Weekly Release #5
9/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Upcoming Schedule
Wednesday, Sept. 13 -- at Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.), 7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 17 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 3:30 p.m. CDT
Wednesday, Sept. 20 -- vs. Oakland (U-M Soccer Field), 7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 24 -- at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.), 2:30 p.m. CDT
This Week ... Back-to-Back Road Games
Michigan (3-3, 0-0 Big Ten) at #14 Kentucky (5-0-1, 0-0 Conference USA)
Wednesday, Sept. 13, 7 p.m. EDT UK Soccer Complex
Michigan (3-3, 0-0 Big Ten) at Wisconsin (3-3, 0-0 Big Ten)
Sunday, Sept. 17, 3:30 p.m. CDT McClimon Soccer Complex
The Wolverines depart Ann Arbor to face the No. 14 Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, Ky., at the UK Soccer Complex on Wednesday (Sept. 13) at 7 p.m., and the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, Wis., at the McClimon Soccer Complex on Sunday (Sept. 17) at 3:30 p.m. CDT. Michigan and Wisconsin will face each other to open the Big Ten season for the first time.
Scouting the Opponents ...
A look at No. 14 Kentucky (Michigan leads all-time series, 2-0): The Wildcats finished the 2005 season 6-7-6, going 3-4-2 in Conference USA in their inaugural year in the conference. UK has started the season with a 5-0-1 record and is currently ranked No. 14. In 2005, Michigan defeated Kentucky 1-0 on the U-M Soccer Field.
Under Head Coach Ian Collins: Entering his 13th season, Collins is a three-time MAC Coach of the Year (1997, 1999, 2001) as well as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Mid East Region Coach of the Year in 1999. Collins led Kentucky to its first NCAA Tournament berth in 1999 and its first second round appearance in 2000. Collins has an overall record of 135-90-23. Kentucky on the web: www.ukathletics.com.
A look at Wisconsin (Michigan leads all-time series, 6-1): In 2005, the Badgers closed the season with an 8-11-0 overall record, and a 2-4-0 mark in the Big Ten. UW is currently 3-3 in the 2006 season. The Wolverines are on a six game winning streak against the Badgers, with the last victory (4-2) coming in 2005 on the U-M Soccer Field.
Under Head Coach Jeff Rohrman: Rohrman enters his fifth season as head coach for the Badgers and has an overall record of 37-41-7. In four seasons under Rohrman, Wisconsin has registered 17 shutouts and earned its 300th program win. In 2003, the Badgers compiled an 11-10-1 record and advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament for the first time since 1998. Wisconsin on the web: www.uwbadgers.com
THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES ...
Did You Know
Michigan is 6-1 against Wisconsin with a six-game winning streak. The last time Wisconsin defeated Michigan was in 2000 (1-4) in Madison, Wis.
U-M is on a two-game winning streak after going 2-0 in the Michigan Invitational (Sept. 8-10). The Wolverines' longest unbeaten streak came in 2002 when U-M went 7-0-1 from Oct. 20-Nov. 17.
This is the first time since 2000 that a freshman has led the Wolverines in points through six games. In 2000, three freshmen were tied for first with two goals (Tom Gritter, Kevin Robinson and Kevin Taylor).
U-M defeated Northwestern 1-0 in the 2005 Big Ten season opener (Sept. 18) on the U-M Soccer Field.
Wisconsin is the fourth team that Michigan will face in Big Ten openers (Penn State, Indiana and Northwestern).
Michigan finished the 2005 Big Ten season 2-4-0, tying for fifth place with Wisconsin. Michigan is currently tied with Wisconsin for fourth in the Big Ten (3-3 overall).
Last Week... Michigan Invitational
In the tournament's second year, the Wolverines claimed the Michigan Invitational title for the second time in a row. U-M currently holds a 4-0 record in the Michigan Invitational after going 2-0 each year. The Maize and Blue claimed the 2006 title on goal differential, with Michigan State finishing 2-0 as well. The decision came to goals for, with U-M finishing with four goals to MSU's three.
"Putting the Onion in the Onion Bag"
After losing four of the top point scorers, Michigan has been able to find offense in its younger players. Freshman Peri Marosevic (Rockford, Ill./Edison Academy) currently leads all Wolverines with three goals, after netting two in the Michigan Invitational. Sophomore Jake Stacy (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) is second, after having his first career two-goal match to lead U-M past Butler 3-1 (Sept. 8).
Sharing the Wealth
The Wolverines have been able to net their goals with sophomore Steve Bonnell (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Detroit Country Day) and freshman Mauro Fuzetti (Houston, Texas/Stratford) sharing the wealth of the ball. The pair is tied for first with three assists apiece. Bonnell and Fuzetti have proven that they can get the ball to the scorers after each having two-assist games apiece. Bonnell's first career two-assist game was against Butler, as he set up Peri Marosevic and Jake Stacy, earning his second-career game-winning assist. Fuzetti earned two assists to lead U-M to its first win of the season, defeating Northern Illinois (Sept. 1), 2-1.
