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) each had a goal in the first period. Drury scored the only goal of the second half at the 76:28 mark to cut the lead to 3-2. Brad King (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern HS) stepped up late in the game with a diving save of a game-tying attempt in the 79th minute, and made four saves in the period to keep Michigan on top.
Quick Strike
Mike White's second goal of the season vs. Drury College (Oct. 22) was the fastest goal in U-M history to start a game (1:18). Ryan Yoder had his first career goal against Wisconsin (Oct. 20). The goal came 37 seconds after the Badgers had a goal of their own, making Yoder's strike the fastest counter goal in Michigan history.
Going the Distance
Brad King made his third consecutive start in goal, against Drury College (Oct. 22), and made six saves to pick up the first complete-game victory of his career. King has a .718 save percentage and is allowing 2.43 goals per contest.
Hat Trick
The three goals by U-M against Drury College (Oct. 22) was the third time this season that the Maize and Blue has put that many balls in the net in a game. It was also the first time Michigan has scored three goals in a period. The previous two times the Wolverines scored three goals came against Cleveland State (Sept. 5) and at Western Michigan (Oct. 4), both of which were overtime matches. Michigan is unbeaten this season when scoring three goals (3-0-0).
Points Leader
Tom Gritter scored his fourth goal of the season against Drury College (Oct. 22) to take over the team lead in that category. He now also leads the team in points with nine. Kevin Taylor and Kevin Robinson (Caro, Mich./Faith Baptist HS) are right behind Gritter with eight points, each tallying three goals and two assists. Ian Hirschfield (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Pine Crest HS) maintains the team lead in assists with three. Nine different U-M players have recorded at least one point this season.
Big Ten Conference Standings (through 10/23/00)
Big Ten Pct. Pts. Overall Pct. 1. Indiana 6-0-0 1.000 18 13-3-0 .813 2. Michigan State 3-1-1 .700 10 8-5-1 .607 3. Penn State 3-2-1 .583 10 10-4-1 .700 4. Wisconsin 2-2-0 .500 3 9-6-1 .594 5. Ohio State 1-2-2 .400 5 7-3-4 .643 6. MICHIGAN 0-4-0 .000 0 5-7-0 .417 Northwestern 0-4-0 .000 0 0-14-0 .000
Championship Experience
The Maize and Blue roster includes 13 players from last year's U-M club team: Andrew Balazer, Albert Geldres, Dave George, Steve Huber, JJ Kern, Matt Murch, Pat Murphy, Brian Peters, Will Purdy, Jack Stead, Mahesh Subramanian, Steve Walton and Ryan Yoder. Michigan won back-to-back club national titles in 1997 and 1998 led by coach Steve Burns.
Been a While
Michigan men's soccer is in its first season after being granted varsity status in March 1999. The last Michigan men's sport to be added as a varsity program was men's gymnastics in 1948.
Contact: Steve Grialou (734) 763-4423
