Weekly Release #12
11/12/1998 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sunday, Nov. 15 -- Michigan at Notre Dame (South Bend, Ind.), 1 p.m.
Friday-Sunday, Nov. 20-22 -- at campus sites
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Michigan advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. The Wolverines opened the tourney with a 4-2 first-round victory over Xavier at the Michigan Soccer Field on Wednesday, Nov. 11. U-M is currently 14-6-1 and ranked No. 18 in the nation by the NSCAA. The Wolverines feature four players in double figures in scoring: Amber Berendowsky (11-6-28), Jessica Limauro (10-7-27), Kacy Beitel (5-4-14) and Emily Schmitt (5-3-13).
About Notre Dame
As the NCAA Tournament's No. 4 seed, the Irish received a bye into the second round. Notre Dame, 20-2-1 and ranked fourth by the NSCAA, received the Big East Conference's automatic bid into the tournament after defeating Connecticut 1-0 for the Big East title. Jenny Heft, one of the nation's leading scorers, is a name Wolverine fans will remember well as she netted the goal to defeat Michigan 1-0 in double overtime on Oct. 23 in Ann Arbor.
On Common Ground
The Wolverines and Irish had four common opponents in 1998: Butler, Indiana, Michigan State and Wisconsin. ND compiled a 4-0 record against these opponents, while U-M was 3-1, with the lone defeat to Wisconsin.
Opponent Michigan Result Notre Dame Result Butler W, 2-1 (9/6, away) W, 5-0 (10/2, home) Indiana W, 2-0 (10/9, home) W, 3-0 (9/25, home) Michigan State W, 4-0 (10/16, away) W, 4-0 (9/1, away) Wisconsin L, 0-1 (9/18, away) W, 6-1 (10/30, home)
Michigan and the NCAA Tournament
The Wolverines are making their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Last season, U-M made its NCAA debut in Lincoln, Neb., and suffered a 5-1 defeat to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. On Wednesday, Nov. 11, U-M hosted an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in the history of the program and defeated Xavier 4-2 at the Michigan Soccer Field, evening the Wolverines' all-time NCAA record at 1-1.
Big Ten and the NCAA
Six Big Ten Conference teams -- Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State and Wisconsin -- were selected for the NCAA Tournament, tying the Big Ten with the Southeastern Conference for the most by any conference. The Atlantic Coast and Pacific-10 each received five bids.
Big Ten Fairing Well
Each of the Big Ten's six NCAA Tournament teams will be in action in the second round after the league's perfect 5-0 record in the first round (Penn State had a bye). Along with the Wolverines' 4-2 victory over Xavier, Wisconsin defeated Central Florida 2-0, Minnesota handled Kentucky 6-0, Indiana beat Wright State 3-1 and Northwestern tipped Evansville 2-1 in double overtime.
U-M Opponents and the NCAAs
Eight of Michigan's regular-season opponents received bids to the NCAA Tournament. In addition to five Big Ten foes -- Indiana, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State and Wisconsin -- three non-conference opponents earned invitations: Brigham Young, Kentucky and Notre Dame. The Wolverines were 3-6-1 against NCAA Tournament teams in 1998.
Against the Big East
The Wolverines are 0-2-0 all-time against Big East opponents, with losses to Notre Dame in 1997 (5-0 at South Bend) and 1998 (1-0 in double OT in Ann Arbor).
Rematch with ND
The Wolverines will look to avenge a 1-0 double-overtime loss suffered earlier this year to Notre Dame (Oct. 23) at the Michigan Soccer Field. Carissa Stewart (Topsham, Maine/Mt. Ararat HS) made seven saves in the losing effort. Stephanie McArdle (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet HS) came within inches of ending the game in regulation when her header off a corner kick hit off the crossbar.
Recapping the Big Ten Tournament
At the Big Ten Tournament in State College, Pa., fifth-seeded Michigan opened with a 1-0 victory over No. 4 seed Northwestern in the quarterfinal round, avenging a 4-2 loss to the Wildcats on Sept. 20 in Evanston. Amber Berendowsky (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) connected on a feed from Shannon Poole (Troy, Mich./Troy HS) at 54:58 for the game-winner.
