Weekly Release #8

Upcoming Schedule
Sunday, Oct. 15 -- vs. Michigan State (U-M Soccer Field), 3:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 20 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 5 p.m. CDT
Sunday, Oct. 22 -- vs. Drury College (Elbel Field), 1 p.m.

This Week
The University of Michigan men's soccer team (4-5, 0-2 Big Ten) has all week to prepare for instate and Big Ten Conference rival Michigan State on Sunday (Oct. 15) as part of a doubleheader with the U-M women's soccer team on the U-M Soccer Field. The men's match starts at 3:30 p.m. following the women's 1 p.m. game with Ohio State. Blue horns, sponsored by Moe's Sports Shop, will be handed out to the first 500 fans at the men's game.

Scouting the Opponents
Michigan State -- The Spartans come into this match with a 5-5-1 overall record and 1-1-1 Big Ten mark. MSU has outscored its opponents 20-12 this year. Steve Arce leads the Spartans with nine points and his five assists are second in the Big Ten. Nick DeGraw and John Minagawa-Webster help a balanced offensive attack with eight points apiece, with DeGraw owning a team-high four goals. In goal, T.J. Lieckfelt has accumulated 949:31 minutes and is third in the Big Ten with a 0.85 goal against average. MSU on the Internet: www.msuspartans.com.

Last Week
Michigan went 1-1 for the week, starting with a 3-2 double-overtime road win at Western Michigan on Wednesday (Oct. 4). Freshman Tom Gritter (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) ended the marathon with a shot to the far post from 15 yards out on the right side at 109:15. Sophomore goalkeeper Brad King (Portage, Mich./Northern HS) made his first career appearance in goal at the 47:34 minute mark to give Michigan a spark, making nine saves in the second half. The nine saves are a Michigan record for total saves in a game.

The Wolverines then went on the road to No. 5-ranked Indiana (Oct. 8) and suffered a 7-0 defeat. The Wolverines, who were outshot 14-6 for the game, gave up five goals in the first half to the two-time defending national champions. Michigan had a little more success in the second half on offense, mustering four shots on the Hoosiers' defense. The Wolverines had three corner kicks in the second half but were unable to take advantage of those situations to score.

New Faces
Junior Dave George (Livonia, Mich./Churchill HS) and sophomore James Biaz-Silva (Los Angeles, Calif./Santa Monica HS) made their first career appearances against Indiana. Junior Pat Murphy (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles HS) made his first career start in goal, making two saves against Western Michigan (Oct. 4).

King of Saves
Brad King had a career high of nine saves in his first appearance in goal and earned the win against Western Michigan (Oct. 4). The 11 saves combined (Pat Murphy with two) for Michigan was a season high.

Taking Their Time
Michigan's victory over Western Michigan (Oct. 4) marked the first time the Wolverines have gone to double OT, and the longest game in their varsity history (109:15). Michigan improved to 2-1 this season in overtime matches.

Career Goal
Mike White (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) scored Michigan's first goal against Western Michigan (Oct. 4). It was the first goal of his career. It also was the fastest counter goal scored by Michigan after a goal scored by an opponent (7:26).

In the Clutch
Tom Gritter's goal against Western Michigan (Oct. 4) was the third of the season, and his second game-winning goal. He has scored the winning goal in both of U-M's overtime victories this season.

Nice Aim
Michigan has mustered 106 shots thus far on the season. Half of those soccer balls (53) have resulted in either a goal or a save, giving the Wolverines a shots on goal percentage of .500.

Second Half Surge
The Wolverines have outshot their opponents this year in the second half and overtime 63-53. In overtime periods, Michigan has a 9-6 edge, and have not allowed a shot in double overtime.

Big Ten Conference Standings (through 10/8/00)

 Big Ten Pts. Overall 1. Indiana 3-0-0 9 9-3-0 Penn State 3-1-0 9 9-3-0 3. Ohio State 1-1-1 4 6-2-3 Michigan State 1-1-1 4 5-5-1 5. Wisconsin 1-1-0 3 7-4-1 6. MICHIGAN 0-0-0 0 4-5-0 Northwestern 0-3-0 0 0-11-0

Championship Experience
The Maize and Blue roster includes 13 players from last year's U-M club team: Andrew Balazer, Albert Geldres, Dave George, Steve Huber, JJ Kern, Matt Murch, Pat Murphy, Brian Peters, Will Purdy, Jack Stead, Mahesh Subramanian, Steve Walton and Ryan Yoder. Michigan won back-to-back club national titles in 1997 and 1998 led by coach Steve Burns.

Been a While
Michigan men's soccer is in its first season after being granted varsity status in March 1999. The last Michigan men's sport to be added as a varsity program was men's gymnastics in 1948.

Contact: Steve Grialou (734) 763-4423