Weekly Release #14
11/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
NCAA Tournament
Sunday, Nov. 23 -- at Connecticut in NCAA Third Round (Storrs, Conn.), noon
Fri-Sun., Nov. 28-Nov. 30 -- NCAA Quarterfinals (campus sites)
Friday, Dec. 5 -- NCAA Semifinals (Cary, N.C.)
Sunday, Dec. 7 -- NCAA Championship (Cary, N.C.)
This Week
The University of Michigan women's soccer team (11-7-6) will make its second straight trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament this weekend, visiting the University of Connecticut on Sunday (Nov. 23) in Storrs, Conn. Game time is set for noon at Morrone Stadium. Should the Wolverines advance, they will face the winner of BYU/Villanova next weekend (Nov. 28-30) in the quarterfinals (date, site and time to be determined).
Scouting Connecticut
The host Huskies, who are ranked 18th in the nation, hold a 12-5-3 record in 2003. UConn defeated Boston University (1-0) and Central Connecticut State (3-2, 2OT) last weekend to advance. The Huskies are led by Big East Offensive Player of the Year Kristen Graczyk, who is the school's all-time leading point scorer (100). The junior leads the team with 16 goals and 10 assists in 20 games this year. Connecticut has outscored its opponents 44-19 this season, while goalkeeper Erin Rice has allowed 18 goals (0.92 GAA). This will be the first meeting between the two schools. Connecticut on the Internet: www.uconnhuskies.com.
Big Ten Representation
The Wolverines are one of three Big Ten Conference teams left in the NCAA Tournament. Penn State, the No. 5 seed, will take on Texas A&M after earning victories over Navy and Rutgers last weekend. Purdue is still alive after defeating DePaul and Western Michigan.
Michigan in the NCAA Tournament
U-M is competing in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh consecutive season. The Wolverines are 9-6 all-time in NCAA competition, having advanced to the second round every season since 1998, including a quarterfinal appearance last year. Michigan lost its first-round contest in 1997, the first year the Maize and Blue qualified for postseason play.
| DATE | OPPONENT | RESULT | SCORE |
| 2003 | |||
| Nov. 14 | vs. Oakland | W | 1-0 |
| Nov. 16 | at Notre Dame | W | 1-0 |
| 2002 | |||
| Nov. 15 | Oakland | W | 1-0 |
| Nov. 17 | Miami (Ohio) | W | 4-0 |
| Nov. 23 | Pepperdine | W | 2-0 |
| Nov. 30 | at Santa Clara | L | 1-3 |
| 2001 | |||
| Nov. 16 | at Marquette | W | 1-0 |
| Nov. 18 | vs. Dartmouth | L | 0-1 |
| 2000 | |||
| Nov. 8 | vs. Miami (Ohio) | W | 4-3 ot |
| Nov. 12 | at Notre Dame | L | 1-3 |
| 1999 | |||
| Nov. 10 | Wright State | W | 5-0 |
| Nov. 13 | at Wake Forest | L | 0-1 |
| 1998 | |||
| Nov. 11 | Xavier | W | 4-2 |
| Nov. 15 | at Notre Dame | L | 0-3 |
| 1997 | |||
| Nov. 16 | at Nebraska | L | 0-5 |
Last Week
In the NCAA second round on Sunday (Nov. 16), Michigan had just one shot on goal at No. 4 Notre Dame, but Stephanie Chavez (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood HS) made it count. Chavez scored at 51:38 off a corner kick from junior Robyn Vince (Holt, Mich./Holt HS) and the Wolverines kept the Irish off the board for a 1-0 triumph. Freshman goalkeeper Megan Tuura (Tucker, Ga./St. Pius X Catholic HS) made six saves as U-M beat Notre Dame (20-3-1) on its home field for the second time in three weeks. On Friday (Nov. 14), sophomore forward Katie Kramer (Andover, Mass./Andover HS) scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season midway through the second half to lift U-M to a 1-0 win over Oakland in the first round. Kramer's goal came at 62:45, assisted by junior Laura Tanchon (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) (first of the season) and freshman Judy Coffman (San Jose, Calif./Santa Theresa HS) (second of the season), and Michigan's defense made the lone goal stand up as Tuura made five saves and collected her fourth shutout of the year.