The Wolverines advanced to the semifinals to take on host Penn State, the top seed and regular-season champion. Michigan was unable to counter the Nittany Lions' high-powered attack and fell 3-1 to the eventual champions. Jessica Limauro (Troy, Mich./Troy HS) tallied the only Wolverine goal.
Leading Michigan Scorers
Jessica Limauro and Amber Berendowsky have been neck and neck all season in the team scoring race and will enter Sunday's NCAA Tournament game tied with 27 points. Berendowsky has 11 goals and five assists, while Limauro has 10 goals and seven assists. They accounted for all of the Wolverines' scoring in the Big Ten Tournament with one goal apiece.
Goalie Rotation
After alternating games with senior Jessica Jones (Northville, Mich./Northville HS) during the regular season, sophomore Carissa Stewart appeared to have taken over the role of the Wolverines everyday keeper. She started both games in the Big Ten Tournament and posted a 1-1 record, but Jones got the call in the Wolverines' 4-2 first-round win over Xavier. Stewart is 0-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament while Jones is 1-0.
Four All-Big Ten
Michigan placed four players on the All-Big Ten Conference Second-Team, announced at the league tournament banquet on Friday (Nov. 6). Senior defender Vanessa Lewis (Dover, N.J./Morris Catholic), junior forward Amber Berendowsky, sophomore forward Kacy Beitel (Midland, Mich./H.H. Dow HS) and junior midfielder Mari Hoff (Canton, Mich./Salem HS) were all second team selections.
First for Shaw
Freshman Alissa Shaw (West Carrolton, Ohio/West Carrolton HS) picked a good time to record her first collegiate goal, scoring the third Wolverine goal in the 4-2 win over Xavier. In the process, she also netted her first game-winning goal.
NSCAA Top 25
Michigan moved up six spots from 24th to 18th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's final regular-season poll, released Nov. 9. Notre Dame climbed from fifth to fourth.
Rank, School Record Points Prev 1. North Carolina 21-0-0 300 1 2. Santa Clara 19-0-1 287 2 3. Florida 21-1-0 275 4 4. Notre Dame 19-2-1 266 5 5. Connecticut 19-1-2 252 3 6. Portland 16-2-2 240 6 7. William & Mary 16-2-2 222 8 8. San Diego State 18-2-1 211 9 9. Dartmouth 14-1-2 200 7 10. Penn State 19-3-1 192 11 11. Vanderbilt 16-5-0 185 10 12. Clemson 15-6-0 167 14 13. Nebraska 16-3-1 146 17 14. Brigham Young 18-4-0 142 15 15. Virginia 13-6-2 134 13 16. Hartford 16-4-0 110 18 17. Baylor 15-4-1 99 12 18. MICHIGAN 13-6-1 98 24 19. Wake Forest 13-6-1 69 21 20. Northwestern 14-4-1 65 16 21. Southern Cal 13-6-1 61 NR 22. Harvard 11-4-1 49 23 23. UCLA 17-3-1 44 20 24. James Madison 12-7-1 21 19 25. Alabama 13-6-1 19 25
WOLVERINE SOCCER QUICK FACTS
1998 Record
Overall: 14-6-1 (.690)
Big Ten: 5-3-1
Home: 7-3-1
Away: 6-3-0
Neutral: 1-0-0
Head Coach
Debbie Belkin (Massachusetts, 1988)
Overall Coaching Record (7th year): 78-46-12 (.618)
At U-M (5th year): 60-35-8 (.621)
Big Ten (5th year): 17-18-4 (.487)
Assistant Coaches
Carrie Maier (Wisconsin, 1995)
Scott Forrester (Western Michigan, 1985)
1998 Co-Captains
Jessica Jones (Sr./GK/Northville, Mich.)
Shannon Poole (Jr./MF/Troy, Mich.)
Michigan History
All Time: 60-35-8, (.621) (5 years, 1994-present)
U-M Soccer Field: 24-10-4, (.684) (4 years / 1995 - present)
NCAA Tourney: 1997, 1998 (1-1, .500)
Contact: Jeff Conrad (734) 763-4423
