Weekly Release #6
9/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Sept. 24 -- at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 7 p.m. CDT
Sunday, Sept. 26 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 1 p.m. CDT
Friday, Oct. 1 -- vs. Penn State (U-M Soccer Field), 4 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 3 -- vs. Ohio State (U-M Soccer Field), Noon
This Week
The No. 16 University of Michigan women's soccer team (5-2-1, 2-0 Big Ten) continues its Big Ten Conference schedule this weekend with a pair of matches on the road. The Wolverines will visit Minnesota on Friday (Sept. 24, 7 p.m. CDT) at Elizabeth Lyle Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., before traveling to Iowa City, Iowa, on Sunday (Sept. 26, 1 p.m CDT) to face Iowa at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
Scouting the Opponents
Minnesota -- The Golden Gophers (3-4-0) look break a three-game losing streak and earn their first Big Ten victory after dropping matches to Purdue, 2-1, and Indiana, 1-0, last weekend on the road. Junior forwards Kaitlin Neary and Becky Dellaria have led the offensive charge for Minnesota so far this season, totaling five and four points, respectively. Classmate Molly Schneider has played every minute in goal for the Gophers, making 31 saves and allowing eight goals for a 1.13 GAA. Mikki Denney Wright is in her first season as the head coach at Minnesota after spending three seasons as an assistant at Missouri. Minnesota, which finished last season 6-10-2 overall, returns 17 letterwinners and eight starters. Michigan defeated the Gophers 1-0 last season in Ann Arbor, but Minnesota still leads the all-time series 7-4. Minnesota on the Internet: www.gophersports.com.
Iowa -- The Hawkeyes (0-5-1), who host Michigan State prior to the match with Michigan, are still seeking their first victory of the season after a pair of 1-0 losses to Purdue and Indiana last weekend on the road. Iowa returns junior forward Katelyn Quinn, who led the team with 23 points (11 goals, one assist) in 2003. Senior goalkeeper Britta Vogele, returns for a fourth season in net after allowing 34 goals and making 127 saves for a 2.07 GAA last season. Head coach Carla Baker is in her third season at Iowa and has collected a career record of 15-19-3. The Hawkeyes, who finished 4-12-2 last year, return 12 letterwinners and seven starters. Michigan holds a perfect 8-0 record in the all-time series with Iowa, including a 1-0 win in Ann Arbor last season. Iowa on the Internet: www.hawkeyesports.com.
Last Week
The Wolverines got off to a fantastic start to the Big Ten season, defeating Northwestern, 3-2, and then No. 11-ranked Illinois, 1-0, at the U-M Soccer Field. On Friday (Sept. 17), freshman Melissa Dobbyn (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS), senior Kate Morgan (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty HS) and junior Therese Heaton (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South HS) all collected goals in the first half of action to lead Michigan past the Wildcats. On Sunday (Sept. 19), Dobbyn found the back of net once again and sophomore Megan Tuura (Tucker, Ga./St. Pius X Catholic HS) made three saves to send the Illini to their first loss in eight games this season.
Conquering the Conference
With a 2-0 record in Big Ten play, Michigan is off to its best conference start since the 2002 season, when the Wolverines went undefeated in their first three league games. U-M will look to match its best Big Ten start ever with two wins this upcoming weekend, as the 1997 squad started 4-0.
One Streak Ends...One Streak Continues
Therese Heaton's goal streak ended at six games after she was held scoreless against Illinois. Prior to that match, Heaton had scored at least one goal in six straight games and is the first U-M player to accomplish the feat since Abby Crumpton (1999-2002), who scored seven times over a six-game stretch during the 2001 season. However, Heaton's point streak is still going strong at seven games after assisting on Melissa Dobbyn's game-winner against the Illini. Through eight games this season, Heaton leads the team with 16 points on seven goals and two assists. She has career totals of 19 goals and nine assists for 47 points in 57 games.
Fabulous Freshman
With a pair of goals last weekend, Melissa Dobbyn has now scored in six of Michigan's last eight games. Her score against Illinois marked her second game-winning goal of the season. In her first season wearing the Maize and Blue, Dobbyn has recorded six goals and two assists for 14 points.
