Weekly Release #12
11/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
2005 Big Ten Tournament Schedule
Thursday-Friday-Sunday, Nov. 3-4-6
U-M Soccer Field Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, Nov. 3 First Round
Game 1 -- #3 seed Michigan State vs. #6 seed Indiana -- 10:30 a.m.
Game 2 -- #2 seed Purdue vs. #7 seed Wisconsin -- 1:30 p.m
Game 3 -- #4 seed Illinois vs. #5 seed Minnesota -- 4:30 p.m.
Game 4 -- #8 seed Michigan vs. #1 seed Penn State -- 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 4 Semifinals
Game 5 -- Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner -- 4:30 p.m.
Game 6 -- Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner -- 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 6 Championship
Game 7 -- Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner -- Noon
All times are Eastern Standard Time
Championship Final to be Broadcast on CSTV Big Ten Conference Announces Hurricane Relief Program
The 2005 Big Ten Tournament championship final will be shown live on CSTV at noon on Sunday (Nov. 6).
The Big Ten Conference announced today a campaign to support victims affected by the recent hurricanes with funds to be generated through donations that will be collected at each Big Ten Championship/Tournament this year. Through the 2005-06 academic year, the Big Ten will accept cash donations to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund at designated locations at each championship/tournament. All donations will be made in the name of "Fans of the Big Ten Conference." Click here for more information.
Results and final stats for each game will be provided at mgoblue.com and www.bigten.org.
This Week
No. 8 seed Michigan (7-8-3) will host the top-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions on Thursday (Nov. 3) at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at U-M Soccer Field. If the Wolverines win, they will face the winner between No. 4 seed Illinois and No. 5 seed Minnesota on Friday (Nov. 4) at 7:30 p.m. at U-M Soccer Field. The winner of the tournament will earn an automatic birth into the NCAA Tournament.
Scouting the Opponent
Penn State -- The top-ranked Nittany Lions (19-0-0, 10-0-0 Big Ten) finished as the only team in the nation without a loss or a tie, earning the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Tiffany Weimer spearheads the Penn State offense with a conference-leading 52 points on 25 goals and two assists. Her 52 points are good for fifth in the nation. Erin McLeod has started all 18 games in goal for the Lions, allowing a conference-low 13 goals in 1,607:18, making 59 saves. Paula Wilkins is in her fifth season as head coach of the Nittany Lions and has collected a career record of 96-14-6. The Nittany Lions, who returned 18 letterwinners and eight starters, have finished first in the Big Ten during the regular each of the last eight years, winning three conference tournament titles. The last Penn State tournament title win came back in 2001. Penn State on the Internet: www.gopsusports.com.
All-time Series vs. Penn State
The Wolverines hold a 4-10-3 all-time record against Penn State, which includes a 4-2 loss earlier this season on October 21. Michigan has played Penn State five previous times in the conference tournament and own a 3-2 record in those five games. After Thursday's game, the Wolverines will have played Penn State more times all-time in the post season than any other school. The Wolverines won their first ever Big Ten Conference tournament game in their inaugural season in 1994 in penalty kicks over Penn State. In 1997, the Wolverines defeated Penn State 3-1 in the second round on their way to the Big Ten Conference championship. After a 1-1 regular season tie in 1998, the Wolverines lost in the second round of the Big Ten Conference tournament to Penn State 3-1. The Wolverines earned revenge the following year en route to the program's second Big Ten tournament championship. Michigan tied Penn State 0-0 in the regular season match before being defeated by Penn State in the finals of the 1999 Big Ten Conference tournament 4-2. The last Maize and Blue win over Penn State came in a 4-0 shutout in 2002.
Michigan at the Big Ten Tournament
The Wolverines hold an all-time record of 15-9 at the Big Ten Tournament, having won title games over Northwestern in 1997 and Penn State in 1999. Last season, third-seeded Michigan blanked Wisconsin 1-0 in the first round of the tournament. Ohio State then ended the Wolverines quest for a championship with a 5-2 victory over the Wolverines in the second round of the tournament. U-M is 13-6 in its last seven Big Ten Tournaments.
Final Big Ten Standings
Big Ten Pts. 1. Penn State 10-0-0 30 2. Purdue 7-2-1 22 3. Michigan State 6-2-2 20 4. Illinois 6-3-1 19 5. Minnesota 6-4-0 18 6. MICHIGAN 3-6-1 10 Wisconsin 3-6-1 10 Indiana 3-6-1 10 9. Ohio State 3-7-0 9 10. Northwestern 2-7-1 7 11. Iowa 1-7-2 5
Last Week
The University of Michigan women's soccer team clinched a share of the Challenge Cup fall competition and retention of the Cup with a 0-0 double-overtime draw with Michigan State in front of a U-M Soccer Field record 1,887 fans on Senior Night (Friday, Oct. 28). Sophomore Melissa Dobbyn (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) had a season-high 10 shots for the Wolverines, while junior Megan Tuura (Tucker, Ga./St. Pius X Catholic) earned her first shutout of the season, making three saves.
