Michigan
11-4-6, 4-1-3
Wright State
11-8-4, 4-4-0
Men’s Soccer Marches Into Sweet 16 After PK Shootout Win
11/24/2019 4:48:00 PM | Men's Soccer
» The Wolverines advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010 after drawing Wright State (0-0) and advancing, 5-4, in the penalty kick shootout.
» Goalkeeper Owen Finnerty denied the third Wright State shooter, Harvey Slade, to give the Wolverines the advantage in the shootout. Marc Ybarra ended it in the fifth round.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (U-M Soccer Stadium)
Event: NCAA Tournament, Second Round
Score: Michigan 0, Wright State 0 (2OT, U-M advances on PKs, 5-4)
Records: U-M (11-4-6), WSU (11-8-4)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Dec. 1 -- at #4 Wake Forest (Winston-Salem, N.C.), Time TBA
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 13-seed University of Michigan men's soccer team advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nine years, playing to a scoreless draw with Wright State before advancing in penalty kicks, 5-4, on Sunday (Nov. 24) at U-M Soccer Stadium. Freshman Owen Finnerty made the decisive save in the third round, denying Harvey Slade, while junior Marc Ybarra put away the team's fifth spot kick to send the Wolverines forward.
Michigan will face No. 4-seed Wake Forest next Sunday (Dec. 1) in Winston-Salem, N.C., after the Demon Deacons eliminated Maryland, the defending national champion, by a 3-0 scoreline.
In penalty kicks, each team made their first two attempts until Finnerty's denial of Slade in the third round. Sophomore Derick Broche made his attempt to give Michigan a 3-2 cushion. Wright State's Stefan Rokvic and senior Jack Hallahan each made their attempts in round four, and Wright State's Jackson Dietrich made his in round five to temporarily knot up the score at 4. Needing a make to seal it, Ybarra stepped up and put it past Sundell, sending U-M Soccer Stadium into a frenzy.
Ironically, the penalty-kick shootout was the team's third in as many NCAA Tournament matches stretching back to last year (11-10 win over Princeton in the first round; 10-11 loss to Notre Dame in the second round). Michigan also went to PKs for the second consecutive Sunday, following a 4-3 defeat to Indiana in last week's Big Ten Tournament final.
The Wolverines had two chances in the first 15 minutes. In the 13th minute, Ybarra flicked the ball on to Hallahan, who sent a cross into the box. Broche connected, but headed it too high. A minute later off a corner kick, the ball pinged off a Wright State defender to junior Carlos Tellez, but his follow-up attempt went high of the frame.
Wright State answered with a good spell in the attacking third. In the 22nd minute off a corner, the ball spilled out to Harvey Slade, but his left-footed shot from distance was gobbled up by Finnerty. On a free kick outside the box in the 23rd minute, Deri Corfe hit a shot with power, but it went over the crossbar. The teams were scoreless at half.
Both teams had their chances in the second half. In the 56th minute, a Hallahan free kick rebounded out to junior Austin Swiech. He sent it back in for Broche, but his header was saved at the far post. In the 65th minute, junior Joel Harrison headed a ball from the back post into the middle of the box for graduate student Nebojsa Popovic, but his shot was blocked.
In the 76th minute off an Ybarra free kick, Harrison headed it back toward the center. Junior Mohammed Zakyi chested it down, but could not get enough power on his shot, seeing it skim wide of the frame. The last quality chance came in the 89th minute, but Broche's offering from the far side of the box was saved by Wright State goalkeeper Joel Sundell. Scoreless after 90 minutes, the two teams went to overtime.
Michigan's best chance came in the 105th minute. Zakyi played a ball on to Broche in the box, and the junior put it into the net, but was flagged offside on the play.
