Michigan
8-10-1
Michigan State
8-5-5
Michigan Falls to Michigan State in Big Ten First Round
11/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The fifth-seeded University of Michigan men's soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss to fourth seed Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship first round on Thursday (Nov. 10) at Leonard B. Thomas Sports Complex.
Just two and a half minutes into the match, the Wolverines tried to establish their offense when senior Ryan Sterba (Westlake, Ohio/Cleveland St. Ignatius) blasted a shot, only to be blocked. For the remainder of the half, neither team could produce any offense. U-M was able to maintain its defensive intensity, defending seven corner kicks and only giving up one shot on goal.
Four minutes into the second half, Sterba was able to find another scoring opportunity, which was set up by junior Kevin Savitskie (Plymouth, Mich./Salem), giving MSU's goalkeeper Jason Tillman his second save of the day.
The first goal of the match came at the 54:00 mark for Michigan State. From the left flank MSU's Doug DeMartin beat senior goalkeeper Peter Dzubay (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview) to his right, with Matt Kreikemeier earning the assist.
Dzubay responded with very aggressive play, forcing a blocked shot on a Spartan scoring opportunity at the 77:55 mark. Seconds later, Dzubay recovered back to the nets to make an amazing save, when MSU's Greg Janicki took a shot from inside the 18-yard box. The senior goalkeeper finished the day with six saves in 90 minutes, with five of his saves coming in the second half.
For the remainder of the second half, the Wolverines searched for offense but were unable to produce any goals. Michigan's offensive production came from two seniors, Sterba and Adam Bruh (Roslyn, N.Y./Wheatley), who combined for seven of U-M's 13 shots. Steraba took three shots (one on goal) while Bruh had four shots (one on goal).
The Wolverines conclude the season with an 8-10-1 overall record.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan State | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
2nd -- MSU, Doug DeMartin, 54:00 (Matt Kreikemeier)
Shots: U-M 13, MSU 17
Saves: U-M 6 (Peter Dzubay), MSU 2 (Jason Tillman)
Corner Kicks: U-M 4, MSU 11
Fouls: U-M 8, MSU 8
Cards: U-M, Ryan Sterba, 51:22 (yellow); U-M, Trai Blanks, 78:00 (yellow); U-M, Kevin Savitskie, 88:38 (yellow)
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Steve Burns
On the game ... "We came out and competed. I think overall we did a real good job against a good Michigan State team. State has three good players up in the attack that create a lot with each other and move very well off each other and have a great supporting cast, and with that they're a team that finds their one or two chances and capitalizes off of them. We didn't have that type of season, or in this game, where we were able to capitalize on our chances, and at times it sounds redundant to continue to talk about it, but you continue to work on in and have confidence in your players and hopefully you see it on the field, and we didn't see it this game."
On the season ... "The season on a whole, certain expectations where higher than where we finished; I'd say that we underachieved. It was interesting to give it the 35,000-foot perspective, expectations were high, leadership was good then we began to struggle. I think we pulled it back together but at that point we missed a pretty crucial part of the development of the team in the season, and we never really had enough consistency in our starting lineup to be able to find our true form, and that's a frustration for any team."
U-M Senior Trai Blanks
On his emotions after the game ... "It's pretty tough to lose. We all came in with pretty high expectations, but it's been a fun four years, I made a lot of friends and learned a lot."
U-M Senior Peter Dzubay
On the game ... "I thought defensively we played really well in the first half. In the second half we had a breakdown, and they got a goal. We were trying to push down the field to get opportunities, but we just couldn't create anything."
Contact: Joseph Conrad (734) 763-4423
Team Stats
DeMartin, Doug
Assisted By: Kreikemeier, Matt
GOAL by MICHST DeMartin, Doug (FIRST GOAL), Assist by Kreikemeier, Matt.
54:00
