U-M Drops Third Straight with Loss at St. John's

Wednesday, October 10

Queens, N.Y.

7:30 PM

Michigan

8-3-1

St. John's

6-4-2

Team	1	2	Final F
Michigan	0	0	0
St. John's	1	1	2

10/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Stacey Schwartz

Site: Queens, N.Y. (Belson Field)
Score: St. John's 2, #21 Michigan 0
Records: U-M (8-3-1), St. John's (6-4-2)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Oct. 14 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 3 p.m.

QUEENS, N.Y. -- Despite outshooting its opponent 11-10, the No. 21-ranked University of Michigan men's soccer team was unable to overcome an early deficit, losing its third consecutive game of the season to St. John's, 2-0, Wednesday (Oct. 10) in Belson Stadium. This is the second time in as many games that Michigan has been shut out.

Michigan finished the first half of the match with only one shot on goal and without an answer to St. John's goal -- a 15-yard shot into the bottom right of the net at 25:06. The Wolverines went into the half down one tally.

Early in the second half, Michigan created more scoring chances but was unable to convert. Junior midfielder Alex Morisset (Shelby Township, Mich./De La Salle) led the Wolverines with four shots, including two on goal.

Meanwhile, the Red Storm padded its lead with another score at 72:32 in the second half. Junior/sophomore goalkeeper Patrick Sperry (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) came up in the six-yard box to defend the ball, but a St. John's forward kicked it into the net past Sperry, increasing the Red Storm lead to 2-0.

Michigan continued to attack the St. John's defense to no avail, as none of the Wolverines' eight second-half shots penetrated the Red Storm goal.

At 85:58, junior defender Michael Holody (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) received a red card, forcing Michigan to play a man down for the remaining time. As a result, U-M will be without Holody -- its defensive leader -- in its next match.

Michigan will face in-state rival Michigan State at 3 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 14) in East Lansing, Mich.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	F
Michigan	0	0	0
St. John's	1	1	2

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- SJU, Nelson Buccera, 25:06 (Ryan Soroka)
2nd -- SJU, Omar Alfonso, 72:32 (Michael Luk)

Shots: U-M 11, SJU 10
Saves: U-M 5 (Patrick Sperry), SJU 6 (Jason Landers)
Corner Kicks: U-M 5, SJU 3
Fouls: U-M 11, SJU 15
Cards: U-M, Alex Morisset, 61:53 (yellow); U-M, Peri Marosevic, 67:10 (yellow); U-M, Michael Holody, 85:58 (red); SJU, Michael Dal Pra, 87:05 (yellow)

NOTES

• Michigan was shut out for the second consecutive time this season in the 2-0 lost to St. John's Wednesday (Oct. 10). Prior to that, Michigan had not suffered back-to-back shutouts since Oct. 22, 2006.

• The Wolverines are now 0-2 all-time against the Red Storm.

• Michigan is 2-2 on the road this season.

• The Wolverines are 1-2 against teams from the Big East Conference this season.

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Steve Burns
On the game ... "Against good teams on the road, you have to have great unity in how you defend as a team. A lapse in focus can often result in picking a ball out of your own net. While statistically this game was very even, St. John's made us pay for a couple mistakes."

On being shut out ... "Our attack has become predictable. We are pressing and trying to make things happen on an individual level while supporting players react to what happens on ball. We need to get back to taking fewer touches on ball and allowing our off ball movement to open up the defense."

On the upcoming game against Michigan State ... "It's always a bear of a game. State is definitely the team on a roll right now. They just picked up a great win over Notre Dame. We'll need to play at our best."