Early Goals from Murillo, Toohey Guide Wolverines Past MSU

Thursday, October 3

East Lansing, Mich.

3:00 PM

Michigan

8-2-1, 2-1-1B1G

Michigan State

7-3-2, 1-3-0B1G

Michigan

Michigan State

Early Goals from Murillo, Toohey Guide Wolverines Past MSU

10/3/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Brad Rudner

Site: East Lansing, Mich. (DeMartin Stadium)
Score: #21 Michigan 2, Michigan State 1
Records: U-M (8-2-1, 2-1-1 Big Ten), MSU (7-3-2, 1-3 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Oct. 6 -- at Nebraska (Lincoln, Neb.), 1 p.m. CDT

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Two goals in the first 15 minutes -- by junior Christina Murillo (Ojai, Calif./Nordhoff) and senior Meghan Toohey (Philadelphia, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) -- were the difference for the No. 21-ranked University of Michigan women's soccer team as it downed rival Michigan State, 2-1, on Thursday afternoon (Oct. 3) at the DeMartin Stadium.

Christina Murillo

The Wolverines' first marker came in the 10th minute off a set piece. From about 25 yards out, Murillo fired a shot right on target that Michigan State goalkeeper Courtney Clem got a piece of, but the ball went through her hands and underneath the crossbar to put Michigan up, 1-0. Senior Shelina Zadorsky (London, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas) was credited with an assist.

Close to five minutes later, Toohey tacked on a second goal to make the score 2-0. Fifth-year senior Holly Hein (Castaic, Calif./West Ranch) started the play, initially firing a shot that bounced off a Spartan defender. The ball then fell to Toohey, who made one touch to her right and put a shot on target that ended up in the right-back corner of the net.

Following the two-goal outburst, Michigan State changed goalkeepers, and Michigan went into the half with that two-goal lead and also led in shots (8-5) and shots on goal (3-0).

Michigan kept attacking in the second half in search of some insurance goals. In the 56th minute, Murillo played a ball in behind the Michigan State back line to senior Tori McCombs (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry), but McCombs' header attempt went high and wide. In the 65th minute, Michigan State had an illegal passback to the goalkeeper, leading the referee to signal a free kick for the Wolverines just inside the 18-yard box. The ensuing shot by Hein hit the wall and bounced back to her, but her follow-up attempt with the left foot went high over the crossbar.

The Spartans got a goal back with 12:45 to play in the contest. A foul was called on Michigan to give Michigan State a free kick from the right side of the field. Kirsten Evans sent the ball in to the far post, and Mary-Katherine Fiebernitz rose up over the Michigan defense to head it into the back of the net. The Spartans did not challenge again, and Michigan played keep away for the rest of the match to secure the win.

Bucklin played all 90 minutes in net but did not make a save.

Michigan stays on the road for its next match, facing No. 23 Nebraska on Sunday (Oct. 6) in Lincoln. The match will begin at 1 p.m. CDT and will be streamed online on MGoBlue.com.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	F
Michigan	2	0	2
Michigan State	0	1	1

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Christina Murillo, 9:12 (Shelina Zadorsky)
1st -- U-M, Meghan Toohey, 14:09 (Holly Hein)
2nd -- MSU, Mary-Katherine Fiebernitz, 77:15 (Kirsten Evans)

Shots: U-M 20, MSU 9
Shots on Goal: U-M 5, MSU 1
Saves: U-M 0 (Taylor Bucklin), MSU 3 (Courtney Clem 1, Gabrielle Gauruder 2)
Corner Kicks: U-M 1, MSU 1
Cards: MSU, Jessica Kjellstrom, 22:29 (Yellow)

NOTES

• Michigan is 10-5-7 all-time vs. Michigan State. The Wolverines have a two-match winning streak in the series for the first time since 1999. It is also only the third time ever that Michigan has won in East Lansing (last: 1998).

• Christina Murillo became the 11th different player to score at least one goal this season.

• Christina Murillo scored her second career goal. Her only other career goal came Sept. 9, 2012, vs. Oakland.

• Corinne Harris made her fourth start of the season. Prior to Thursday, her last start was Sept. 12 vs. Detroit.

• Michigan scored as many goals in the first 15 minutes against Michigan State (two) as it had in its last four matches combined.

• Shelina Zadorsky improved on her single-season career high in assists. She now has six from the backline this season.

• It is the third match this season that Taylor Bucklin did not have to make a save. Michigan's defense allowed only nine shots and only one shot on goal at MSU.

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Greg Ryan
On if there was a sense of urgency in this match ... "Absolutely. We had a meeting with our captains and really emphasized finishing our chances. Our seniors met with the whole team last night, and everyone realized this could be another turning point one way or another, up or down. I think you saw us come out from the very start aggressive in the attack and creating good chances. Fortunately, the two goals stood up. I'm proud of how we came out and how hard we played from the start."

On the importance of getting an early two-goal lead ... "It was huge because when you aren't hitting the net, and you go through a half without scoring, you go, 'Oh no, not again.' The ball we had that was dead-center on the six; if we hadn't already scored, we would have thought it was another day. Hopefully this gives us more confidence. Again, it was two players other than Nkem (Ezurike) who scored. Nkem will get on track, and she will score. Our main theme has been to making sure the rest of our players are determined to score goals. We continued to press for that third goal. We didn't just sit back and defend. We didn't find that one, but I'm proud of the way we continued to look forward."

On the disappointment of giving up a set-piece goal ... "For us to give up that set-piece goal and bring them back to within one goal on a day like today when we dominated the game? There were some mental mistakes by our players who weren't paying attention to assignments that we reviewed and went over in practice. This team wants to do big things, and you can't make those mistakes happen and expect to do big things. Maybe it didn't beat you today, but it's going to beat you. We should have never given up that goal at the end. To let No. 7, who has the best header on the team by far, go right by us and freely head it into the back of the net is unacceptable. We left a player wide open in the flanks. That's what they're good at. They had one chance in the box today, and they scored. That's unacceptable."

On the defense ... "I think our game plan today was shutting down their key players. The shots they took were from so far out. There weren't any good shots from inside the box other than the header on the set piece. I thought our back line was outstanding again. I'm disappointed for them that we gave up that goal because they deserved the shutout today and didn't get it, but it's something to learn from. If we're going to give other teams free headers, we aren't going to win many more games."