U-M Ties School Wins Record with Victory over Dayton

Friday, September 28

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:00 PM

Michigan

6-1

Dayton

3-4-1

Dayton

Michigan

9/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: Gene Skidmore

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Pioneer High School)
Score: Michigan 2, Dayton 0
Records: U-M (6-1), Dayton (3-4-1)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, Sept. 30 -- vs. Western Michigan (U-M Soccer Field), 3:30 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's soccer team continued its winning ways on Friday (Sept. 28) with a 2-1 victory over the Dayton Flyers at Pioneer High School's Hollway Field. The win is Michigan's sixth of the season, tying a school record set in last year's inaugural varsity season.

Dayton controlled most of the first half, outshooting U-M 6-2 in the first 20 minutes, but momentum shifted in favor of the Wolverines as junior Kevin Taylor (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) scored in the 36th minute. Mychal Turpin (Pontiac, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit HS) began the play as he served a corner into the Dayton box, but the ball was kicked out to the left side of the field where J.J. Kern (Trenton, Mich./Lake Orion HS) was waiting. Kern dribbled closer the net, drawing two defenders, and lobbed a cross Taylor's way. Taylor rose above the competition and headed the ball past Flyer goalkeeper Matt Hutchins. Following Taylor's goal Hutchins left the game with leg injury, and he was replaced by Jason Kurdziel.

Mychal Turpin gave Michigan a 2-0 lead as he took a crossing pass from his brother, Robert Turpin (Pontiac, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit), and buried it into an empty net. Robert Turpin drew the goalkeeper off his line as he spun away from the Dayton defense. Once Kurdziel committed to taking away the shot opportunity, Robert found his streaking brother Mychal for the wide-open finish.

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Joe Zawacki (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) kept the Flyer offensive attack off the board for the first 86 minutes, but a Chris Rolfe one-timer from Sunday Isename prevented the shutout. The goal ended Zawacki's shutout streak at 266 minutes, the longest in school history.

Michigan (6-1, 1-1 Big Ten) looks to stay unbeaten at home as the Wolverines face Western Michigan University Sunday (Sept. 30) at 3:30 p.m. at the U-M Soccer Field.

GAME SUMMARY

Team	1	2	F
Dayton	0	1	1
Michigan	0	2	2

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Kevin Taylor, 35:11 (J.J. Kern)
2nd -- U-M, Mychal Turpin, 72:17 (Robert Turpin)
2nd -- Dayton, Chris Rolfe, 86:18 (Sunday Isename)

Shots: U-M 14, Dayton 14
Saves: U-M 4 (Joe Zawacki), Dayton 7 (Matt Hutchins 2, Jason Kurdziel 5)
Corner Kicks: U-M 3, Dayton 2
Fouls: U-M 28, Dayton 13
Cards: U-M, Kevin Taylor, 16:00 (yellow); Dayton, Dan Bestic, 73:00 (yellow)

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Steve Burns
On the conditions of the field ... "It was not the condition to play a pretty game, and because of that, you have to make adjustments. For the most part, we did. We were very, very safe in the back. We knew that our wide midfield players were open quite a bit of the time, and we needed to find them. And we did an okay job of finding them. You see whenever Mychal Turpin has the ball, he can be very dangerous. I think the narrow aspect of [the field] has an effect, for sure. Conditions-wise, it's a little firmer than Elbel Field would have been. Pick your poison, really. This one worked out for us tonight."

On game strategy ... "We wanted both our forwards to always be on the same side of the ball, one going to the corner flag, the other showing back to the ball, and that really pulls apart a zonal defense. Then we're looking for our wide players to get the ball and go right at the center of their defense. So we weren't looking to play the flanks. Essentially, we exploited them a little bit, enough to win it."

On matching up with Dayton ... "This is a team that beat us handily last year, and one of the things we were talking about as a coaching staff is we're not quite a complete team yet. We don't have depth, the kind of depth that we're going to have next year on our bench. Now that we have two recruiting classes together, I think you see players on the field -- we're there. Now it's the impact the bench players have. I think we matched up very well against them. ... It's helping our confidence, and we're learning that we may be a good team."