U-M Shut Out by Northwestern in Big Ten Road Contest

Sunday, October 15

Evanston, Ill.

2:00 PM CT

Michigan

5-8-3, 0-2-2

Northwestern

10-5, 2-3

Michigan

Northwestern

10/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: Joseph Conrad

Site: Evanston, Ill. (Leonard B. Athletic Complex)
Score: Northwestern 2, Michigan 0
Records: U-M (5-8-3, 0-2-2 Big Ten), Northwestern (10-5-0, 2-3-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, Oct. 18 -- at Akron (Akron, Ohio), 7:30 p.m.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The University of Michigan men's soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision to Northwestern on Sunday (Oct. 24) at the Leonard B. Thomas Complex. The Wolverines fall to 0-2-2 in Big Ten play.

For the first half of play the Northwestern Wildcats attacked the Michigan defense, taking 11 shots compared to U-M's two and forcing sophomore/freshman Patrick Sperry (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central HS) to make three of his four saves in the first frame. Twenty-two minutes into the match, Northwestern's attack produced the first of two goals as NU's Brad North was assisted by Carl Pett to put the Wildcats up 1-0 at 22:01.

Michigan trailed 2-0 entering halftime, as Northwestern was able to net its second marker just 50 seconds from the end of the half.

In the second stanza, the Wolverines flipped the roles and began to harass the defensive back third of the Wildcats, firing off 12 shots and allowing NU to take just four shots. Of Michigan's 12 shots, three were on goal, compared to Northwestern's one shot on goal in the second half.

The Maize and Blue began to press forward early in the second half, as freshman Peri Marosevic (Rockford, Ill./Edison Academy HS) took one of his three shots in the 48th minute. Senior Bobby Trybula (Loveland, Ohio/Archbishop Mueller HS) played the ball into Marosevic at the top of the 18-yard box. Marosevic quickly turned and fired a right-footed shot, but NU keeper Will Briley made a high save to his left. Marosevic finished the match with a team-high two shots on goal and was second in shots with three.

From the 48th minute to the 59th minute U-M had a flurry of action in front of the Wildcats' net but was unable to find the target and net a goal. During the 11 minutes of action in the NU zone, Michigan blasted three shots and forced three corner kicks. Sophomore Steve Bonnell (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Detroit Country Day HS) led the way for the Wolverines as he took two shots that sailed high in the 55th and 59th minutes. Bonnell was the offensive leader for U-M as he took four shots.

The Wolverines conclude their three-game road trip as they take on the Akron Zips on Wednesday (Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m.) on the Lee R. Jackson Soccer Field in Akron, Ohio.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	F
Michigan	0	0	0
Northwestern	2	0	2

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- NU, Brad North, 22:01 (Carl Pett)
1st -- NU, Kyle Moore, 44:01 (Geoff Fallon, Pett)

Shots: U-M 14, NU 15
Saves: U-M 4 (Patrick Sperry), NU 3 (Will Briley)
Corner Kicks: U-M 6, NU 7
Fouls: U-M 14, NU 10
Cards: U-M, Chase Tennant, 2:31 (yellow); U-M, Santos Perez, 88:43 (yellow)

NOTES

• Sophomore/freshman Patrick Sperry's four saves in today's match moved him to fifth place on the U-M single-season saves list with 56 saves in his debut season. Sperry moved ahead of Peter Dzubay (2002-05), who made 54 saves in 2002. Sperry also has currently played a total of 1,410:33, which is the most minutes played by any U-M goalkeeper in their debuting season.

• The Wolverines are 6-4-0 against Northwestern with today's loss.

• U-M was shut out for the seventh time this season, tying for the most shutouts against in program history. The Wolverines are 0-6-1 in those seven games. In 2004, the Maize and Blue was held scoreless in seven games (0-5-2).

• Senior tri-captain Kevin Savitskie played in his 70th career game, tying him for fourth on the U-M all-time games played list with Kevin Taylor (2000-03).

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Steve Burns
On the game ... "Northwestern is a good attacking team that made us pay for two mistakes in the back third of the field. When you look at statistics it was fairly even, but Northwestern wins the game. They have some attacking players that are seniors and juniors, and right now they're relishing the opportunity to finish balls, and that's where we have to go."

On what can be taken from this game ... "I think confidence in front of the net separates us from having a winning record. It's something we continue to work on in training, showing our attacking players different things they need to do to help these young guys score goals. It really just boils down to confidence in front of the net."