Big Ten Tournament
The Wolverines turned a few heads at the 2003 Big Ten Tournament (Nov. 6-9) in Madison Wis., earning two solid victories to advance to the championship final against Illinois. Michigan, the No. 4 seed in the eight-team field, defeated No. 5 seed Wisconsin 2-1 in two overtimes on Thursday (Nov. 6) behind two goals from Katie Kramer. Kramer scored early in the first half and added the game-winner late in the second extra period to send U-M to the semifinals. Freshman goalkeeper Megan Tuura made seven saves in the win. In the semifinal match against No. 8 seed Wisconsin on Friday (Nov. 7), junior midfielder Theresa Dwyer (Metairie, La./Mount Carmel Academy) notched her first goal of the season to lead the Wolverines to a 1-0 victory. The Michigan defense held the Badgers to just six shots in the game, including just one in the final 45 minutes to help preserve the win. The Wolverines' bid at the tournament title was halted by the No. 2 seed Fighting Illini on Sunday (Nov. 9), as Illinois scored two goals in the final 10 minutes to run away with a 2-0 win. With the loss, Michigan fell to 2-2 in Big Ten Tournament finals.
All-Tournament Tandem
Senior forward Stephanie Chavez and freshman defender Brenna Mulholland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) were named to the 2003 Big Ten All-Tournament Team following the championship match between Michigan and Illinois (Nov. 9). Chavez recorded a team-high seven shots over the three games, while Mulholland played a significant role in the Michigan defense, which allowed just three goals in the tournament. Both Chavez and Mulholland started all three contests in which U-M played.
Cottrell Nabs All-Freshman Team Accolades
Freshman defender Lindsey Cottrell (Kalamazoo, Mich./Central HS) was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, selected by the league coaches and announced Wednesday (Nov. 5). Cottrell has been an integral part of a strong U-M defensive corps that has allowed just 23 goals in 24 games this season. Cottrell has started 17 games in the backfield in her first season with the Wolverines.
Heaton Earns Academic Distinction
Sophomore forward Therese Heaton (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South HS) was selected to the Academic All-District IV third team by the College Sports Information Directors of America last Thursday (Nov. 6). Heaton is enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts and has not declared a major. She has played in 24 games for U-M this season and ranks fifth on the team in points, notching two goals and three assists for seven points.
Kramer Continues Late-Season Surge
Katie Kramer continued her late-season heroics with the game-winning goal against Oakland in the first round (Nov. 14). It was her fourth game-winner of the season. Kramer paced the Michigan offense at the Big Ten Tournament with a two-goal performance against Ohio State in the quarterfinal round (Nov. 6). Kramer notched the first goal of the game at 8:40 when she collected an open ball at the top left of the box, turned and sent a nice shot into the top right corner past the arms of OSU goalkeeper Emily Haynam. After a Buckeye goal in the second half sent the game to extra periods, Kramer scored the game-winner in a scramble in front of the net at 105:08 to give the Wolverines a 2-1 victory and a trip to the semifinal round against Wisconsin. Kramer, who has tallied five goals in Michigan's last eight games, ranks second on the team in points this season with 13 (six goals, one assist). Her multi-goal game against OSU was the first of her career and the first by a Wolverine this season.
Third Time is Really A Charm
Theresa Dwyer's third career goal might have been the biggest for the Wolverines at the Big Ten Tournament. With time winding down on the first-half clock against Wisconsin (Nov. 7), the Wolverines were threatening down on the left side of the Badgers' end. Dwyer chased a ball down the left side and made a cross back to Therese Heaton. Dwyer stuck with the play and cut toward the right endline, where Heaton fed the ball back to her. Dwyer corralled the pass and lofted a shot near the far post, where the ball deflected off the upper post and back into the net to lead Michigan to the 1-0 win. The junior's goal was her first of the season and the third of her career. All three of those goals have been game-winners. In 42 career games, Dwyer has recorded three goals and three assists for nine points.
Holding Her Own
Megan Tuura continues to make strides in her first season in net for the Wolverines, as the freshman has allowed just 10 goals in more than 1,510 minutes of action this season (0.60 GAA). Tuura, who holds an 8-3-5 record, including five shutouts, capped off a remarkable regular season with a career-high eight saves in the win at then No. 2 Notre Dame (Oct. 29). Tuura, who earned Big Ten co-Defensive Player of the Week honors (Sept. 29), ranked first in GAA for regular-season conference games (0.35) and third in Big Ten shutouts (two) during the regular season.
