Weekly Release #9
10/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Oct. 14 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.) 7 p.m. CDT
Sunday, Oct. 16 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 1 p.m. CDT
Friday, Oct. 21 -- vs. Penn State (U-M Soccer Field) 7 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 23 -- vs. Minnesota (U-M Soccer Field), Noon
This Week
Michigan goes on the road next Friday (Oct. 14) to face Illinois in Champaign, Ill., at 7 p.m. CDT at Illinois Soccer Stadium. The Wolverines then travel to Iowa City, Iowa, on Sunday (Oct. 16) to take on Iowa at 1 p.m. CDT at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
Scouting the Opponents
Illinois -- Illinois (7-4-2, 3-2-0 Big Ten) is coming off losses to the top seeds in the Big Ten Conference standings. On Friday (Oct. 7), Illinois fell to first-place Penn State by a score of 3-1. On Sunday (Oct. 9), second-place Minnesota defeated Illinois 2-1. Juniors Jessica Bayne and Eva Strickland lead the Illinois offense with 12 points apiece. Bayne has recorded four goals and four assists this season, while Strickland has notched three goals and six assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Lindsey Carstens has played all but 5:59 of Illinois' 13 games this season, compiling a 7-4-2 record with a 1.02 goals-against-average, while making 43 saves. Head coach Janet Rayfield is in her fourth year as head coach of the Illinois women's soccer team and holds a 48-25-7 record over that span. She is in her tenth year coaching the collegiate level and has accumulated a 93-89-14 record in her career. Illinois returns twelve letterwinners and seven starters from last year's team that finished 16-6-2 (5-3-2 Big Ten), good for 4th in the Big Ten. Illinois experienced success during the 2004 postseason, advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Santa Clara 2-0. The Wolverines hold a 7-3-1 all-time record against Illinois. Michigan won the first five meetings the two teams played from 1997-2000, including a 2-0 second-round win on its way to the 1999 Big Ten Conference tournament championship in Bloomington, Ind. The Wolverines outscored Illinois 22-6 in those five games. Illinois handed Michigan two overtime losses in 2001, including a 1-0 defeat in the second round of the Big Ten Conference tournament in West Lafayette, Ind. The Wolverines won 4-1 in Ann Arbor in 2002 on September 22. In 2003, the two teams tied 0-0 in the regular season match, with Illinois winning the rematch 2-0 on November 9 in the Big Ten Conference tournament in Madison, Wis. The Maize and Blue earned revenge with a 1-0 shutout at home last season on September 19. Illinois on the Internet: www.fightingillini.com.
Iowa -- Iowa (2-8-4, 0-3-2 Big Ten) is also coming off losses to the top seeds in the Big Ten. On Friday (Oct. 7), Minnesota shut the Hawkeyes out 1-0. On Sunday (Oct. 9), Penn State handed the Hawkeyes their third straight shutout loss 8-0. The Iowa offense is led by freshman forward Stephanie Hyink. She has a team-high 13 points on five goals and three assists. Sophomore Lindsey Boldt and freshman Erin MacIsaac have split time in goal for the Hawkeyes this season. Each holds a 1-4-2 record with Boldt leading the team in goals-against-average (1.82) and saves (44). Head coach Carla Baker is in her fourth year as head coach of the Iowa women's soccer program. She holds a 19-41-9 record over that span. Iowa returns 17 letterwinners and eight starters from last year's team that finished 2-14-2 (0-9-1 Big Ten). Michigan is undefeated in nine games all-time against the Hawkeyes. Michigan has shutout Iowa six times and has outscored the Hawkeyes 22-4. The Wolverines most significant win came in a 2-0 shutout over Iowa in the first round of the 2000 Big Ten Conference tournament. Iowa on the Internet: www.hawkeyesports.com.
Coffman Scores Late in One-Goal Victory Over Wildcats
The University of Michigan women's soccer team won a 3-2 thriller against Northwestern on Friday (Oct. 7) in a chilly mist at the U-M Soccer Field. Judy Coffman's (San Jose, Calif./Santa Theresa) goal at 86:19 clinched the win for the Wolverines. Therese Heaton (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South) also scored for the Wolverines and Melissa Dobbyn (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) added a goal and two assists. Goalkeeper Megan Tuura (Tucker, Ga./St. Pius X Catholic) earned her fifth win of the season, making nine saves.
Michigan Falls to Wisconsin, Suffers First Home Defeat
The University of Michigan women's soccer team fell to Wisconsin 2-1 on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 9) at the U-M Soccer Field. Therese Heaton tied the game at 73:46, but Wisconsin tallied the game-winner less than three minutes later as Michigan lost at home for the first time all season.
