Michigan
Oakland
U-M Ends Regular Season with Home Win Over Oakland
11/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
| | Hirschfield netted his first goal since scoring U-M's first varsity tally on Sept. 1, 2000. |
Michigan had a chance to take a one-goal advantage at the 30:06 mark when junior defender Kevin Taylor (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) sent a throw in through the Oakland goal mouth. Jeff Wiese, the Grizzlies keeper, allowed the ball to hit the ground and it bounced up to freshman midfielder Adam Bruh (Roselyn Heights, N.Y./Wheatley HS), who was standing three yards away. Bruh put his head into the ball, however, Wiese made up for his miscue and caught the ball before it found the back of the net.
The Grizzlies took a 1-0 lead at 61:28 as Ryan Rzepka capitalized on an Oakland corner kick from Vollen. Vollen sent the ball through to the far post where Rzepka outjumped a Michigan defender and headed the ball to Dzubay's left.
Michigan netted the equalizer less than four minutes later as Hirschfield scored his first goal of the season. Tom Gritter (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) began the play with a through ball to Mike White (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS). White spread the Oakland defense as he carried the ball to the end line before he passed it to Hirschfield in open space from five yards out.
It was Hirshfield's first tally since he netted the varsity program's first goal. In Michigan's inaugural match, a 1-0 win against DePaul (Sept. 1, 2000), Hirschfield scored the game-winner at 4:36 in the first half. It took him 30 games to score the second goal of his career.
Robinson tallied the game-winner at 74:11 to extend his points streak to five games. Ryan Sterba's (Westlake, Ohio/ St. Ignatius HS) throw-in was misplayed along the left sideline by an Oakland defender, which allowed Robinson to one-touch the ball to his feet. Twenty-five yards away from the goal, Robinson found the keeper off line and sent a rocket to the far post for his second consecutive game-winning goal at the U-M Soccer Field.
The Wolverines have to wait until the conclusion of Sunday's (Nov. 10) Ohio State at Northwestern match to find out their seed for next week's Big Ten Conference Tournament (Nov. 14-17) in State College, Pa. If the Buckeyes do not defeat the Wildcats by four goals or more the Wolverines will be the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and will face Northwestern in the first round.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Oakland | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Michigan | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
2nd -- Oakland, Ryan Rzepka, 61:28 (Anders Vollen)
2nd -- U-M, Ian Hirschfield, 65:13 (Mike White, Tom Gritter)
2nd -- U-M, Kevin Robinson, 74:11 (Ryan Sterba)
Shots: U-M 9, Oakland 12
Saves: U-M 8 (Peter Dzubay), Oakland 4 (Jeff Wiese)
Corners: U-M 3, Oakland 5
Fouls: U-M 30, Oakland 21
Cards: U-M, Hirschfield, 55:43 (yellow)
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Steve Burns
On the game ... "I think we played a very good Oakland team today and it was good for our boys to figure out how to win a tough game like this heading into the Big Ten Tournament."
On the offense ... "At halftime I told the team that we were playing very stagnant on offense and we needed to pick it up a notch. Ian Hirschfield gave us a great boost of the bench because he is a player that has his engine going at all times. It was good to see him contribute the way he did with his goal there. That is great for his confidence and also the confidence of this team heading into next week."
On Kevin Robinson ... "I am glad to see him step up the way he has in Knox Cameron's absence. The challenge was out there for our entire team as to who was going to step up and Kevin has been that person. He has provided a immediate impact for us off the bench; now we are going to ask him to do that as a starter for us down at the Big Ten Tournament."
On finally beating Oakland ... "I have been playing Oakland for 18 years now, some as a player and coach when the program was at the club level and now three years as a coach on the varsity level, and this is the first time we have been able to beat them. I have great respect for Coach (Gary) Parsons and consider him one of my mentors. Hopefully now the tides have turned."
Freshman Goalkeeper Peter Dzubay
On the game ... "I have to give my defense credit; they played great in front of me today. It was a very close game today and those are the games that I like, the ones where I have to be active and make a few saves."
Junior Forward Kevin Robinson
On his goal ... "I talked to my dad this morning at 10 a.m. and he told me just to take the shot when I had it, so that is what I did. I took the shot like he told me to and I scored."
N O T E S
Peter Dzubay improved to 6-1-1 with victory over Oakland. The freshman made eight saves to remain unbeaten in seven consecutive starts.
Ian Hirschfield scored his second career goal and first of the season. It was his first goal since he netted the program's first tally in its inaugural varsity match against DePaul on Sept. 1, 2000.
Kevin Robinson has a scored a point in Michigan's last five matches. Robinson began the streak at Illinois-Chicago (Oct. 25) with his first goal of the season.
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