Meet the Coach
In 10 seasons at the helm of the women's soccer program, Debbie Rademacher has posted a career record of 129-73-19, including a Big Ten mark of 50-29-11. She has led her team to seven consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to the quarterfinal round in 2002. Rademacher reached her 125th career victory with a 3-2 upset over No. 2-ranked Notre Dame on Oct. 29, 2003. In 2001, she reached her fourth major coaching milestone with her 100th win on Nov. 3 against Western Michigan. Rademacher has coached her teams to Big Ten Tournament championships in 1997 and 1999 and was named the Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year by the NSCAA in 1997.
Michigan Against Ranked Opponents
With a 1-0 victory over No. 4-ranked Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA Tournament (Nov. 16), the Wolverines earned their third win of the season against a nationally ranked opponent. U-M's two other wins over a ranked foes came on Nov. 6, defeating then No. 20-ranked Ohio State 2-1, and on Oct. 29, when Michigan upset then No. 2-ranked Notre Dame 3-2. Earlier in the season, the Wolverines earned ties against Brigham Young (No. 24), Ohio State (No. 12) and Purdue (No. 17). Michigan was unable to upend Southern Cal (No. 15), Penn State (No. 16) and Illinois (No. 11) this year, which brings its season record against ranked teams to 3-3-3.
Overtime Bring It On...
The Maize and Blue has not allowed a game-ending goal in eight overtimes this season. Three games have ended in scoreless draws, while three others have ended in 1-1 ties.
Stephanie Chavez netted a game-winner against Michigan State at home (Oct. 24) for U-M's first overtime win of 2003, while Katie Kramer scored in the second extra period to send Michigan to a 2-1 victory over Ohio State in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament (Nov. 6). The Wolverines are 2-0-6 in overtime games this season.
Wolverines Break Back Into Top 25
After reaching the final of the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan earned its first appearance in the NSCAA/adidas national rankings (Nov. 10) since the preseason rankings were released Aug. 18. U-M holds the 24th spot in the rankings after victories in eight of its last 10 games. The Wolverines did not earn a spot in the previous week's rankings (Nov. 3) but did receive votes after defeating then No. 2-ranked Notre Dame in their regular-season finale.
NSCAA/adidas National Poll (Final Regular Season)
RANK, TEAM RECORD LAST 1. North Carolina 21-0-0 1 2. UCLA 16-1-3 2 3. Santa Clara 12-3-5 4 4. Notre Dame 19-2-1 3 5. Portland 16-3-1 6 6. Penn State 16-2-3 7 7. Tennessee 15-4-2 18 8. Florida 16-3-2 8 9. Illinois 16-3-2 11 10. West Virginia 15-3-2 10 11. Colorado 15-3-1 5 12. Florida State 13-7-1 19 13. Boston College 15-2-3 22 14. Utah 16-2-1 17 15. Villanova 14-5-3 NR 16. Kansas 16-5-1 21 17. Cal Poly-SLO 18-1-2 24 18. Duke 13-6-1 NR 19. Connecticut 10-5-3 15 20. Virginia 12-5-2 9 21. Nebraska 12-7-1 NR 22. Arizona State 12-4-3 NR 23. Texas A&M 12-5-2 14 24. MICHIGAN 9-7-6 NR 25. Ohio State 12-4-3 20
U-M Earns Season-High Regional Ranking
With a successful weekend at the Big Ten Tournament, the Wolverines were awarded with a No. 3 ranking in the NSCAA/adidas Great Lakes Regional Rankings (Nov. 10). It marks Michigan's highest regional ranking of the season. The Wolverines defeated regional foes Oakland and Notre Dame, who are ranked No. 6 and No. 1, respectively, last weekend to advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
NSCAA/adidas Regional Poll (Final Regular Season)
RANK, TEAM RECORD LAST 1. Notre Dame 19-2-1 1 2. Illinois 16-3-2 2 3. MICHIGAN 9-7-6 4 4. Ohio State 12-4-3 3 5. Purdue 12-5-3 5 6. Oakland 15-4-1 6 7. Dayton 14-5-2 8 8. Michigan State 12-8-0 7 9. Wisconsin 10-9-2 8 10. DePaul 14-6-2 NR
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