NSCAA/adidas National Rankings (9/12/06)
Ranking, School Prev. Record 1. SMU 3 6-0-0 2. Clemson 4 5-0-0 3. Virginia 2 5-0-0 4. Washington 6 5-0-0 5. Duke 9 5-0-0 6. Maryland 1 4-1-0 7. Santa Clara 14 4-0-1 8. West Virginia 10 5-0-1 9. Indiana 10 3-2-1 10. South Carolina 21 5-1-0 11. San Francisco 13 4-0-1 12. Notre Dame 8 3-2-1 Wake Forest 5 4-1-0 14. Kentucky 20 5-0-1 Fordham 12 4-0-1 16. North Carolina 7 5-1-0 17. Fairleigh Dickinson 15 2-1-1 18. Illinois-Chicago 22 4-0-2 19. Boston University 23 4-0-2 20. Old Dominion NR 3-1-0 21. South Florida NR 4-2-0 22. Massachusetts NR 5-0-1 22. UC Santa Barbara 19 3-2-0 24. Virginia Tech 16 4-1-0 25. Elon NR 6-1-0 Memphis 23 4-0-1
PAGE THREE ...
U-M Scheduled for Two Live Television Games on Comcast
Comcast Local is scheduled to televise Michigan home games against Notre Dame (Oct. 4, 7 p.m.) and Michigan State (Oct. 8, 2 p.m.).
The Book on Burns
Head coach Steve Burns is 63-52-9 in six seasons as the leader of Michigan's varsity program. Last season Burns guided the Wolverines to an overall record of 8-10-1, tying for fifth place in the Big Ten. Since Burns took the helm in 2000, the Wolverines have posted 10 or more wins in four out of six seasons, making two NCAA College Cup appearances. 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.
Defensive Leadership
With a new face in the net for the Wolverines, the defensive back half will be key in maintaining Michigan's defensive reputation. With three senior defensemen in the backline -- Kevin Hall (Kalamazoo, Mich./Central HS), Michael O'Reilly (Spring, Texas/Klein HS) and Kevin Savitskie (Plymouth, Mich./Salem HS) -- the Wolverines look to produce another season that is full of defensive stability. In 2005, Hall, O'Reilly and Savitskie led a Michigan defense that tied a Michigan record of five shutouts for the season. On Sept. 1, the Wolverines demonstrated their defensive prowess versus the Detroit Titans as they held them to six shots with none on goal.
Team Leadership
The 2006 Wolverines will be led by senior tri-captains Kevin Hall, Kevin Savitskie and Brian Popeney (Canton, Mich./Plymouth Salem). Hall and Savitskie were defensive leaders for the Wolverines in 2005, not only defending but also scoring goals. Savitskie was fifth on the team in points (6) and third in goals (3). Hall, who is in his second season as a captain, scored his lone goal of the season against Denver (Sept. 4), netting the game-winner in the 85th minute giving the Wolverines a victory in the MSU/Radisson Classic. Popeney will bring his leadership and experience to the table after playing in 36 games, making five starts and dishing off two assists in his career.
New Faces in Town
Michigan's 2006 recruiting class ranked 26th on the College Soccer News top 40 list with three highly touted recruits joining the Wolverines. Incoming freshmen Mauro Fuzetti (Houston, Texas/Stratford HS), Peri Marosevic (Rockford, Ill./Edison HS) and Julian Robles (Hacienda Heights, Calif./Damien) will join sophomore midfielder Nader Jarun (Peachtree, Ga./McIntosh HS), a transfer from Vanderbilt. In 2006, Fuzetti earned All-Greater Houston and first team all-district honors. Marosevic was a member of Parade magazine's 2006 All-America team and participated in his second year with the U.S. National Team Under-18 group, traveling to Portugal and competing with the squad in the 13th annual Lisbon International Tournament in June. Robles was named 2006 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern California Defender of the Year after leading Damien High School to its first CIF State Championship title. Robles was also an all-state honoree after receiving all-district and all-region recognition. Jarun played in 14 of 18 matches at Vanderbilt University, tallying six shots with two on goal, as he was part of an attacking front line that ranked fifth in the conference in goals (28) and assists (27), leading the Commodores to their first winning record (9-7-2) in six years.
Raising the Bar
Michigan finished the 2005 season with an overall record of 8-10-1 and tied for fifth place in the Big Ten Conference at 2-4-0. One of the biggest wins of the season came on Oct. 20 when the Wolverines defeated the No. 25 Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers in double overtime by a score of 2-1. The Wolverines missed making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002.
Wolverines and the Michigan Bucks
The Michigan Bucks won the 2006 Premier Developmental League (PDL) Championship with the help from three current Wolverines, sophomores Michael Holody (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS), Alex Morisset (Shelby Township, Mich./DeLasalle HS) and Chase Tennant (Rochester, Mich./Rochester HS), and U-M alumnus Mychal Turpin (2001-04). The No. 13 Bucks became the lowest seeded team to capture the title as they defeated the Laredo Heat, 2-1.
Contact: Joseph Conrad (734) 763-4423
