Weekly Release #12
11/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Big Ten Championship Schedule
Thursday, Nov. 10 First Round
Game 1 -- #4 seed Michigan State vs. #5 seed Michigan -- 9 a.m.
Game 2 -- #3 seed Indiana vs. #6 seed Wisconsin -- 11:45 a.m.
Game 3 -- #2 seed Ohio State vs. #7 seed Northwestern -- 2:15 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 11 Semifinals
Game 4 -- #1 seed Penn State vs. Game 1 winner -- Noon
Game 5 -- Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner -- 2:15 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 13 Championship
Game 6 -- Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner -- 11 a.m.
All times are Central Standard Time
Championship game will be televised live by CSTV
This Week: Big Ten Championship
The University of Michigan men's soccer team heads into the Big Ten Championship as the fifth seed, where they will meet the number four seed, Michigan State on Thursday (Nov. 10) at 9 a.m. CST in Evanston, Ill.
Scouting the Big Ten
No. 1 Penn State -- The Nittany Lions enter the championship as the No. 1 seed after posting an undefeated record of 6-0-0 during the Big Ten season. This season, 17th-year head coach Barry Gorman has guided Penn State to a 9-5-2 overall record. Jason Yeisley has scored 20 points on eight goals and four assists to lead the Nittany Lions offensively. On the defensive side of the ball, goalkeeper Conrad Taylor has played every minute, recording 52 saves, 0.83 goals against average and six shutouts. Michigan is 1-6-1 against Penn State all-time with the last meeting ending in a 3-2 overtime loss for the Wolverines on Sunday (Oct. 30). Penn State on the Web: www.gopsusports.com.
No. 2 Ohio State -- The Buckeyes head into the Big Ten championship with a conference record of 3-2-1, as the No. 2 seed with their only draw with Indiana at 2-2. Ohio State is 9-6-2 this year under ninth-year head coach John Bluem. Ohio State is led by Kevin Nugent with 16 points on five goals and six assists. Ray Burse Jr. handles the goalkeeping duties and has 52 saves and a 1.17 goals against average in just over 1,500 minutes played. Michigan is 3-3-0 against the Buckeyes all-time, but fell to OSU 1-0 in U-M's regular season finale at the Jesse Owens Stadium on Friday (Nov. 4). Ohio State's Nugent scored the lone goal at the 56:55 mark to defeat the Wolverines. Ohio State on the Web: www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
No. 3 Indiana -- The Hossiers will enter the Big Ten championship with a seeding lower than No. 2 for the first time in two years. Indiana has a conference record of 2-1-3 as the No. 3 seed, the Hoosiers are 10-1-5 overall under second-year head coach Mike Freitag. The only loss for Indiana came to Penn State in a 1-2 overtime match. The Hoosiers are led by Brian Plotkin with 23 points on seven goals and nine assists. In net, Chris Munroe has played just over 1,500 minutes for Indiana, posting 47 saves, a 0.74 goals against average and seven shutouts on the season. Michigan is 0-7-0 against Indiana all-time, including a 2-0 loss to the Hoosiers this season on Oct. 9 on U-M Soccer Field. In that match, IU used a pair of second-half goals, including a penalty-kick goal from Lee Nguyen. Indiana on the web: www.iuhoosiers.com.
No. 4 Michigan State -- The Spartans 2-3-1Big Ten record and will face Michigan as the No. 4 seed in the championship. Overall, Michigan State is 5-5-5 this year under head coach Joe Baum, who is in his 29th season with the Spartans. Ryan McMahen leads Michigan State with 18 points, seven goals and four assists. Goalkeeper Jason Tillman has a 0.87 goals against average and has compiled 56 saves this season with four shutouts. Michigan is 2-5 all-time against Michigan State, including a 0-2 loss on Sunday (Oct. 16) in Lansing. MSU gained the victory off of two first half goals, McMahen scored the first goal at the 31:23 mark and Kenzo Webster scored the second goal with 2:45 left in the half. Michigan State on the Web: www.msuspartans.com.
No. 6 Wisconsin -- The Badgers posted a 2-4-0 record during the Big Ten season to earn the No. 6 seed at the championship. Wisconsin is 8-10-0 this year under fourth-year coach Jeff Rohrman. The Badgers are led offensively by Victor Diaz with 10 points on five goals and defensively by goalkeeper Jake Settle with 63 saves and a 1.79 goals against average. Michigan is 6-1-0 against Wisconsin all-time, including U-M's 4-2 victory on Sunday (Oct. 23). The Wolverines beat the Badgers on Parent's Day on U-M Soccer Field, where senior Ryan Sterba (Westlake,Ohio/Cleveland St. Ignatius) had his first two-goal game of his career. Wisconsin on the Web: www.uwbadgers.com.
No. 7 Northwestern -- The Wildcats earned the No. 7 seed with a 1-4-1 conference mark after entering last year's championship as the No. 4 seed. Northwestern is 9-6-2 overall under fifth-year head coach Tim Lenahan. Brad North leads Northwestern with 16 points on eight goals. Goalkeepers Will Briley and Misha Rosenthal have split time in the pipes, posting 53 total saves with a 1.14 goals against average and five shutouts. Michigan is 6-2 against the Wildcats all-time, winning the last meeting 1-0 in Ann Arbor. This season, the Wolverines earned their fifth shutout of the season on Sunday (Sept. 25), where sophomore Tolu Olowolafe (Bear, Del./Glasglow) scored the game-winning goal with 1:07 left in the game. Northwestern on the Web: www.nusports.com.
