Michigan
Oakland (ex)
U-M Earns Tie at Oakland with Aggressive Second Half
8/29/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Michigan fell behind 2-0 in the first half. At the 13-minute mark, Oakland's Chris King scored on a corner kick. Later, King scored again on another corner kick at 26:00 to give Oakland a 2-0 lead.
The Maize and Blue took a little momentum into halftime when Mike White (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) scored the first goal in Michigan varsity history (although unofficial since it occured in an exhibition), on an indirect free kick from JJ Kern (Trenton, Mich./Lake Orion HS) with 39:00 on the clock.
The Wolverines changed strategies at halftime and came out playing more physically. But the change in play resulted in a clipping foul, and on a direct free kick from 19 yards out, Paul Snape bent the ball in to increase Oakland's lead to 3-1.
Michigan's aggressiveness did not stop, however. Three minutes later, Ryan Yoder (Whitehouse, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit HS) caught a pass from Robert Turpin (Pontiac, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit HS) on a counter attack breakaway and finished off the goal to cut the lead to 3-2. At the 65:00 mark, Turpin got a goal of his own with an assist from Kevin Taylor (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) on another counter attack to tie the game, 3-3.
In the final 25 minutes of the game, Oakland and Michigan went back and forth, but both defenses held strong to maintain a final tie.
"It was a great battle that we controlled the last 25 minutes of the game," said coach Steve Burns, "so I am proud the way our players recognized how to play versus a good team. Oakland most likely will make the NCAA Tournament this year."
Burns and his team were able to take many positives away from the game. "We had a young team that played versus an older more experienced team," admitted Burns. "So that makes me happy with the results. Our eyes got a little smaller tonight, not as big. We are understanding the physical college game, and that is our goal."
This was the second and final exhibition game for the Wolverines. The first regular-season game in Michigan men's soccer varsity history is against DePaul University on Friday, Sept. 1, at Elbel Field in Ann Arbor. Game time is 7 p.m.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Michigan | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Oakland | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Shots: U-M 7, Oakland 10
Fouls: U-M 18, Oakland 16
N O T E S
-- Sophomore Joey Iding (Lansing, Mich./Lansing Catholic Central HS) suffered a knee injury in the game. The prognosis and how long he will be out of action are uncertain.
Contact: Steve Grialou (734) 763-4423
