Michigan
5-4-2
Detroit
5-3-1
U-M Sets Shots Record in Scoreless Draw With Detroit
9/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
asdSite: Ann Arbor, Mich. (U-M Soccer Field)
Score: Michigan 0, Detroit 0 (2OT)
Records: U-M (5-4-2), Detroit (5-3-1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Sept. 30 -- UC-Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, Calif.), 7 p.m. PDT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's soccer team played its second straight double-overtime draw, this time battling to a scoreless tie with the Detroit Titans on Wednesday (Sept. 27) on the U-M Soccer Field. The Maize and Blue took a single-game school-record 34 shots, to Detroit's eight, but could not score.
The Wolverines came out in the opening half as the aggressor but were unable to score despite taking seven shots in the first period. With just 7:25 left in the first period, freshman Julian Robles (Hacienda Heights, Calif./Damien HS) was denied of what could have been his first career goal after an offsides call. The play was set up after senior tri-captain Brian Popeney (Canton, Mich./Plymouth Salem HS) took a Michigan corner kick, allowing sophomore Chase Tennant (Rochester, Mich./Rochester HS) to send the ball to senior tri-captain Kevin Savitskie (Plymouth, Mich./Salem HS). Savitskie then headed the ball from the middle of the goal box to a diving Robles, who headed the ball in the net from the right post. The crowd celebrated, and the drummers began to play louder, only to be silenced by the whistle and signal from the referee indicating offsides.
The first scoring opportunity of the night came at the 14:12 mark, when freshman Peri Marosevic (Rockford, Ill./Edison Academy HS) pounded a shot from 23 yards out, only to hit the back left post as it sailed wide. Freshman Mauro Fuzetti (Houston, Texas/Stratford HS) took a shot of his own just 35 seconds later, but the ball went high over the crossbar.
Going into halftime scoreless, the Maize and Blue came back into the game with more offensive pressure and took an astounding 18 shots, forcing the keeper to make five of his nine saves.
The most promising shot of the second half was taken by sophomore Jake Stacy (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central HS) in the 50th minute. Sophomore Steve Bonnell (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Detroit Country Day HS) passed the ball to Stacy from the left flank, allowing Stacy to take a jumping scissor-kick from the middle of the goal box and knock the ball inches from the net. In the 57th minute, Stacy continued to search for a goal, only to be denied by Detroit keeper Sasha Boskovic, giving Boskovic his second save of the half.
In the final overtime of the match, Bonnell had two scoring opportunities, only to come up short against Boskovic. At the 106:10 mark, Bonnell fired a shot just 15 yards away from the middle of the net after Boskovic misplayed a loose ball, leaving the net wide open. As Bonnell snapped off the potential golden goal, the Titan keeper leapt from the side of the net to snag the ball. In the 109th minute, Bonnell continued to scramble for the game-winner as he took another shot from the middle of the goal box, just 12 yards out, with Boskovic making a save on his back after slipping from chasing a loose ball.
Michigan took a season-best 11 corner kicks and the second most shots on goal (9) for the season.
Sophomore/freshman Patrick Sperry (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central HS) finished the match untested, as the Titans had no shots on goal, giving Sperry his second career shutout.
The Wolverines make the longest trip of the season as they travel to Santa Barbara, Calif., to face the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on Saturday (Sept. 30) at 7 p.m. PDT at Harder Stadium.
GAME SUMMARY
| By Periods | 1 | 2 | OT | OT | F |
| Detroit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Shots: U-M 34, Detroit 8
Saves: U-M 0 (Patrick Sperry), Detroit 9 (Sasha Boskovic)
Corner Kicks: U-M 11, Detroit 0
Fouls: U-M 26, Detroit 18
Cards: Detroit, Larry Brown, 12:45 (yellow); U-M, Alex Morisset, 78:51 (yellow); Detroit, Mark Djurovsky, 106:37 (yellow)
NOTES
• Michigan three-game unbeaten streak (1-0-2) is its second of the season. The Wolverines are 4-1-2 in their last seven games.
• Today's scoreless tie is the first 0-0 draw in the series with Detroit. The Wolverines are 2-0-2 all-time against the Titans.
• Sophomore/freshman Patrick Sperry earned his second career shutout. The shutout is U-M's third of the season.
• The 0-0 tie is Michigan's first scoreless stalemate of the season.
• This is the second time in program history the Wolverines have played back-to-back double-overtime draws. The first time was Oct. 31 and Nov. 3 of 2004 against Penn State and Oakland.
• Michigan has not given up a shot on goal to Detroit in the last two meetings.
• Senior Michael O'Reilly made his 45th career start tonight.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Steve Burns
On the team's performance ... "It's not a lack of effort. I think in this game, more than anything, here we are upper Midwest, the weather is starting to turn, and the field is getting muddy. And that's the game we had to play, and we didn't. You can look at their jerseys; it's too many guys with white jerseys on without muddy jerseys. It was just that kind of doing the effort to be extraordinary tonight, and we didn't have it."
On the team's defense ... "Defensively we looked real strong, Chase Tennant came in and gave us some good minutes on the left side, especially with his distribution, I thought. Defensively things were strong, Detroit came here to get a tie, and it's difficult to play against a team that packs things in and looks to play off the counterattack. We got in behind them quite a bit, but obviously, no conversions."
On how the team responds to a 0-0 tie ... "I think that this is the kind of disappointment that either wakes a team up or puts them in a major funk. I think there is a lot of a good character on this team, and they'll rebound as we get ready for a very difficult game going off to UCSB, facing a No. 15 or 20 ranked UCSB team, depending on what poll. They're going to do whatever it takes for a win, and it's going to be a very difficult game."
