Michigan
Evansville (ex)
Evansville Spoils Wolverines' First Varsity Exhibition
8/25/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The University of Michigan men's soccer team dropped its first exhibition game to the University of Evansville 2-0 on Friday night (Aug. 25). The Wolverines were also the first opponents to step on Evansville's brand new Black Beauty Field at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
The Purple Aces' dominant defense and first-half offense were enough to spoil the Maize and Blue's inaugural match. Evansville scored first at 21:53 when Jeff Rhymer was led by a crossing pass from Brad Henderson to the near post, and Rhymer tapped it in past the out-stretched arms of Michigan goalkeeper Albert Geldres (St. Clair, Mich./Detroit Country Day School).
Five minutes later, at 26:48, UE scored its second goal, by Ricardo Guedes from five yards out off a pass from Mike Lavergne. The Purple Aces outshot the Wolverines 13-9 and had seven shots on goal to Michigan's three.
Overall, there were a lot of positives in the game for Michigan. Pat Murphy (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles HS) came into the game in goal in the second half and kept the Purple Aces scoreless. Robert Turpin (Pontiac, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit HS) led the offensive charge with two shots on goal, four overall. Andrew Balazer (Jackson, Mich./Northwest HS) had the other shot on goal for the Wolverines.
"I am very pleased overall in terms of our performance, especially in the second half," said head coach Steve Burns. "I think we've underestimated the nature and character of our team and may be more of a team that can press high and cause some turnovers in our attacking third of the field. We are still looking for goal scorers, but we do have Kevin Robinson (Caro, Mich./Faith Baptist HS) coming back from a hamstring injury who is going to help in that area. Overall, we have very positive results for our first game."
Michigan travels to Oakland next Tuesday (Aug. 29, 6 p.m.) for its second and final exhibition game. The Wolverines' season opener in this inaugural season will take place at home on Elbel Field against DePaul on Friday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Evansville | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- UE, Jeff Rhymer, 21:53 (Brad Henderson)
1st -- UE, Ricardo Guedes, 26:48 (Mike Lavergne)
Contact: Steve Grialou (734) 763-4423
