Weekly Release #3

Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Sept. 8 -- at Loyola (Chicago, Ill.), 7 p.m. CDT
Sunday, Sept. 10 -- vs. Schoolcraft College (Elbel Field), 2 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 14 -- vs. Illinois-Chicago (Elbel Field), 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 17 -- vs. Detroit (Elbel Field), 2 p.m.

This Week
The Wolverines have a pair of games upcoming this weekend. Michigan travels to Chicago, Ill., to play host Loyola University on Friday (Sept. 8), and the Wolverines return home to take on Schoolcraft College, a two-year school, on Sunday (Sept. 10).

Scouting the Opponents
Loyola -- The Ramblers are 1-1 overall this season after playing in the Jesuit Cup. Loyola opened the season with a 2-0 victory over San Francisco (Sept. 1) and then lost 0-1 in overtime to Loyola Marymount (Sept. 3). Junior Chris Gradilla leads the Ramblers with seven shots on goal and has one goal to his credit. Senior Alex Brinka leads the team in assists with two. Senior Tim Caprez has an .889 save percentage with eight saves on the season. Loyola on the Internet: www.loyolaramblers.com.

Schoolcraft College -- The Ocelots are a Division I junior college program which offers scholarships. Schoolcraft is 0-1-1 this season, but has had top 10 national finishes the past two seasons. They have played against the Michigan club team the last four years, with a 2-2-0 record in those meetings.

Last Week
The Wolverines opened up their inaugural year with a 1-0 home win over DePaul University (Sept. 1) on Elbel Field. Freshman Ian Hirschfield (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Pine Crest HS) scored the first goal in Michigan history 4:36 into the match. Senior goaltender Albert Geldres (St. Clair, Mich./Detroit Country Day School) recorded the shutout, making six saves on the night.

Michigan traveled to Cleveland State on Tuesday (Sept. 5) for its first official road contest. The Maize and Blue prevailed in overtime 3-2 when freshman Tom Gritter (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) scored five yards out on an assist from Hirschfield for the game-winning goal. Gritter, who also had an earlier goal in the game, was helped by freshman Kevin Taylor (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep), who scored his first career goal, on a penalty kick.

A Lot of Firsts
With this being the first year of Michigan men's soccer as a varsity sport, there were many historic events during the past two games:

A crowd of 1,487 witnessed the first varsity men's soccer game at Elbel Field.
Ian Hirschfield's goal vs. DePaul came on Michigan's first shot.
Will Purdy took Michigan's first corner kick at 9:15 (DePaul).
Albert Geldres made Michigan's first save at 27:05 (DePaul).
Tom Gritter scored his first two career goals (vs. CSU). It also marked the first time a U-M player has scored two goals in a game
Ian Hirschfield recorded two assists, the first time a U-M player has had two assists in one game (CSU).
Kevin Taylor scored on U-M's first penalty kick (CSU).

Geldres Solid in Goal
Albert Geldres is off to a 2-0 start in goal for the Wolverines and has played every minute in the first two games (184:24). Geldres has an .846 save percentage, giving up only one goal thus far, and recorded his first career shutout in Michigan's inaugural game, against DePaul (Sept. 1). His scoreless streak ended at 94:28 minutes when Cleveland State scored the first goal against the Wolverines.

Points Leaders
Freshmen Tom Gritter and Ian Hirschfield share the team lead in points with four. Gritter has two goals to his credit, while Hirschfield had U-M's first goal along with a team-leading two assists.

Burns at the Helm
Steve Burns is the first head coach of the Wolverine men's soccer varsity program. Burns previously served as head coach for the Michigan men's soccer club team from 1993-99 after one year as assistant coach (1992). Under Burn's guidance, the U-M club team posted a 121-51-26 mark (.663) and made six consecutive appearances in the national club championship tournament. The team won back-to-back national championships in 1997 and 1998.

Assistant coaches Walt Barrett and Ernie Yarborough complete the coaching staff for the inaugural season of men's soccer. Barrett comes from Eastern Michigan, where he was an assistant coach (1998-99). Yarborough helped guide Indiana University to the past two national titles as a volunteer coach (1997-99).

Championship Experience
The Maize and Blue roster includes 12 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, Steve Walton and Ryan Yoder. Michigan won back-to-back club national titles in 1997 and 1998.

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