Michigan
Wisconsin
Lau Registers First Victory as U-M Tops Wisconsin
10/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's soccer team closed out its home season with a 2-1 victory over Big Ten Conference rival Wisconsin on Sunday (Oct. 21) at the U-M Soccer Field. The win brought Michigan's home record to 6-2, doubling its number of home victories from last season.
The Wolverines played a strong defensive match, allowing no shots on goal in the first half of the match and only five in the second. The cornerstone of the defensive effort was freshman walk-on goalkeeper Bryan Lau (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep), who in his first start made four saves and controlled his defenders like a seasoned veteran.
Michigan's offense got out to a strong start when it scored on its first shot of the game, at 16:12. J.J. Kern (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion HS) served a corner kick across the 18-yard box to Mychal Turpin (Pontiac, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit HS). Turpin took the corner and headed it across to an open Mike White (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS), who finished the play with a header past Wisconsin goalkeeper Moriba Atiba Baker for his second goal of the season.
Michigan's offensive output was doubled at 35:25 when freshman Knox Cameron (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman HS) scored his third goal of the season. Cameron took a pass from Mychal Turpin and flipped it over a sprawling Atiba Baker, giving the Wolverines a two-goal lead at halftime.
The Wolverines controlled most of the second half as Wisconsin was forced to play a man down after forward Nick Van Sicklen was issued a red card at 55:59. However, Michigan was unable to capitalize and the score remained 2-0. With only five minutes remaining in the match, Lau's shutout streak of 95:27 minutes came to an end at the 85:00 mark as Wisconsin midfielder David Martinez scored off a Leron Gabriel rebound. Lau stopped the initial point-blank shot, but he was unable to control it and the ball popped out to Martinez.
The Wolverines (8-4-1, 2-3 Big Ten) will travel to Miami, Fla., next weekend to compete in the Florida International Invitational. U-M will take on Florida International on Friday (Oct. 26) at 7:30 p.m. and face Furman on Sunday (Oct. 28) at noon.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Michigan | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Mike White, 16:12 (Mychal Turpin, J.J. Kern)
1st -- U-M, Knox Cameron, 35:25 (M. Turpin)
2nd -- UW, David Martinez, 85:00 (unassisted)
Shots: U-M 11, UW 11
Saves: U-M 4 (Bryan Lau), UW 6 (Moriba Atiba Baker)
Corner Kicks: U-M 3, UW 6
Fouls: U-M 27, UW 14
Cards: U-M, Matt Niemeyer, 33:27 (yellow); UW, Nick Van Sicklen, 55:59 (red); U-M, Robert Turpin, 84:27 (yellow); U-M, Robert Wurth, 88:32 (yellow)
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Steve Burns
On goalkeeper Bryan Lau ... "Bryan came up big for us today. He made some key saves and controlled the field well with his voice."
On team speed ... "We're playing with three front-runners now, which with their speed is taking apart the opposition's defense."
On the game itself ... "This was a good victory for Michigan. We're stepping up and making the statement that we're a Big Ten team to reckon with."
N O T E S
Bryan Lau started in place of regular goalkeeper Joe Zawacki (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS), who was forced to sit out the game after receiving a red card in Michigan's previous game, at Michigan State (Oct. 14).
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
