Michigan
Northwestern
Michigan Blanks Northwestern in Big Ten Home Opener
9/23/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's soccer team opened its home Big Ten Conference schedule with a 1-0 shutout over the Northwestern Wildcats on Sunday (Sept. 23) at the U-M Soccer Field. The win is Michigan's fifth of the season and fifth at home, as well as its fourth shutout of the season.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Joe Zawacki (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) added his name to the Michigan record book again as he registered his fifth win of the season. The old record was held by Albert Geldres (four). Zawacki made five saves on the day, none more important than when he laid out and turned away David DeHorn at point blank range 18 minutes into the game.
The game was scoreless until the 72nd minute when Mike White (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) tipped a pass to junior forward Jody Keeling (Odessa, Fla./Berkeley Preparatory), who put it past Ryan Pederson for his second career goal and the only goal of the game. White had possession of the ball at the top of the box, which drew two defenders his way. Keeling read the play perfectly and slipped into the empty zone where White found him for a one-timer into the left side of the net.
Michigan was issued two yellow cards, one to junior Robert Turpin (Pontiac, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) and one to White, both for unsportsmanlike conduct. Northwestern was issued one yellow card as well, to DeHorn for tripping at 59:40. Michigan accumulated 24 fouls and Northwestern was called for 11.
Michigan looks to continue its winning ways when it faces the University of Dayton at Pioneer High School on Friday (Sept. 28) at 7 p.m.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Northwestern | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Jody Keeling, 72:34 (Mike White)
Shots: U-M 18, NU 11
Saves: U-M 5 (Joe Zawacki), NU 7 (Ryan Pederson)
Corner Kicks: U-M 10, NU 3
Fouls: U-M 24, NU 11
Cards: U-M, Robert Turpin, 55:13 (yellow); U-M, Mike White, 56:21 (yellow); NU, David DeHorn, 59:40 (yellow)
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Steve Burns
On his feelings about the game ... "It was a game where we kept our confidence and we kept our composure, and sometimes when you outplay a team -- and Northwestern is solid -- and you don't score, you lose your composure and you lose your confidence. Cracks suddenly start to appear, and it didn't happen today for our guys. The fact that we can win a game like this just lends credibility to the fact that our team is growing."
On the defense ... "It was a little difficult in that it was called real tight by the referees and we had to make some adjustments. We like to think that in the Big Ten games they'll let us play a little bit more, but the guys did a good job of adjusting to that."
On the speed of his players ... "It's there, but we have to take advantage of it. In the first half we were so comfortable playing short and possessing that we didn't take advantage of a lot of the more direct play that was available."
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