Heaton Moving Up in the Record Books
With her second-half goal against Wisconsin (Oct.9), Therese Heaton moved into a tie with Ruth Poulin (1994-97) for fifth place in all-time points by a Wolverine women's soccer player with 69. She also inched closer to Poulin for fifth place in all-time in goals. Heaton's 27 career goals are three shy of Poulin's 30. Heaton has goals in two straight games.
Tuura Reaches Milestone, Nears Another
Megan Tuura made her 200th career save against Northwestern (Oct. 7). Her 208 saves are 10 shy of Jessica Jones (1995-98) for third place all-time. Her nine saves were the second highest save total of the season for Tuura. She had career-high 12 saves at Kansas in the season opener. She also needs just two more wins to tie Jones' 26 career wins for third place all-time at Michigan.
Coffman Gets Game-Winner
Judy Coffman scored the first game-winning goal of her career against Northwestern (Oct. 7). Her goal at 86:19 was her third of the season. She also tied for the team lead with four shots in the game.
Consistent Coffman
Judy Coffman led the Wolverines in shots for the second straight game against Wisconsin (Oct. 9) and fifth time in six games. She is third on the Wolverines in points with eight (3-2-8) and second in shots with 42.
Mullholland Assists
Brenna Mulholland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) recorded her first assist of the season and second of her career on Melissa Dobbyn's first-half goal against Northwestern (Oct. 7). Her first career assist came on October 30, 2004 at Western Michigan.
Dobbyn Delivers
Melissa Dobbyn earned her first career two-assist game, while also chipping in a goal against Northwestern (Oct. 7). She tied for the team lead with four shots in the game. She is one goal short of tying her 2004 goal total (9). This also marks the third time in five games this season that Dobbyn has tallied four or more points. She surpassed her assist total (3) from 2004 with a helper on Therese Heaton's second-half goal. On Sunday (Oct. 9), Dobbyn earned another assist on Heaton's goal in the second half against Wisconsin, eclipsing her point total (21) from 2004. She is seven points shy of 50 for her career. Dobbyn is also the only Wolverine player to record a shot in every game this season.
Leading Dobbyn
Melissa Dobbyn leads the Wolverines in goals (8), assists (6), points (22) and shots (57) this season. She is second in the Big Ten in shots and shots per game (4.29), tied for second in points, tied for fourth in goals, and tied for first in assists.
U-M Listed No. 4 in Big Ten
The Wolverines earned a No. 4 ranking in the Big Ten Conference preseason coaches poll released Thursday, Aug. 18. U-M is listed below 2004 Big Ten regular-season champion Penn State, Big Ten Tournament champion Ohio State and Illinois.
2005 Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll (8/18/05)
1. Penn State 2. Ohio State 3. Illinois 4. MICHIGAN 5. Wisconsin 6. Indiana 7. Purdue 8. Northwestern 9. Michigan State 10. Minnesota 11. Iowa
Let's Take a Look at the Poll
The Wolverines remained unranked in the latest NCSAA/adidas National Rankings after earning a win on Friday (Oct. 7) against Northwestern, but dropping a 2-1 decision to Wisconsin on Sunday (Oct. 9). The Wolverines made their season debut in the national rankings the week of September 6 with a No. 17 listing. U-M is listed at No. 8 in the association's Great Lakes Regional rankings.
NSCAA/adidas National Rankings (10/11/05)
Rank, School W-L-T Prev 1. Penn State 14-0-0 2 2. Portland 13-0-0 3 3. North Carolina 13-1-0 1 4. UCLA 11-1-0 4 5. Santa Clara 11-2-1 7 6. Duke 9-2-1 12 7. Virginia 10-3-1 5 8. Notre Dame 12-2-0 11 9. Florida State 11-2-0 17 10. Boston College 9-2-1 10 11. California 9-2-1 13 12. Wake Forest 8-3-1 8 13. Tennessee 8-4-1 14 14. Marquette 12-2-1 9 14. Pepperdine 10-1-1 15 16. Brigham Young 12-1-1 6 17. Connecticut 11-2-1 16 18. West Virginia 8-3-3 22 19. Stanford 8-3-1 19 20. Texas A&M 9-3-1 18 21. Yale 9-2-0 20 22. Florida 9-3-1 20 23. Purdue 8-5-0 25 24. Cal State Fullerton 10-3-0 NR 25. Nebraska 8-4-1 23
U-M Out of Soccer Buzz National Rankings
The Wolverines remained unranked in the latest Soccer Buzz national rankings, released yesterday (Monday, Oct. 10). Michigan did receive votes in the poll for the second straight week. Michigan fell to No. 9 in the publication's Great Lakes regional rankings. Three of Michigan's remaining 2005 opponents appear in the magazine's national rankings: Penn State (No. 1), Illinois (No. 26) and Michigan State (No. 28).
