Weekly Release #14
11/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Upcoming Schedule ...
Tuesday, Nov. 23 -- at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.), 7 p.m.
Sat-Sun., Nov. 27-28 -- NCAA Third Round (Campus Sites)
Fri-Sun., Dec. 3-5 -- NCAA Quarterfinals (Campus Sites)
Friday, Dec. 10 -- NCAA College Cup Semifinals (Carson, Calif.)
Sunday, Dec. 11 -- NCAA College Cup Final (Carson, Calif.)
This Week
The University of Michigan men's soccer team will travel to Bloomington, Ind., to face Big-Ten rival Indiana in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Indiana beat Michigan earlier in the season with a 2-1 decision on Oct. 10. The match will be played at Armstrong Stadium.
Michigan and the NCAAs
For the second straight year, the Wolverines will play in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. This year, Michigan advanced to the second round with a 2-1 victory over Akron on Nov. 19 at the U-M Soccer Field. Ryan Sterba (Westlake, Ohio/St. Ignatius HS) scored the game winner and goalkeeper Peter Dzubay (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview HS) made eight saves for the Wolverines. Last season, Michigan earned their first NCAA bid, advancing to the quarterfinals before being eliminated. As the No. 12 seed, Michigan earned a first-round bye and faced St. Peter's in the second round. The Wolverines earned a 6-2 victory behind a pair of goals from both Mychal Turpin (Pontiac, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit HS) and Chris Glinski (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes HS). In the third round, the Wolverines tied Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., but advanced with a 4-3 victory in penalty kicks. Michigan's tournament run ended in Santa Clara, Calif., when the Wolverines suffered a 3-1 defeat to the Broncos in Buck Shaw Stadium. Overall, Michigan has a 2-1-1 record in the NCAA Tournament.
Sterba Pushes Wolverines Past Akron in NCAA Opener
In muddy conditions, Michigan notched a 2-1 victory over Akron on Friday (Nov. 19) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The score was knotted at 1-1 at the half, but a goal from Ryan Sterba -- the first of his U-M career -- at 58:50 proved to be the game-winner for Michigan. Trai Blanks, who assisted on Sterba's goal, scored the other goal for the Wolverines (11-7-4). In net for the Wolverines, Peter Dzubay tied a season high with eight saves, including one with less than 30 seconds to play to preserve the victory.
Scouting the Opponents
Indiana -- The Hoosiers earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and are ranked sixth nationally after posting a 14-4-1 record in the regular season under first-year head coach Mike Freitag. IU is led by Hermann Trophy candidates Drew Moor and Danny O'Rourke. Offensively, Jacob Peterson leads the way with 18 points on eight goals and two assists and defensively goalkeeper Jay Nolly has 43 saves and a 0.66 goals against average. Michigan is 0-6 all-time against Indiana, including a 2-1 loss on the road this season. Indiana on the Web: www.iuhoosiers.com.
Last Time Against Indiana
Michigan opened its Big Ten Conference schedule with a 2-1 loss on Oct. 10 to Indiana at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Hoosiers scored early in the second half to take a 1-0 lead and then added a goal at 84:14 to seal the victory. Senior Mychal Turpin scored the lone goal for U-M in the final minute of play. Goalkeeper Joe Zawacki (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) made three saves in net for the Wolverines.
Not Shooting Blanks Anymore
Entering their first round match against Akron, Michigan had scored only one goal in its past five games. The lone tally, from Knox Cameron (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman HS), broke a 466:18 minute scoreless streak for the Wolverines. However, Michigan got its offense going in the NCAA Tournament scoring a pair of goals against Akron in the first round. Trai Blanks scored the first U-M goal to give Michigan a 1-0 lead and Ryan Sterba scored the game-winner in the second half with his first career goal to give Michigan a 2-1 victory.
Crazy Eights
Peter Dzubay tied a season high with eight saves in U-M's first round match against Akron. The performance marked the third time this season Dzubay has made eight saves in a game. He also had eight stops in U-M's 3-2 overtime loss to Michigan State (Oct. 17) and in Michigan's 0-0 tie with Penn State (Oct. 31).
I've Got This One
Ryan Sterba's game-winning goal against Akron in the first round of the NCAA Tournament was the first goal of his career. Sterba entered the match with 11 career points, all on assists, and led the team this season with seven helpers. He now has 13 career points on one goal and 11 assists.
Blanks-ing the Zips
Trai Blanks tied a career high with three points in U-M's first round match against Akron. Blanks scored U-M's first goal of the match and then assists on the game-winning tally to Ryan Sterba. The only other three-point output of Blanks career came in U-M's previous match against Akron on Oct. 29. In that match, he assists on Michigan's first goal of the game and then put U-M up 2-0 with a marker of his own.
NSCAA/adidas Top 25 (11/16/04)
RANK, SCHOOL RECORD PREV 1. UC Santa Barbara 17-2-1 1 2. Southern Methodist 15-3-1 3 3. UNC-Greensboro 18-2-1 2 Virginia 17-4-0 8 New Mexico 16-1-1 6 6. Indiana 14-4-1 4 7. Maryland 15-5-1 5 8. UCLA 13-3-2 13 9. Notre Dame 13-2-3 7 10. Wake Forest 13-5-1 9 11. Memphis 15-3-1 11 12. Penn State 10-4-7 12 13. St. John's 10-5-4 16 14. Connecticut 11-7-3 22 15. Boston College 12-4-2 10 16. College of Charleston 16-5-1 20 Creighton 13-4-1 17 18. Hartwick 13-3-2 14 19. Old Dominion 13-5-2 NR 20. San Francisco 14-4-1 NR 21. Seton Hall 12-6-3 18 22. Virginia Commonwealth 11-5-2 15 23. Northwestern 14-5-2 NR Alabama-Birmingham 12-7-0 23 California 12-3-3 25
The Book on Burns
Head coach Steve Burns is 52-38-8 in five seasons as the leader of Michigan's varsity program. This season Burns guided the Maize and Blue to a 6-0-0 start and Michigan entered the NCAA Tournament with a 10-7-4 overall record. Since his taking the helm in 2000, Burns' Wolverines have bettered their record in each of his first four years. Prior to Michigan soccer being granted varsity status on March 26, 1999, Burns was the head coach of the Michigan club team since 1993. Under his leadership, Michigan posted a 121-51-26 mark (.677 winning percentage) and made six consecutive appearances in the national club championship tournament. The team won back-to-back national championships in 1997 and 1998.
On the Horizon
If the Wolverines are victorious against Indiana, Michigan will face either No. 15-seed Boston College or Connecticut/Marist in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Contact: Paul Dickerson (734) 763-4423
