Season Review: 2015 Men's Soccer
12/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Dec. 15, 2015
• Team Captains: Colin McAtee, James Murphy
• Record: 8-6-4 overall, 3-3-2 Big Ten Conference (6th place)
• Big Ten Tournament: First Round
The University of Michigan men's soccer team got off to the best start of the Chaka Daley era with a 5-2-2 mark in the first nine matches of the season. The team went on to finish sixth in the Big Ten Conference before falling to No. 3 Maryland in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan headed into the last match of the regular season with a chance to win the B1G regular-season title for the first time in program history.
Team Highlights
• The 2015 Wolverines had six ranked opponents on their schedule and seven NCAA Tournament teams, including Elite 8 teams Maryland and Notre Dame. Perhaps their most impressive win of the season came at No. 21 Penn State. In this game, Evan Louro saved five shots and picked up a clean sheet. William Mellors-Blair had an impressive goal off an assist from Michael Kapitula and a Francis Atuahene goal put away the Nittany Lions.
• What better way for a senior day to end than with a big win vs. Michigan State? In 2015 installment of the Battle for Big Bear, Evan Louro saved two shots for a clean sheet and senior captain James Murphy scored the one and only goal -- assisted by Rylee Woods and fellow senior captain Colin McAtee. Michigan won the Big Bear Trophy in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history and have captured the trophy in three of the past four seasons.
• Nationally, U-M ranked No. 41 in the country in shots per game (14.22) and shutout percentage (0.39). The scoring offense came in at No. 75 and third in the conference at 1.50 goals a game. The defense was also 51st goals against-average (1.05)
• U-M played the No. 30 schedule in the country, while its opponent strength of schedule ranked No. 37. The Wolverines went 6-2-2 at home and were unbeaten (7-0-1) when scoring first.
Individual Highlights
• Midfielder Francis Atuahene finished second in the B1G in shots (66), second in goals (10) and second in points (23). Goalkeeper Evan Louro finished fifth in the B1G in shutouts (seven), which ranks No. 2 program history, and collected 58 saves. Louro also had the second-best goals-against average in program history (1.05). Additionally, defender Rylee Woods had seven assists, which ranks No. 5 all-time in school annals.
• Francis Atuahene's 10 goals for a freshman were the second most in a season in school history (seventh most for a freshman in the NCAA). His hat trick in his first home game for the Maize & Blue was one of only four three-goal efforts in the Big Ten on the season. It was the 14th hat trick in school history.
• The Wolverines swept the Big Ten Weekly honors on Sept. 29. Francis Atuahene took home the offensive honor after coming off a week when he had two goals and a pair of assists. Against Oakland (Sept. 23) in a 4-1 win, he marked a goal and two assists in only 49 minutes of action. The Accra, Ghana, product then followed up with a match-sealing score in the 89th minute in a 2-0 win over No. 21 Penn State on Sunday (Sept. 27). Evan Louro took defensive accolades after recording seven saves (five against No. 21 Penn State), while allowing only one goal on the week.
• Senior co-captain James Murphy returned to the lineup after missing 10 matches due to a knee injury at the tail end of the season, putting team over his personal goals and sacrificed a potential medical redshirt. He scored twice in those three matches, netting the match-winner versus Michigan State in the 24th minute of the 1-0 victory. He added a late goal in a 3-1 defeat at Ohio State on Wednesday (Nov. 4) in the 84th minute of action.
• Freshman Marcello Borges missed four matches due to United States U-20 National Team duty in the middle of the season. Overall, Borges played in 11 matches with five starts as a true freshman.
Honors and Awards
Francis
Atuahene
Colin
McAtee
James
Murphy
Evan
Louro
Rylee
Woods
Brett
Nason
Team
MVP: Francis Atuahene
Ultras Award: Billy Stevens
Unsung Hero: Brett Nason
Club Man: James Murphy
Academic Achievement Award: Colin McAtee
Young Player of the Year: Francis Atuahene
Big Ten Conference
All-Big Ten (First Team): Francis Atuahene
All-Big Ten Freshman (First Team): Francis Atuahene
Big Ten Freshman of the Year: Francis Atuahene
Big Ten All-Tournament Team: Rylee Woods
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award: Colin McAtee
Big Ten Player of the Week
Offensive: Francis Atuahene (Sept. 29)
Defensive: Evan Louro (Sept. 29)
Academic All-Big Ten
James Murphy, Sr., history
Colin McAtee, Sr., economics & Spanish
Yamann Sahlool, Jr., biopsychology, cognitive and neuroscience
Communications Contact: Scott Kemps
