Weekly Release #9

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Sunday, Oct. 29 -- at Butler (Indianapolis, Ind.), 1 p.m.
Thu-Sun., Nov. 2-5 -- at Big Ten Tournament (Champaign, Ill.), TBA

This Week
The University of Michigan women's soccer team (9-7-1, 6-3-1 Big Ten) closes out the 2000 regular season with a non-conference match against Butler University on Sunday (Oct. 29) at Varsity Field in Indianapolis, Ind. The game starts at 1 p.m.

Scouting the Opponents
The Butler University Bulldogs bring a 6-8-1 record (2-2-0 MCC) into their game against Michigan. Amy Morrison, the Bulldogs' leading scorer, tops the team with 10 goals and four assists. The Bulldogs are coming off a 3-1 loss to Purdue (Oct. 22). Michigan leads the all-time series with the Bulldogs 3-2, including a 6-0 shutout last year in Ann Arbor. Butler on the Internet: www.butlersports.com.

Last Week
The Wolverines had a busy week, playing three home games in five days. Michigan faced off against Big Ten rival Northwestern (Oct. 20) and played to a 0-0, double-overtime tie. The Maize and Blue returned to action on Oct. 22, taking on non-conference opponent Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Wolverines took a 3-0 lead into halftime and held off a second-half comeback by the Panthers to win 3-2. The Wolverines closed out the 2000 home season with a 5-1 loss to the No. 1-ranked and undefeated University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Oct. 24).

Special Spaccarotella
Senior forward Marie Spaccarotella (Livonia, Mich./Churchill HS) scored the lone goal in Michigan's loss to Notre Dame, becoming only the sixth person to score on Notre Dame all season. On the season, Spaccarotella has scored four goals and two assists.

Beitel Bits
Senior All-America candidate Kacy Beitel (Midland, Mich./H.H. Dow HS) leads the Wolverines in points with 16. She has accounted for four goals and eight assists, becoming the team leader in assists. Beitel scored the first goal in the 3-2 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She also assisted junior Abby Tompkins (Grosse Pointe, Mich./University Leggett HS) on the game's third goal. In the loss to Notre Dame, Beitel assisted Marie Spaccarotella on the only Michigan goal of the game.

Freshman Fifteen
The Wolverines' second leading scorers are freshmen Stephanie Chavez (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood HS) and Amber Wilson (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West HS). Both first-year players have accounted for 15 points this season. Wilson is the team's leading goal scorer with six, including four goals in the last 10 games. Chavez is also second on the team in both goals (5) and assists (5).

Great Goalkeepers
Splitting time in net this season, freshman Suzie Grech (Narbeth, Pa./The Shipley School) and senior Carissa Stewart (Topsham, Maine/Mt. Ararat HS) have combined for a 1.60 goals against average. Grech has made 48 saves for an .828 save percentage, and Stewart is credited with 46 saves and a GAA of 1.76.

Senior Salute
Michigan saluted its tremendous senior class on Sunday (Oct. 22). Along with Carissa Stewart, Kacy Beitel and Marie Spaccarotella, the Wolverines honored Jessica Parmalee (Rochester, Mich./Aquinas Institute) and Stephanie McArdle (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet HS).

Big Ten Conference Standings (through Oct. 24)

 Big Ten Pts. Overall 1. Penn State 9-0-0 27 16-2-1 2. Wisconsin 7-3-0 21 13-5-0 3. MICHIGAN 6-3-1 19 9-7-1 4. Illinois 6-4-0 18 10-6-0 5. Michigan State 5-3-1 16 11-4-2 6. Purdue 5-5-0 15 10-6-0 Minnesota 5-5-0 15 8-8-0 Iowa 5-5-0 15 11-6-0 9. Northwestern 2-7-0 7 3-11-2 10. Indiana 1-8-1 4 7-8-1 11. Ohio State 1-9-0 3 5-12-0

On Deck
The Wolverines will travel to Champaign, Ill., for the Big Ten Tournament (Nov. 2-5). Michigan finished the regular season with a 6-3-1 conference record, and its 19 points (three for each win, one for each tie) guarantee the Wolverines at least a tie for third place. Michigan State, which hosts regular-season champion Penn State on Friday (Oct. 27), could move into a tie with the Wolverines, and the Spartans would get the tournament's No. 3 seed based on their 1-0 win over U-M on Oct. 8.

Contact: Valerie Perkin (734) 763-4423