Wolverines Earn Eighth Straight NCAA Bid in 2004
After starting out the 2004 campaign at 0-2, Michigan found its groove and went unbeaten during the next eight games (6-0-2). During the stretch, the Wolverines claimed a pair of home victories over nationally-ranked opponents Boston University (No. 22) and Illinois (No. 11). Michigan got off to a great start in Big Ten Conference play, earning four straight wins to climb to the top of the league standings. Fifth-ranked Penn State put a halt to the winning streak with a 1-0 victory in double-overtime at the U-M Soccer Field (Oct. 1), and the Wolverines would win just three of their final nine games of the regular season. Michigan got back on track with a 1-0 victory over No. 25 Wisconsin in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, but would fall to host and 13th-ranked Ohio State 5-2 in the semifinals. Detroit spoiled the Maize and Blue's eighth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, earning a 3-2 upset in the first round to end Michigan's season.
Michigan finished at 11-9-2 overall and took third place in the Big Ten at 6-3-1. Three Wolverines earned All-Big Ten second team honors -- Jamie Artsis, Brenna Mulholland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) and Megan Tuura, while Melissa Dobbyn was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. Dobbyn and Therese Heaton finished in a tie for the team lead in points with 21, while Tuura allowed 32 goals in over 2,050 minutes of action (.744 GAA) and earned seven shutouts.
Introducing the Captains ...
Seniors Stephanie Boyles (Arvada, Colo./Pomona) and Therese Heaton, and junior Katelin Spencer (Brighton, Mich./Brighton) have been selected to lead the Wolverines as tri-captains in 2005. It marks the first nomination for both Heaton and Spencer, while Boyles is carrying the honor for the second straight season.
The Leader of the Wolverines
Head coach Debbie Rademacher is in her 12th season at the helm of the U-M women's soccer program having compiled a career record of 145-88-23 heading into the week. Over that stretch, the Wolverines' program has exhibited steady growth; from an impressive Big Ten Conference Tournament semifinal finish in the inaugural 1994 season, to a pair of conference tournament titles in 1997 and 1999, the Maize and Blue has begun to expect success on the national level, with eight consecutive NCAA Tournament trips, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2002 and the Sweet 16 in 2003. Rademacher has coached four National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Americans, 19 NSCAA all-region honorees, 35 All-Big Ten first- or second-team picks and 81 Academic All-Big Ten recipients.
Guiney Remains on Staff as Women's Soccer Assistant
Head coach Debbie Rademacher announced at the beginning of the year that interim assistant coach Aileen Guiney would be joining the U-M coaching staff on a permanent basis. A varsity letterwinner for the Wildcats from 2000-03, Guiney finished her collegiate career with 20 assists, which is second on NU's all-time list, and eight goals for 36 points. A three-time captain, Guiney earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America and Soccer Buzz All-Great Lakes Region second team honors in 2003 after leading the team in scoring with four goals and four assists for 12 points. She joins Rademacher and Dan Dalzochio, who is in his fourth season as an assistant, on the U-M coaching staff.
Michigan Set to Host Big Ten Tournament
In addition to Michigan's nine regular season home contests in 2005, the Wolverines will host the Big Ten Tournament for the first time on Nov. 3-6 at the U-M Soccer Field. The top eight teams in the league standings are invited to the annual postseason championship, and Michigan has qualified every year since the inaugural tournament in 1994. Michigan has won two Big Ten Tournament titles (1997, '99).
Flip the Switch
The Wolverine soccer programs will be able to host night games for the first time in 2005, as new lighting was installed at the U-M Soccer Field in early August. The Musco Light Structure Green features a four-pole system that is lit to an average of 70 foot-candles. The men's soccer team will suit up for the first-ever night game on September 1 against Detroit, while the women's team will host its first night game on September 2 against Texas. Both matches are scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
On the Horizon ...
Michigan returns home for two Big Ten Conference matches. On Friday (Oct. 21), the Wolverines will face Penn State at 7 p.m. at U-M Soccer Field. On Sunday (Oct. 23), the Maize and Blue take on Minnesota at noon at U-M Soccer Field.
Contact: Matt Baumer (734) 763-4423