A Look Back at the Big Ten Season
Big Ten Pct. Pts. 1. Penn State 6-0-0 1.000 18 2. Ohio State 3-2-1 .583 10 3. Indiana 2-1-3 .583 9 4. Michigan State 2-3-1 .417 7 5. Michigan 2-4-0 .333 6 Wisconsin 2-4-0 .333 6 7. Northwestern 1-4-1 .250 4
Last Week ...
The Wolverines closed out the regular season with a 1-0 shutout loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday (Nov. 4) at Jesse Owens Stadium. Michigan was unable to find an answer for the lone goal scored by OSU's Kevin Nugent, which was assisted by Xavier Balc at the 56:55 mark. The Wolverines finished the Big Ten season 2-4-0, with an overall record of 8-9-1.
Quoting Head Coach Steve Burns
On what he would like to take away from this past season, heading into the Big Ten Championship ... "During the first half of the season we had a swagger and a belief in ourselves. In the second half of the season, we stumbled with that belief and began to focus on the fear of future outcomes. As long as we stay in the present moment, we are a very competitive team that can defeat any opponent we face."
On who surprised him this season, and why ..."Mike Holody has been the most impressive young player this season. He has a very mature game as a central defender and is emerging as a future team leader. Santos Perez has been the most surprising player this season. He has the potential to be a difference maker with regard to his ability to dictate the rhythm the team plays with."
On what he would like to see at the Big Ten Championship, in terms of performance ...
"A greater level of urgency to score goals and I'd obviously like to see the opposing goalkeeper picking the ball up out of the back of the net more than Dzubes does."
Raising the Bar
In 2004, Michigan finished the year with its third-best record, 11-8-4 overall, 1-4-1 in the Big Ten. The first and only conference victory came against the Big Ten's fourth ranked Wisconsin, 2-1 in overtime. The Wolverines earned their second invitation to the NCAA Tournament where they beat Akron 2-1 and later suffered a second round loss to the NCAA Champion Indiana Hoosiers by a last minute goal.
NSCAA/adidas National Rankings (11/1/05)
Rank, School Record Prev 1. Akron 16-0-1 1 2. New Mexico 12-1-1 2 3. Maryland 13-3-1 3 4. North Carolina 10-3-2 9 5. Indiana 10-1-6 5 6. Santa Clara 12-3-1 6 7. Connecticut 12-3-1 7 8. Duke 10-3-2 4 9. Old Dominion 13-2-2 8 10. California 11-3-1 11 11. Hartwick 10-3-1 13 12. Southern Methodist 10-5-2 9 13. Virginia Tech 10-3-4 20 14. Duquesne 12-3-0 20 15. UCLA 10-3-2 17 16. St. John's 8-4-5 15 17. Creighton 9-4-3 16 18. Brown 10-3-1 18 18. North Carolina State 10-5-1 NR 20. Virginia 11-3-2 12 21. Seton Hall 12-3-2 14 22. Cal State Northridge 11-2-3 25 23. UC Santa Barbara 10-3-3 22 24. Fairfield 10-3-3 24 25. Yale 8-2-4 NR
Team Leadership
The 2005 Wolverines look for their leadership to come from their team-captains, seniors Adam Bruh (Roslyn Heights, N.Y./Wheatley HS), Ryan Sterba (Westlake, Ohio/St. Ignatius HS) and junior Kevin Hall (Kalamazoo, Mich./Portage Central HS). All three captains have been nominated as Michigan All-Time Lettermen, and finished second, fourth and tenth place, respectively, as the team point scorers. Bruh brings back his scoring ability after finishing tied for second on the team in goal scoring. Sterba returns to the team after leading them in assists last year with seven for the season, while Hall will maintain the team's defensive prowess.
New Faces in Town
Michigan adds six recruits this year, ranking 10th on the College Soccer News top 40 list for the new recruiting class. Of the six new faces, two, Steve Bonnell (St. Clair Shores, Mich. /Detroit Country Day HS) and Jacob Stacy (Grand Rapids, Mich. /Forest Hills Central HS) are on the College Soccer News top 100 freshman to watch list. Bonnell, a forward in high school, was named 2004 NSCAA Michigan Player of the Year, selected to the 2004 NSCAA High School Boys All-America Team, and scored a total of 92 career goals at Detroit Country Day. Stacy, also a forward in high school, was named as Michigan's Mr. Soccer in 2004 and was also a selection for the NSCAA High School Boys All-America Team. Joining these bright new stars are two defenders Michael Holody (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS) and Chase Tennant (Rochester, Mich./Rochester HS), two midfielders, Alex Morrisset (Shelby Township, Mich./De La Salle HS), Santos Perez (Troy, Mich./Athens) and a goalkeeper, Patrick Sperry (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central HS).
The Book on Burns
Head coach Steve Burns is 52-39-8 in five seasons as the leader of Michigan's varsity program. Last season Burns guided the Wolverines to an overall record of 11-8-4, and their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Since his taking the helm in 2000, Burns' Wolverines have bettered their record in each of his first five years. Prior to Michigan soccer being granted varsity status on March 26, 1999, Burns was the head coach of the Michigan club team since 1993. Under his leadership, Michigan posted a 121-51-26 mark (.677 winning percentage) and made six consecutive appearances in the national club championship tournament. The team won back-to-back national championships in 1997 and 1998.
Contact: Joseph Conrad (734) 763-4423
