Morisset Nets Golden Goal in Upset of No. 14 Kentucky

Wednesday, September 13

Lexington, Ky.

7:00 PM

Michigan

4-3

Kentucky

5-1-1

OT 2

Michigan

Kentucky

Morisset Nets Golden Goal in Upset of No. 14 Kentucky

9/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: Joseph Conrad

Site: Lexington, Ky. (UK Soccer Complex)
Score: Michigan 2, #14 Kentucky 1 (OT)
Records: U-M (4-3-0), Kentucky (5-1-1)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Sept. 17 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 3:30 p.m. CDT

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The University of Michigan men's soccer team defeated No. 14 Kentucky in overtime, 2-1, on Wednesday (Sept. 13) at the UK Soccer Complex. The Wolverines and the Wildcats played to overtime for the third time in as many years, with U-M prevailing each time.

Five minutes and 18 seconds into overtime, sophomore Alex Morisset (Shelby Township, Mich./De La Salle HS) netted the golden goal, with sophomore Jake Stacy (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central HS) earning the assist. The goal, Morisset's first collegiate score, was taken from 29 yards out in the middle of the field to beat UK's Dan Williams after ricocheting off the crossbar, and bouncing into the net.

In the 88th minute, sophomore/freshman goalkeeper Patrick Sperry (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central HS) played big in net as he made two game-saving grabs to send the match into overtime.

The Wolverines scored the first goal of the half to end Kentucky's 352:25 shutout streak, netting the marker in the 36th minute of action with sophomore Steve Bonnell (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Detroit Country Day HS) earning his fourth assist of the year and freshman Mauro Fuzetti (Houston, Texas/Stratford) netting his first collegiate goal. The play was set up from the right flank, with Bonnell slipping the ball to a streaking Fuzetti. With two touches of the ball, Fuzetti blasted the shot from 25 yards out, beating Williams in the upper left corner.

In the first period, the Michigan defense faced five corner kicks and allowed one shot on goal from the corner attempts. In the fifth minute, the Wolverines converted a Wildcat corner kick into the first shot of the day. Bonnell took the shot for the Maize and Blue, sending the ball high over the net.

With less than eight minutes left in the first stanza, UK answered with a goal of its own as Riley O'Neill beat Sperry after a Kentucky corner kick.

The Maize and Blue answered the Kentucky goal by forcing a UK foul, allowing Fuzetti to take the restart and make Williams grab his first save of the period.

The biggest save of the match came in the 31st minute when the Wildcats offense slipped behind the Wolverine defense and forced Sperry to knock the ball out of bounds. For the first time in two games, Sperry was forced to make a save in the first frame of play, as the redshirt freshmen finished the first half with three saves.

The Maize and Blue continued to attack the Wildcats' defense to start the second half. The first U-M scoring opportunity came in the 52nd minute when freshman Peri Marosevic (Rockford, Ill./Edison Academy HS) took a shot wide off a Michigan counterattack. Marosevic took his second shot of the half in the 58th minute off a Michigan restart kick, sending the attempt wide left.

In the 75th minute, senior tri-captain Brian Popeney (Canton, Mich./Plymouth Salem HS) forced a UK team save after firing a 28-yard free kick from the left flank, bending the ball over the Wildcats defensive wall to beat the keeper to the left.

The Wolverines travel to Madison, Wis., to open up Big Ten Conference play against Wisconsin at the McClimon Soccer Complex on Sunday (Sept. 17) at 3:30 p.m.CDT.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	OT	F
Michigan	1	0	1	2
Kentucky	1	0	0	1

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Mauro Fuzetti, 35:09 (Steve Bonnell; Peri Marosevic)
1st -- UK, Riley O'Neill, 37:08 (Nathan Li; Michael D'Agostino)
OT -- U-M, Alex Morisset, 95:18 (Jake Stacy)

Shots: U-M 14, UK 17
Saves: U-M 6 (Patrick Sperry), UK 2 (Dan Williams 1, Team 1)
Corner Kicks: U-M 3, UK 7
Fouls: U-M 19, UK 24
Cards: UK, Nathan Li, 14:50 (yellow); UK, Nathan Marks, 26:24 (yellow); U-M, Chase Tennant, 49:07 (yellow); U-M, Mauro Fuzetti, 63:59 (yellow)

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Steve Burns
On the game ... "I thought we play really well tonight. In terms of all the different categories we look at to be able to win games, we did a strong job in those categories, and I think the better team on the night won."