Challenge Cup Ours Again
The Wolverines clinched the Challenge Cup for Fall 2005 in a 0-0 tie with Michigan State on Friday (Oct. 28). Michigan currently leads MSU 4.0-1.5 in the fall standings. In 2004, the Wolverines captured Challenge Cup for Fall 2004 with wins in football, and men's and women's cross country after trailing going into each of the respective sport's contests.
Shutout Streak
The Wolverines enter Thursday's game with Penn State with a shutout streak of 136:45, its longest of the season. Before the 0-0 double overtime tie with Michigan State last Friday (Oct. 28), the Wolverines last allowed a goal at 73:15 against Minnesota (Oct. 23). Megan Tuura holds a shutout streak of 167:29, last allowing a goal at 81:49 against Penn State (Oct. 21).
Heaton Moving Up in the Record Books
Therese Heaton's (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South) 76 career points trail Jessica Limauro's (1995-98) 79 career points for fourth place all-time. She also needs just one more goal to move into a tie with Ruth Poulin (1994-97) for fifth place in all-time goals. Her 29 goals trail Poulin's 30. Heaton's 18 career assists are one assist shy of Debbie Flaherty (1994-97) for fifth place all-time in assists with 19. Against Michigan State (Oct. 28), Heaton moved into a tie for third place in career games played 89 and eighth place in games started by a Wolverine women's soccer player (69). She is two game shy of tying Michigan's all-time leaders Kacy Beitel (1997-2000) and Amy Sullivant (1999-2002), who each played 91 games in their respective careers.
Heaton Saving Her Best For Last
Therese Heaton tied her career-best season total in points (24) with her second-half goal against Penn State (Oct. 21). She is one goal shy of equaling her career-best season total in goals (10), which along with her career-best season total in points, she set during her freshman campaign in 2002. Heaton already set a career-best season total in assists with six this season, besting her old career-best season total of five from 2004.
Tuura Stones Spartans
Megan Tuura gathered her third shutout of the season with a three-save performance in 110 minutes of play in a 0-0 tie with Michigan State (Oct. 28). Her 13 career shutouts are the third most in program history. Tuura's last shutout came in the first round of the 2004 Big Ten Tournament in a 1-0 win over Wisconsin on Nov. 4.
Kjar and Gordy Penciled In
Whitney Kjar (Sandy, Utah/Skyline) and Erica Gordy (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Detroit Country Day School) each made the first starts of the year, with Gordy making her first career start. Kjar's seven previous games and Gordy's 15 previous games all came as reserves this season.
Leading All Freshman
Danelle Underwood (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern) leads all Wolverine freshman in points (12), goals (5), assists (2) and shots (31) this season.
Double-Digit Dobbyn
Melissa Dobbyn (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) fired a team-high 10 shots, her highest total of the season and the second highest total in her career. She fired a career-high 13 shots in a 1-0 win at Minnesota last season on Sept. 24, 2004.
Leading Dobbyn
Melissa Dobbyn leads the Wolverines in goals (10), assists (8), points (28) and shots (80) this season. Her eight assists are tops in the Big Ten. Her 28 points are third in the Big Ten and her 80 shots are good for second best in the Big Ten. She is also fourth in the conference in goals.
Let's Take a Look at the Poll
The Wolverines remained unranked in the latest NCSAA/adidas National Rankings after a tie with Michigan State on Friday (Oct. 28). The Wolverines made their season debut in the national rankings the week of September 6 with a No. 17 listing. U-M stayed out of the association's Great Lakes Regional rankings.
NSCAA/adidas National Rankings (11/1/05)
Rank, School W-L-T Prev 1. Penn State 19-0-0 1 2. Portland 17-0-1 2 3. North Carolina 17-1-0 3 4. UCLA 15-1-2 4 5. Notre Dame 17-2-0 5 6. Florida State 16-2-0 6 6. Santa Clara 14-3-2 7 8. Virginia 13-4-1 10 9. California 12-3-2 9 10. Texas A&M 13-3-2 11 11. Marquette 17-2-1 12 12. Duke 12-4-1 13 13. Boston College 11-4-2 8 14. Brigham Young 15-1-3 15 15. Connecticut 14-3-2 14 15. Tennessee 12-5-1 16 17. Cal State Fullerton 15-3-0 18 18. Florida 13-4-1 17 19. West Virginia 11-4-3 19 20. Purdue 11-6-1 24 21. Gonzaga 11-3-4 20 22. Utah 13-5-1 NR 23. Colorado 10-6-3 NR 24. Clemson 9-7-2 23 25. Dartmouth 11-3-1 NR
U-M Out of Soccer Buzz National Rankings
The Wolverines remained unranked in the latest Soccer Buzz national rankings, released yesterday (Monday, Oct. 31). The Maize and Blue moved down to No. 13 in the publication's Great Lakes regional rankings.
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 146-90-24 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.
Contact: Matt Baumer (734) 763-4423
