Michigan
Michigan State
Wolverines Drop One-Goal Decision to Spartans at Home
10/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan State University netted back-to-back tallies in the second half as the Spartans defeated the University of Michigan men's soccer team 2-1 Sunday afternoon (Oct. 13) at the U-M Soccer Field. Michigan (4-6-1, 0-3 Big Ten) scored in the 82nd minute to cut the lead to one goal but was unable to net the equalizer as time expired with the ball in the Spartan zone.
| | Mychal Turpin leads U-M with nine goals in 2002. |
MSU continued the offensive pressure when Craig Hearn carried the ball into the 18-yard box and fired a shot toward the right corner of Michigan's goal at 67:45. Zawacki read the shot and jumped on the ball for one of his five saves.
Michigan State took a 2-0 lead at 69:17 when Jeffery Krass sent a diving header off the right goal post and it took an awkward bounce and found the back of the net. John Kaczmarek started the play when he served the ball eight yards from the Michigan goal, allowing Krass to run under it and head it in.
The Wolverines cut the lead to one goal as sophomore Mychal Turpin (Pontiac, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) scored his ninth goal of season at 81:34. The goal was preceded by an MSU foul just outside the 18-yard box to the left of the Michigan State goal. Freshman Adam Bruh (Roselyn Heights, N.Y./Wheatley HS) took the Wolverine free kick and sent the ball on a line into the MSU box. After a Spartan defender knocked the ball down, Mike White (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) knocked the ball back to Turpin 18 yards away from the goal. Turpin fired a bouncing ball that beat Tyler Robinson to his left and make the score 2-1 in favor of Michigan State.
Michigan maintained the momentum and possession of the ball through the final minutes of the game but could not get a clean shot at the net. The Maize and Blue had one final chance when it earned a corner kick at 88:58. Bruh served the kick into the Spartan box with 35 seconds left but the ball was cleared out as time expired.
Michigan had its chances as the Wolverines sent eight shots on net, four of which came in the first half. Turpin gave Michigan two of those chances in the first 45 minutes. After White had a shot attempted turned away by the MSU keeper, Bruh collected the ball and sent it back in to Kevin Robinson (Caro, Mich./Faith Baptist HS). Robinson then sent it across the field to Turpin, who was standing 18 yards out and to the right of the MSU goal. Turpin placed the ball into the upper left corner of the goal and appeared to give U-M a 1-0 lead, but the Spartan keeper went horizontal in the air and caught the ball before it traveled into the back of the net.
The Spartan keeper was up to challenge later in the half as well. Turpin took a Ryan Sterba (Westlake, Ohio/St. Ignatius HS) through ball and carried it 45 yards into the Spartan box. During the run, Turpin outraced the entire MSU defense and had only the keeper to beat. The Wolverine sophomore fired a low line drive at the net but Robinson dove with his legs extended and kept the game scoreless.
Michigan looks for its first Big Ten Conference win of season next weekend as the Wolverines travel to Madison, Wis., Sunday (Oct. 20) for a 2:30 p.m. CDT kickoff with the Badgers on the McClimon Soccer Complex. Last year the Maize and Blue went 2-0 against Wisconsin. Michigan defeated the Badgers 2-1 on at home on Oct. 21 and 1-0 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament (Nov. 8) at Wisconsin.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Michigan State | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Michigan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
2nd -- MSU, Brett Konley, 66:36 (Jordan Gruber)
2nd -- MSU, Jeffery Krass, 69:17 (John Kaczmarek)
2nd -- U-M, Mychal Turpin, 81:34 (Mike White)
Shots: U-M 12, MSU 14
Saves: U-M 5 (Joe Zawacki), MSU 7 (Tyler Robinson)
Corner Kicks: U-M 3, MSU 8
Fouls: U-M 22, MSU 18
Cards: U-M, Adam Bruh, 13:23 (yellow); U-M, Dawson Stellberger, 25:47 (yellow); MSU, Jordan Gruber, 29:32 (yellow); MSU, Steve Doster, 66:11
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Steve Burns
On his overall impressions of the match ... "I think the game was a tactical challenge and decided in the final minutes as we knew it was going to be in the spirit of the rivalry. I think as a team we're not where we want to be, but we're recognizing that we're continuing to grow as a program that still has a good deal of promise to it. We just have to get back to the drawing board and try and figure out how to beat teams like this. Michigan State is a team that made it to the NCAA Tournament last year, we have a lot of recruiting battles with them, they're a good side and I think whenever you have two good teams playing each other it is always going to be decided in the late stages. They got the bounces on that second goal, we looked for those in this game and just didn't get it."
On having opportunities but being unable to convert first ... "That's the emotional swing we're talking about. And when you look at soccer games, most goals are scored from the 75th to 90th minute after both teams have felt each other out for weaknesses and how to exploit the other team. I think our guys did a good job not panicking, and even though they were down two goals, trying to get the momentum and emotion back. We did with the goal with seven minutes left and from that point we were all over them and we just needed to get a bounce or something to go our way in the box there because we certainly had our fair share of chances."
On being frustrated with the loss ... "I think there's always frustration when you loose to Michigan State. I certainly want to compliment them though. They're a team with strong athletes, they're opportunistic. Some of the things we ultimately want to have in our program, they have in their program. The frustration is, with our team, looking at the uphill climb with the final six games of the season more than anything. From almost everybody, the effort was there. The team's getting better and they see that, so there are these conflicting emotions. So you know that we're getting better, but unfortunately unlike last year when we were getting the wins, this year we're not."
Sophomore Forward Knox Cameron
On MSU's first tally ... "After the first goal we were really kind of shocked. I though we were dominating them somewhat for most of the game and when they scored that goal it was put us back. I think they just caught us at a point when we were really vulnerable."
On the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry ... "We had all these fans here and we wanted to give them a good show and end up with the win, but unfortunately it didn't happen. With big rivalries you can just throw the records out the window and whoever gets the best chances on that day wins."
On the team's strategy late in the game ... "Constant pressure, constant pressure. We knew if we pressed harder we'd get a chance and hopefully put one in, but that didn't happen."
N O T E S
Mychal Turpin's goal in the 82nd minute gave him a team-leading nine goals for the season. He is tied with Knox Cameron for the program's career goals scored record as each second year player has 12 tallies.
The Wolverines played in front of their largest home crowd of the season as 1,506 fans attended today's contest.
Mike White continued his record-setting year as he dished out his fifth assist. Entering this season White had four goals and four assists. White has equaled those numbers in only 11 games in 2002 as he has scored four goals and assisted on five others for a career-best 13 points.
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
