Offense Comes Alive Late as Michigan Blanks Western Michigan

Thursday, August 26

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:00 PM

Michigan

3-0-0, 0-0-0

Western Michigan

1-2-0, 0-0-0

Western Mich.

Michigan

Hannah Blake (Michigan Photography)

Offense Comes Alive Late as Michigan Blanks Western Michigan

8/26/2021 10:52:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score PDF Boxscore Photo Gallery

By: Scott Kemps

» Michigan outshot the Broncos by a 37-7 margin.
» Leading 1-0 at the half, U-M outscored the Broncos 3-0 in the second half of play.
» Goalkeepers Hillary Beall and Izzy Nino combined for their second shared blank sheet of the season, making a collective pair of stops.

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (U-M Soccer Stadium)
Score: #18 Michigan 4, Western Michigan 0
Records: U-M (3-0), WMU (1-2)
Attendance: 577
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Aug. 29 -- vs. Central Michigan (U-M Soccer Stadium), 1 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan women's soccer team celebrated Pride Day at U-M Soccer Stadium with a resounding 4-0 victory over Western Michigan on Thursday night (Aug. 26). The Wolverines outshot WMU 37-7 in the match

Michigan (3-0) controlled the opening 25 minutes, outshooting the Broncos 11-2 in the opening portion of the contest. Three of the shots came courtesy of senior Sarah Stratigakis and a pair from junior Dani Wolfe.

The Wolverines found the breakthrough in the 25th minute, when senior Meredith Haakenson and junior Hannah Blake found joy in U-M's finishing third. The pair found space at the top of the box and strung together a pair of passes, with Blake finishing a one-timer through traffic that tucked inside the lower-left post to give U-M a 1-0 lead.

At the break, U-M had 19 shots to Western Michigan's (1-2) four attempts, and senior Nicki Hernandez was responsible for six of them with three on frame. WMU goalkeeper Maggie Rogers made 10 stops in the first 45 minutes.

Despite holding a 33-5 shot advantage, Michigan led just 1-0 on the scoreboard. That changed in the 71st minute, as a looping ball from the left flank from junior Jayde Riviere went to the top of the six-yard box. With senior Raleigh Loughman pressuring the defender, the Bronco defender deflected the service in the back of its own net to run the tally to 2-0.

U-M's dominance continued from there, with Riviere assisting on a Hernandez goal in the 84th minute on a lofted ball to the back post that Hernandez finished off for a 3-0 Michigan lead. Minutes later, U-M iced it as sophomore Emilee Ray earned the first assist of her career with a pass that found the head of Wolfe for the finish in close. Blake was credited with the secondary assist, giving her three points on the night (one goal, one assist).

Hernandez ended the night with a team-high eight shots, while Wolfe had five and Stratigakis added four.

Freshman Tamia Tolbert made her first collegiate start at center back, playing 36 minutes.

Tweet of the Match

84' | GOAL!

Riviere with the splendid ball to the back post, slotted home by Hernandez.

3:0
#GoBlue? | #InPursuit pic.twitter.com/4cNK2CDP4e
— Michigan Women's Soccer (@umichwsoccer) August 27, 2021

Michigan will continue its five-match homestand when it hosts Central Michigan at U-M Soccer Staduim on Sunday (Aug. 29) at 1 p.m. The contest will be streamed live on Big Ten Network+.