Morgan Records 25th Career Point
Kate Morgan notched her 25th point at Michigan with the second goal against Northwestern. She now has 11 goals and three assists in 66 career games.
Get the Ball to LT
Senior Laura Tanchon (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) recorded her second assist of the season on Therese Heaton's game-winner against Northwestern. Three of Tanchon's four career assists have resulted in game-winning goals. She also assisted on the game-winner against Kentucky (Sept. 3) and last season's victory over Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (Nov. 14).
McLaughlin Notches First Point at U-M
Freshman Kandice McLaughlin (West Hills, Calif./El Camino Real HS) earned her first career point at Michigan with an assist on Kate Morgan's goal against Northwestern. McLaughlin has started on defense in all eight of U-M's games this season.
Tuura Excels Between the Posts
Megan Tuura validated her Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week nomination with her performance against Northwestern and Illinois last weekend. After making one save in the win over the Wildcats, Tuura came out and made three stops to earn the shutout victory over the Illini. It was her second blanking of the season and the seventh of her career. In 25 career starts, Tuura holds an overall record of 13-6-6. She allowed just 24 goals in over 2,330 minutes of action for a 0.93 GAA.
Big Ten Standings
Big Ten Pts. Overall 1. MICHIGAN 2-0-0 6 5-2-1 Indiana 2-0-0 6 6-1-0 Purdue 2-0-0 6 6-2-0 4. Penn State 1-0-0 3 5-1-1 Illinois 1-1-0 3 7-1-0 Michigan State 1-1-0 3 7-2-0 7. Ohio State 0-0-1 1 4-2-1 Wisconsin 0-1-1 1 6-1-1 9. Northwestern 0-2-0 0 4-4-0 Minnesota 0-2-0 0 3-4-0 Iowa 0-2-0 0 1-4-1
Michigan in the National and Regional Rankings
The Wolverines jumped up nine spots to No. 16 in the most recent NSCAA/adidas national rankings, released Tuesday (Sept. 21). Michigan, who was listed No. 25 in last week, is preceded by Illinois (No. 10) and Penn State (No. 5) in the poll. Notre Dame, U-M's opponent on Oct. 28, wrestled the top spot from defending champion North Carolina. The Wolverines are tied with the Illini at the No. 2 spot in the association's Great Lakes Regional rankings.
NSCAA/adidas National Rankings (9/21/04)
Rank, School W-L-T Prev 1. Notre Dame 8-0-0 2 2. North Carolina 7-0-1 1 3. Washington 6-0-0 3 4. Virginia 7-0-0 4 5. Penn State 5-1-1 5 6. Portland 5-1-0 6 7. Florida 6-1-1 9 8. Kansas 8-1-0 8 9. UCLA 5-2-0 20 10. Illinois 7-1-0 11 11. West Virginia 7-1-0 13 12. Florida State 7-1-0 18 13. California 5-1-1 14 14. Texas A&M 5-3-0 15 15. Santa Clara 4-2-1 NR 16. MICHIGAN 5-2-1 25 17. Princeton 4-1-0 17 18. SMU 4-2-1 21 19. Wake Forest 6-1-1 NR 20. Stanford 5-2-0 NR 21. Tennessee 3-2-2 7 22. Texas 4-2-0 23 23. Yale 5-2-0 19 24. Pepperdine 5-1-1 12 25. Wisconsin 4-0-1 16
U-M Listed in Soccer Buzz Regional Poll
Despite a pair of solid Big Ten victories last weekend, Michigan does not appear in the most recent Soccer Buzz national rankings, released Monday (Sept. 20). The Wolverines, who did receive votes in the poll, have secured the fifth spot in the publication's Great Lakes Regional rankings.
On the Horizon ...
The Wolverines return to the U-M Soccer Field next weekend to host a pair of nationally ranked Big Ten foes. Michigan will take on Penn State on Friday at 4 p.m. and finish the weekend against Ohio State on Sunday at noon. U-M will honor each player's parents prior to the match against the Nittany Lions and the Wolverine seniors will be recognized before the start of the game against the Buckeyes.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
