Michigan
8-2-0, 2-0B1G
Minnesota
5-5-0, 0-2B1G
Michigan Posts Another Shutout, Blanks Minnesota
9/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium)
Score: Michigan 1, Minnesota 0
Records: U-M (8-2, 2-0 Big Ten), Minnesota (5-5, 0-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Sept. 23 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 1 p.m. CDT
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Junior Nkem Ezurike (Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia/Sackville) scored the only goal of the match in the 32nd minute to provide the offense, while fifth-year senior Haley Kopmeyer (Troy Mich./Lahser) recorded her fifth individual shutout this season as the University of Michigan women's soccer team won its fourth straight match on Friday (Sept. 21), beating Minnesota, 1-0, at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.
Haley Kopmeyer
Minnesota had the first chance of the match, but Taylor Uhl's shot off a breakaway in the fourth minute was saved by Kopmeyer. At the 20-minute mark, fifth-year senior Clare Stachel (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) nearly put one in the back of the net off a free kick, but her header bounced off the crossbar and out.
The Wolverines finally got on the board in the 32nd minute, thanks to Ezurike's goal. The reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, Ezurike put the game-winning goal in the back of the net after winning a one-on-one battle with Minnesota goalkeeper Cat Parkhill, who came out of the net to challenge, but Ezurike came away with the ball, resulting in a wide-open net. Her initial header attempt bounced off the post, but she re-gathered the ball and tapped it in to give Michigan the game-winner.
The second half was at slower pace, as neither team engineered many scoring opportunities. The Golden Gophers had the best chances in the 73rd minute, including an attempt by Allie Phillips that hit off the crossbar. However, the Michigan defense denied them all, increasing its shutout streak to 360:53.
Michigan outshot Minnesota by a 14-10 margin and completely shut down Uhl, who had only one shot in 82 minutes and came into the match as the nation's leader in goals (11) and points per match (three). Kopmeyer made three saves in net to preserve the shutout.
The Wolverines' two-match road trip ends with a match on Sunday (Sept. 23) against No. 14 Wisconsin in Madison, Wis. The match will begin at 1 p.m. CDT.
GAME SUMMARY
| By Periods | 1 | 2 | F |
| Michigan | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Nkem Ezurike, 31:41 (unassisted)
Shots: U-M 14, MINN 10
Shots on Goal: U-M 3, MINN 3
Saves: U-M 3 (Haley Kopmeyer), MINN 2 (Cat Parkhill)
Corner Kicks: U-M 1, MINN 2
Cards: U-M, Meghan Toohey, 80:40 (Yellow); MINN, Haley Helverson, 64:22 (Yellow)
NOTES
• Michigan improves to 7-11-2 all-time against Minnesota. The road team has won the last three meetings in the series.
• The Wolverines' win on Friday was its fourth consecutive shutout. Michigan earned four straight shutout wins only one prior time in program history (Sept. 23-Oct. 5, 2001).
• During this current four-match winning streak, Michigan has outscored opponents by an 8-0 margin and held the edge in shots, 59-26.
• Seven of Michigan's eight wins have been shutouts.
• With the shutout, the Wolverines' defense has not allowed a goal in the last 360:53 (four matches).
• This is Michigan's second four-match winning streak this season. The Wolverines won their first four matches to start the 2012 season.
• Michigan is now 5-2-0 in matches decided by one goal this season.
• Nkem Ezurike has now scored three career goals against Minnesota, one in each of the last three years. Two of those goals have been game-winning goals.
• With 21:35 to play in the match, the lights at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium went out. Play was resumed after a 15-minute delay.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Greg Ryan
On the win ... "It was huge. Minnesota is a very good team. They've been outplaying teams badly and losing. Frankly, I think they've been very unlucky. I knew how good they are. I haven't looked at the stats yet, but the real chances fell even between both teams. Haley (Kopmeyer) made a big save early, when Taylor Uhl was in behind us, then Nkem (Ezurike) got in behind them and scored. That was the difference, Haley's save and Nkem's goal. It was a Big Ten battle."
On the defense ... "The defense was once again outstanding. They kept their focus tonight, and they know what to do. The one time we didn't drop our back line on a long ball, we didn't match up with Uhl, and she broke through. Haley saved us. You can make one mistake like that in a game and lose because of it. They've been outstanding. This group can play in a way where they really limit the other team's chances."
On if the team needed to adjust its play based on what Minnesota was doing ... "Minnesota is a very good long-ball team, whereas we like to play on the floor. We actually adjusted our whole system because of what they were doing. We had watched other teams try and match up with them, and those teams got outplayed. Even though the other teams won, they were outshot and had fewer chances. We took a different approach than matching up with them. We created space around where they were, and tried to put the ball on the floor and connect. I though the whole team executed that plan very well, especially considering we never have really played it. We drew it up on a white board and said, 'Here we go,' and to their credit, our girls executed it."
On the team's goals for the weekend ... "It's interesting. I had a talk to the team before the weekend about how we've always taken it one game at a time. 'Can we get three points out of the match?' We know how hard it is to get three points at Minnesota and at Wisconsin. Before we talked about that, it was about the whole Big Ten season, how we take every game on our schedule like an opportunity to get three points. If we don't win a game, it's not the end of the world. Going into tonight's game, there were 30 points left to get, and I need to have the kids see the big picture. We can't get too high or too. Last year, we were 3-1-1 and got too high, then we let down. Tonight, we looked at it and knew what we had to do and how to play to get three points. Their effort was outstanding. A big shoutout to the players coming off the bench, too. Since I've been at Michigan, I've never had this kind of depth coming off the bench, and it helped us tremendously."
On if the 15-minute power outage changed philosophy ... "It's really hard to have a 20-minte break in the middle of the second half and come back focused. I thought our girls did a great job handing it. They were having a light warm-up the whole time once the lights came back on, went back out there and continued to play really hard. We were playing well when the lights went off. Something like that really neutralizes the game. We were doing well, dominating play, and then that gave them a chance to regroup. We were prepared, but it gave Minnesota a great opportunity to go after it, and to their credit, they made the most of it."
On what his message is to the team heading into Sunday's match at No. 14 Wisconsin ... "Same as tonight. I'm learning that this team has a lot of heart and lot of fight and a lot of desire to be successful. Wisconsin has always been a team like that. They're tough, they're hard, and they're talented. It's going to be a battle. Our defense, we rely on them and Haley. We're going to need to have another great day of team defending. I see us generating more and more chances with the players we have now, and we're going to have to continue to do that."
Team Stats
EZURIKE, Nkem (3)
Back pass to goalie was weak, Ezurike co
31:41
