Weekly Release #9
10/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Oct. 19 -- vs. Minnesota (U-M Soccer Field), 4 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 21 -- at Oakland (Rochester, Mich.), 1 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 26 -- vs. Michigan State (U-M Soccer Field), 3 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 28 -- at Notre Dame (South Bend, Ind.), 1 p.m.
This Week
The No. 24-ranked University of Michigan women's soccer team (8-5, 6-2 Big Ten) is home on Friday (Oct. 19, 4 p.m.) to face Minnesota at the U-M Soccer field before heading to Rochester, Mich., to take on Oakland University on Sunday (Oct. 21, 1 p.m.) at OU Soccer Field.
Scouting the Opponents
Minnesota -- The Golden Gophers are 4-8 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten, having defeated Wisconsin 2-1 in overtime on Sunday (Oct. 14) but losing to Northwestern 2-1 in overtime on Friday (Oct. 12). Minnesota's two other conference wins were against Illinois (2-0) and Ohio State (1-0), but the Gophers have lost to Iowa (1-0), Purdue (3-0) and Indiana (3-1). Last season the Golden Gophers finished 8-10-1 overall and 5-5 in the Big Ten, tying for sixth place. Rachel Roth leads this year's squad with five goals and one assist for 11 points. Minnesota lost to the Wolverines 4-0 in Ann Arbor last season and is 6-2 against Michigan all-time. Minnesota on the Internet: www.gophersports.com.
Oakland -- The Grizzies are 12-2 overall and 5-0 in the Mid-Continent Conference. OU is coming off two conference wins against Valparaiso (1-0) on Sunday (Oct. 14) and Oral Roberts (3-0) on Friday (Oct. 12) and are on a seven-game winning streak. Last season the Grizzlies defended their regular-season championship by finishing 4-1 in the Mid-Con. OU then went on to defeat IUPUI for its first Mid-Con tournament championship. Oakland lost to Michigan in Ann Arbor 3-1 last season and is 0-2 against the Maize and Blue all-time. Oakland on the Internet: www.ougrizzlies.com.
Last Week
U-M competed at home last weekend, finishing with two wins over No. 23 Indiana (4-2) on Friday (Oct. 12) and Purdue (1-0) on Sunday (Oct. 14) to run its home winning streak to six games. Against Indiana the Wolverines were led by junior Abby Crumpton (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams HS) who had three goals against the Hoosiers for her first career hat trick. Crumpton scored two goals in the first half and freshman Theresa Dwyer (Metairie, La./Mt. Carmel Academy) added a goal for the 3-0 lead going into the half. Suzie Grech (Narbeth, Pa./The Shipley School) made four saves in the first half before sitting out the second. Bre Bennett (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) took over for Grech in net, making one save. In the second half, Crumpton scored her third goal of the game to cap the 4-2 win.
Against Purdue, the Wolverines found themselves playing in the rain for the fourth time this season. U-M fought the elements throughout the entire game and came away with a 1-0 victory, but the game's only goal was an unusual one. Purdue's Jenna Silverman accidently headed the ball past her own goalkeeper, Elizabeth Boldt, off a corner kick by Amy Sullivant (Utica, Mich./Eisenhower HS). Grech recorded her seventh shutout (sixth solo) of the season.
Big Ten Standings (through 10/14/01)
Big Ten Pts. Overall 1. Penn State 6-0-1 19 10-2-1 2. MICHIGAN 6-2-0 18 8-5-0 3. Illinois 4-3-0 12 6-6-0 4. Indiana 3-3-1 10 6-4-1 Purdue 3-3-1 10 7-5-1 Michigan State 3-4-1 10 6-5-2 7. Ohio State 3-4-0 9 6-7-0 Iowa 3-4-0 9 5-8-0 Minnesota 3-5-0 9 4-8-0 10. Northwestern 2-4-1 7 4-7-1 11. Wisconsin 1-5-1 4 4-7-2
Grech Named Player of the Week
Suzie Grech was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for her performance during last week's games. Grech made four saves in U-M's win against Indiana and four saves against Purdue. The shutout over the Boilermakers was Grech's seventh (six solo, one shared) of the season. The Big Ten honor is the first for the Wolverines this year and the second of Grech's career.
