Michigan
10-6-1,2-4-0Big Ten
Ohio State
10-4-4,4-2-0Big Ten
U-M Drops Heartbreaker at Ohio State in Regular-Season Finale
11/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Site: Columbus, Ohio (Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium)
Score: Ohio State 1, Michigan 0
Records: U-M (10-6-1, 2-4 Big Ten), OSU (10-4-1, 4-2-0 Big Ten)
Attendance: 1,081
Next U-M Game: Thursday, Nov. 12 -- vs. Penn State - Big Ten Tournament First Round (Bloomington, Ind.), 3 p.m.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Senior forward Mauro Fuzetti (Houston, Texas/Stratford) recorded seven shots, including four on goal, but an Ohio State goal in the final seconds of the first half sent the University of Michigan men's soccer team to a 1-0 loss to conclude the regular season on Saturday (Nov. 7) at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. U-M will face Penn State on Thursday (Nov. 12) at 3 p.m. in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, hosted by Indiana.
Mauro Fuzetti
Fuzetti led both teams with his seven shots, four of them on target, while junior/sophomore goalkeeper Chris Blais (Seattle, Wash./Kennedy Memorial) recorded four saves in the loss.
The Wolverines had an edge in nearly every offensive category but especially in shots on goal as U-M hit eight balls on target to Ohio State's four, but none found a way past Ohio State's Matt Lampson. The Wolverines looked like they were going to head into halftime tied at 0-0, but on an OSU corner kick with seconds left and ensuing scramble in the box David Tiemstra got loose and hit a shot from eight yards out with two seconds remaining that proved to be the game-winner.
Despite heading into the second half trailing, the Wolverines made a push for the equalizer late in the frame as junior forward Justin Meram (Shelby Township, Mich./Yavapai College) and Fuzetti both found themselves from about 10 yards out with chances, but Lampson made the saves on both occasions.
U-M had several more opportunities in the first half, including two shots on goal from Fuzetti. The first came in the ninth minute when Meram sent in a beautiful cross from the right side to a streaking Fuzetti in the middle of the field, forcing Lampson to make a save. Fuzetti had another shot on goal midway through the half, but it was freshman Hamoody Saad (Dearborn, Mich./Dearborn) who struck a hard ball from about 20 yards out that Lampson bobbled and had to fall on to keep the Wolverines scoreless.
The Buckeyes came out shooting and had three corner kicks in the first minute of action, but the U-M defense -- led by Blais in the cage -- kept the Buckeyes at bay. Ohio State had a prime opportunity to score with the U-M defense playing high up, but senior defender Julian Robles (Los Angeles, Calif./Damien) used his backside to stifle the shot.
GAME SUMMARY
| By Periods | 1 | 2 | F |
| Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio State | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- OSU, David Tiemstra, 44:58 (Chris Gomez, Eric Shrigley)
Shots: U-M 19, OSU 7
Shots on Goal: U-M 10, OSU 4
Saves: U-M 4 (Chris Blais), OSU 8 (Matt Lampson)
Corner Kicks: U-M 2, OSU 8
Fouls: U-M 10, OSU 12
Cards: U-M, Matt Schmitt, 68:23 (Yellow); OSU, Joe Moore, 39:12 (Yellow).
NOTES
• The Wolverines have an all-time record of 7-5-1 against Ohio State and moves to 17-16-2 against teams from the state of Ohio. U-M has played five teams from Ohio this season.
• U-M, playing in its second televised contest in as many games, has a 1-6-1 record in televised games. Today's game was the second time the Wolverines and Buckeyes have met on TV. The teams played on the Big Ten Network during the 2007 season, also a 1-0 Ohio State victory in Columbus, Ohio.
• Today's 1-0 victory was the 10th time in 13 games in the series that was decided by one goal. In addition, the last two meetings between the two teams have been by a score of 1-0. U-M took the 1-0 win in Ann Arbor last season.
• Today's game marked the sixth time U-M has concluded the regular season against Ohio State, including three of the last four seasons.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Steve Burns
On how the team played ... "We played to our full potential tonight. Every guy in our lineup did his job either at or above his top end. We created some really dangerous chances in the run of play and defended extremely well as a team throughout the game. We showed both the physical and mental toughness needed to win on the road. Ohio State made the one play that proved to be the difference in the game. That's how close it is in our conference. We're not going to feel sorry for ourselves. We congratulated Ohio State on their Big Ten Championship and are going to get back to work for the upcoming conference tournament."
On Ohio State's goal ... "With less than 10 seconds left in the half they took their corner kick. We did a good job quickly organizing our zone and man markers as the ball was swung in to the back post. Our player in the back of our zone redirected the ball with his head out over the end line to kill the clock. One of their players kept the ball in play on the end line and it fell to his teammate eight yards out and in stride. We stepped to him hard as he got the shot off that hit the underside of the crossbar and went in."
On how the team responded in the second half ... "We came out firing from the opening kickoff and never let up. Moody almost equalized 30 seconds into the half. Justin was a man possessed and created 2-3 great opportunities for himself but wasn't able to really step into the ball on his shots. And Mauro created mismatch problems out in the flank. We had our tails up all the way to the final whistle but couldn't find the equalizer."
Team Stats
Tiemstra, David (1)
Assisted By: Gomez, Chris , Shrigley, Eric
off CK and melee in box, shot from 8 yar
44:58
