Michigan Downs Illinois, Gains Spot in Tournament Final

Friday, November 4

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:30 PM

Michigan

8-8-4

Illinois

11-6-3

Illinois

Michigan

Michigan Downs Illinois, Gains Spot in Tournament Final

11/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Matt Baumer

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (U-M Soccer Field)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Semifinals)
Score: Michigan 2, Illinois 1
Records: U-M (8-8-4), Illinois (11-6-3)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Nov. 6 -- vs. Wisconsin at Big Ten Tournament Final (U-M Soccer Field), noon

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's soccer team advanced to the Big Ten Tournament final with a 2-1 win over fourth-seeded Illinois on Friday (Nov. 4) at U-M Soccer Field. Junior forward Judy Coffman's (San Jose, Calif./Santa Theresa) goal at 57:10 proved to be the game-winner as Michigan held on for the remainder of the game despite being outshot 12-4 in the second half.

Sophomore forward Melissa Dobbyn (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) once again netted the first goal of the game for the Wolverines, her second in as many games. Junior goalkeeper Megan Tuura (Tucker, Ga./St. Pius X Catholic) was stellar in net for the Wolverines, making seven saves on the way to the win.

Tuura kept the seventh-seeded Wolverines in the game early as Illinois created two good chances in the first 20 minutes of the game, but Tuura made two diving stops from in close to keep Illinois off the board. Eva Strickland gave Illinois a 1-0 lead at 24:12. Jessica Bayne sent a cross into the the box to Strickland, who headed it toward the far post past Tuura.

Michigan's first scoring chance came on a corner kick attempt minutes after the Illinois goal. Coffman sent the ball into the box, and it was cleared right to Jamie Artsis (Chatsworth, Calif./Harvard-Westlake School) at the top of the box, but her shot attempt sailed inches over the bar. The Wolverines were not to be denied and tied the score at 29:43. Following an Illinois foul, senior midfielder Stephanie Boyles (Arvada, Colo./Pomona) quickly sent a free kick over the Illinois defense to Dobbyn, who sprinted free just as the ball was kicked. Dobbyn went in alone on goal, deked past Illinois goalkeeper Rachel Frank, and put the ball into the open net to move the score to 1-1.

Freshman midfielder Danelle Underwood (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern) almost gave Michigan the lead with seconds left in the half as she created room at the top of the box with the dribble, but Frank made the save and the teams went to half tied 1-1.

Tuura stepped it up once again to begin the second half when she stoned Strickland just over two minutes in. Illinois nearly took the lead in the 52nd minute as Bayne dribbled in at the top of the box and ripped a low shot, but Tuura came out aggressively and made a sprawling save.

Michigan took advantage of the Tuura's excellent play with the go-ahead goal in the 58th minute of the game. Coffman fired a free kick toward the middle of the goal that sailed over Frank's head and into the back of the net to give Michigan the lead, 2-1, at 57:10. Coffman almost got another one 10 minutes later in the 68th minute, but her shot from the left side of the 18-yard box hit the outside of the post.

Michigan's defense stepped it up in the final 10 minutes of the game, blocking six shots, including three in succession during a scrum at the top of the box with less that two minutes to play.

The Wolverines will face No. 8 seed Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament championship game at noon Sunday (Nov. 6) at U-M Soccer Field. CSTV will televise the game live, and the winner will earn the Big Ten's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

GAME SUMMARY

Team	1	2	F
Illinois	1	0	1
Michigan	1	1	2

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- ILL, Eva Strickland, 24:12 (Jessica Bayne)
1st -- U-M, Melissa Dobbyn, 29:43 (Stephanie Boyles)
2nd -- U-M, Judy Coffman, 57:10 (unassisted)

Shots: U-M 11, ILL 24
Saves: U-M 7 (Megan Tuura), ILL 2 (Rachel Frank)
Corner Kicks: U-M 2, ILL 4
Fouls: U-M 17, ILL 12
Cards: None

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Debbie Rademacher
On a possible letdown following the Penn State game ... "I did not expect a breakdown mentally because we are on such a high from [the Penn State win]. We know it's not just a one-game tournament for us in order to go on to the postseason. The only thing that was a concern was possible fatigue, but they really just stayed mentally with it and they played with a lot of heart. We are just proud of the effort for sure."

On the physical play of Illinois ... "We've faced that all season, and for us to match it when it really counts right now, we are just staying strong and that's good for us. We don't lead the conference in fouls by any means. It's just really important for us to deal with that kind of pressure."

On motivation for the championship ... "We're in the finals and we know what this tournament means. As far as being motivated and having something to motivate us, the enormity of it is motivation enough. For us, it's important just getting back to feeling good with some spring in our legs and keeping the momentum."

U-M Junior Judy Coffman
On reaching the championship final ... "Getting into the championship (game) is just an awesome accomplishment. I'm happy because we have been going through an up-and-down roller coaster. We've been working hard, keeping our heads up, and finally we get something out of our hard work. To go to the championship shows that we're ready to get into the NCAA Tournament. We're ready to take some teams to the challenge."

On the injury to senior Therese Heaton late in the game ... "She's one of our great leaders on this team, and being a senior captain it's definitely going to be a huge loss for our team, but she will just be an inspiration for us to play harder. She just brings such great leadership onto the field. When she went down I know that every one of us felt that inside of our hearts that we were going to play harder just for her. I'm extremely happy that we could actually get that win for her."

On wearing braids the last two games ... "It worked the first game and my roommate Lauren Fifield did it so I think she is going to be stuck with the job for the rest of the season if we keep winning like this. The braids will stay."

NOTES

• The Wolverines last reached the final of the Big Ten Tournament in 2003, before losing 2-0 to Illinois. The last Wolverine win in the Big Ten Tournament final came in 1999, when the Maize and Blue took down Penn State 4-2.

• Michigan improved its record on Friday nights under the lights to 5-1-1 this season and its record on Friday to 6-3-1.

• Therese Heaton moved into a tie with Kacy Beitel (1997-2000) and Amy Sullivant (1999-2002) for the most games played in school history with 91 in her career. She has also started the eighth most games (71) in program history.

• Stephanie Boyles tallied her second assist in as many games on the game-winner. The last time she had multiple points in a season was during her freshman campaign, when she had a career-best three goals and two assists. She has two assists this season. Boyles also fired her 50th career shot in the second half.

• Judy Coffman netted her team-leading third game-winning goal of the season in the second half. Her game-winner gives her six goals this season, which is the third most on the team. She had one career goal in two seasons previous to this year.

• With tonight's win, Megan Tuura moved into a third-place tie with Jessica Jones (1995-98) on Michigan's career wins list with 26. Her seven saves also put the Wolverines over the century mark in saves this season (103). She also surpassed the 5,000 minute mark for her career (5,078:19).

• Melissa Dobbyn scored her second goal in two games with another first-half goal. Her team-leading 12 goals are the most by any Wolverine player since Abby Crumpton (1999-2002) had 13 in 2001.

• Dobbyn's 32 points (12 g, 8 a) this season are tied for the fourth most in a season in the program's history and are the most since the 2002 season when Abby Crumpton had 35 (11 g, 13 a). The sophomore also tied Marie Spaccarotella (1996-2000) for 10th place in all-time points with 52.

• Dobbyn's team-high three shots give her 87 this season, which is the the third highest total by any Wolverine in school history. Her 89 shots last season as a freshman are the second highest total in school history, with Kacy Beitel's (1997-2000) 94 in 2000 being the most. Dobbyn is the only Wolverine to have a shot in every game this season.