Record Watch
Suzie Grech is now one shutout away from sole possession of the U-M single-season solo shutout record. Grech has recorded seven shutouts (six solo, one shared) this year with five regular-season games remaining. Grech is tied with Carissa Stewart (1997-2000) and Jessica Jones (1995-98) for the single-season shutout record and she shares the record for solo shutouts in a season with Stewart and Jori Welchans (1994-96).
Michigan Moves into Poll at No. 24
U-M received its first NSCAA Coaches Poll ranking of the season with a No. 24 listing in the most recent poll (Oct. 16). The Wolverines join No. 6 Penn State as the only Big Ten team which are ranked. Last year U-M finished the season with a No. 25 ranking.
NSCAA/adidas Coaches Poll (10/16/01)
Rank, School Record Prev 1. North Carolina 10-0-0 1 2. UCLA 9-0-0 2 3. Santa Clara 10-1-0 6 4. Notre Dame 11-1-1 5 5. Nebraska 9-2-0 4 6. Penn State 10-2-1 7 7. St. Mary's (Calif.) 11-0-1 14 8. Florida 10-2-1 12 Stanford 9-1-0 9 10. Harvard 7-1-0 11 11. Portland 10-2-0 3 12. Texas 7-3-0 20 13. Virginia 9-2-1 13 14. Clemson 8-2-0 8 15. Connecticut 10-4-0 15 16. California 10-2-1 17 17. Texas A&M 6-3-0 10 18. Marquette 10-2-0 18 19. Florida State 9-4-0 16 20. Washington 7-2-1 17 21. West Virginia 9-3-1 19 22. Hartford 10-2-0 22 23. Tennessee 7-4-0 NR 24. MICHIGAN 8-5-0 NR 25. Pepperdine 8-0-3 NR
Beating Ranked Opponents
Michigan's win over then-No. 23 Indiana marked the first time the Wolverines defeated a ranked opponent this season. U-M is 1-2-0 against ranked opponents this season and 9-13-2 all-time.
Rainy Days
The Wolverines have seen cold, wet and windy conditions in four games this season. But the elements seem to play in U-M's favor as it has shut out Dayton (1-0), Iowa (1-0), Ohio State (4-0) and Purdue (1-0) while playing in the rainy weather.
Wolverine Firsts
Abby Crumpton's three goals against the Hoosiers on Friday represent the fifth hat trick in school history and make her just the fourth Wolverine to accomplish the feat. Kacy Beitel (1997-2000) had two career hat tricks, including the most recent one by a Wolverine, at Butler on Oct. 29, 2000.
Wolverine Hat Tricks
| Player | Opponent | Date |
| Abby Crumpton | vs. Indiana | 10/12/01 |
| Kacy Beitel | at Butler | 10/29/00 |
| Kacy Beitel | vs. Illinois | 10/17/97 |
| Ruth Poulin | vs. Illinois | 10/17/97 |
| Marie Spaccarotella | vs. Valparaiso | 11/3/96 |
Unbeaten Streaks
Michigan's victories this season over Iowa (1-0), Indiana (4-2) and Purdue (1-0) extended the Wolverines' unbeaten streaks against the three teams to seven, six and three games, respectively.
Freshman Leader
Kate Morgan (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty HS) is leading this year's freshman class in goals (three), assists (one), points (seven), shots (seven), shots on goal (five) and game-winners (one).
Home Field Advantage
With six home wins (6-1-0) this season, U-M is within two victories of tying the school record for home wins in a season (8 in 1997 and '99). The Wolverines have three regular-season home contests remaining -- Minnesota (Oct. 19), Michigan State (Oct. 26) and Western Michigan (Nov. 3).
Contact: Karen Simpson (734) 763-4423