On what was said at halftime, tied 1-1 ... "I said this is exactly why they came to Michigan, to play in big games like this against strong opponents. Everybody's head was up and you could see they were eager to get out and play in the second half, and I really didn't have to say much because I thought in their eyes they were ready to play."

On the young players ... "What I think is really refreshing is that we're not a one-dimensional team. We've got a lot of different guys that can be threats to score goals for us, to set goals up. If it's not Peri Marosevic scoring, it's Mauro Fuzetti. We've got Steve Bonnell that's a threat, we've got Santos Perez. We've got guys coming off the bench like Bobby Trybula, Nader Jarun, and it's nice to have that kind of depth within our team in the attack."

On how this win helps going into the Big Ten season ... "Everybody right now in the Big Ten is 0-0, it's a relatively wide-open race. We were picked to finish at the bottom end of the conference, and I think the players have a real strong belief, confidence and attitude to show that we're a lot better than what a lot of coaches predicted us to finish."

U-M Senior Tri-Captain Kevin Hall
On what the win means to the team ... "This game put us over .500 right now, we're 4-3. We're finally starting to put things together to win. We were never really off track, we're heading where we need to go, trying to put some balls in the back of the net. Especially against this team, we had two tough games in the past two years against them. We had 1-0 victories in overtime with both games going to overtime. It really helps our confidence."

On the offense coming from the younger teammates ... "The younger guys are stepping up and we love that. It doesn't matter who's scoring. No one on this team really sees a class, we're just a team. Freshmen hang with seniors every weekend, every day we're in there practicing together, joking around. It doesn't matter who's scoring as long as balls are getting in the back of the net."

On what this win means going into the Big Ten season ... "Wisconsin's got a good, young team too. I think we match up pretty well against them. We're happy to get this win before starting our Big Ten season. We're definitely really happy with how things are going right now, but we can't be complacent. We can't settle for just above .500, we have to keep pushing ourselves. We're not going to be happy with just a 4-3 record. We want to finish out the season strong and do well in the Big Ten season and make an NCAA berth."

On the key to the team's defense in the win ... "I'd have to say it's the heart. We're willing to put in the effort to battle with them. They're a very physical team, and often times the game comes down to one big play. Fortunately at the end (Alex) Morisset was able to step up and make that big play. It seems like every defensive play is huge. (Patrick) Sperry came up with some big saves. We had to battle with guys in air, but we were able to pull out the win."

U-M Sophomore Alex Morisset
On going into the half tied 1-1 ... "They scored a decent goal off a corner kick. The ball bounced around a few times; it's no one really to blame. Our spirits were still high. We thought we were in control. I don't think it was any doubt in anyone's mind that we weren't going to win."

On his first collegiate goal ... "It's a huge goal. Before overtime Waldir (DeSousa) told me to look for a long shot, so the first time I got the ball, that's what I did. So early in overtime I took a shot, it ricocheted off a guy and we got a corner. Then the next one I got the ball, I was just thinking shoot. I got it and just took a shot from about 30 yards out. I didn't think it went in at first. It hit the crossbar at first and went in the back of the goal, and I looked around, yelled and ran for the corner."

On beating a No. 14-ranked team on the road ... "The win is huge. An overtime win, it's always huge, but this is the third time we've beat them in overtime, so it's great. The third win in a row, we're just going to have to build off of it. It's a great feeling though."

On what there is to learn from this match ... "We have to learn how to keep our cool. If we just stick to our game plan, I think we can pull out any game. We just have to stay calm, no matter if the other team scores and gets the momentum. We just have to keep our head in the game."