Weekly Release #11

Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Nov. 1 -- at Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.), 7:30 p.m.
Thu-Sun., Nov. 7-10 -- at Big Ten Championships (East Lansing, Mich.), schedule TBD

This Week
The No. 21 University of Michigan women's soccer team (13-4-1, 7-2-1 Big Ten) closes out its regular season with a non-conference road contest at Kentucky (Nov. 1) in Lexington, Ky. The Wolverine/Wildcat battle will take place at 7:30 p.m. at UK's Women's Soccer Complex.

Scouting This Week's Opponents
Kentucky C The Wildcats (9-7, 7-7 Southeastern Conference) are riding a two-game win streak and with one SEC game remaining must win to secure one of the final seeds in their conference tournament. UK's contest against Michigan will be a prelude to its final game against LSU (Nov. 3). Kentucky earned a 1-0 win over Mississippi State (Oct. 20) and a 2-0 victory at Arkansas to move back into postseason contention following three straight SEC losses. Redshirt junior Elizabeth Ramsey leads the Wildcats with 16 points, having scored six goals this season. Juniors Lauren Russell (four goals) and Heather Sass (four assists) are second on the team in goals and assists, respectively. Goalkeeper Liz Butler, a redshirt freshman, has allowed 20 goals in 16 games for the Wildcats. Coached by Warren Lipka, Kentucky is 5-3 this season against opponents in common with Michigan. The Wolverines are 5-2-1 against those same eight teams. Kentucky on the Internet: www.ukathletics.com.

Last Week
The Wolverines earned a draw in their first overtime game of the season, a 1-1 affair at Michigan State (Oct. 25). Freshman forward Therese Heaton (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South HS) netted the equalizing goal with just 3:29 remaining in the contest off a cross from senior Abby Crumpton (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams HS). The Wolverines had outshot the Spartans 21-14 by the end of the second overtime, including a 10-1 advantage in the first half. Suzie Grech (Narberth, Pa./The Shipley School) made a season-high eight saves in net for U-M.

Before its contest against Oakland (Oct. 27), Michigan celebrated the accomplishments of its seven seniors, two of whom made sure the Maize and Blue earned a win, combining on both Wolverine goals. Senior Andrea Kayal (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills HS) scored two second-half goals, the first coming at 68:39, and senior Amy Sullivant (Utica, Mich./Eisenhower HS) had two assists as Michigan earned the 2-0 shutout.

Awesome Andrea
Andrea Kayal moved into a tie for fifth place among Michigan's career leaders in game-winning goals with seven. Prior to adding her second goal against Oakland, Kayal's last seven goals had been game-winners, dating back to Oct. 1, 2000. Of her five goals this season, four have been game-winners.

Yep, That's Five
Senior defender Andrea Kayal has been devastating on corner kicks and set pieces this season. Kayal has scored five goals, equaling her career total prior to this season, all off of free kicks. Kayal scored two goals, the first multi-goal game of her career, against Oakland following Amy Sullivant free kicks.

Winner's Circle
With a Big Ten-leading seven shutouts, Suzie Grech has surpassed Carissa Stewart's (1997-2000) 1999 total for the second most by a Michigan goaltender in a single season. Grech, who holds the single-season record with 11 shutouts (2001), is also Michigan's career shutout leader with 21. Additionally, Grech's 13 wins are the second best single-season total in school history.

Assisting Amy
Senior defender Amy Sullivant recorded her second career multi-assist game with two helpers against Oakland, tying her for third on Michigan's career list. Sullivant has set a career best with nine assists this season. She had a season-high three assists against Illinois (Sept. 22), tying the school record for most in a single game.

Sully Starts Again
Only two players in Michigan history have started in more games than Amy Sullivant. Earning her 83rd start against Oakland, Sullivant trails only Shannon Poole (89, 1996-99) and Kacy Beitel (88, 1997-2000). Sullivant has started in 16 games this season, missing two contests with an ankle injury, and played in 85 career games.

Double Double
Abby Crumpton reached double digits in assists with her helper on the game-tying goal against Michigan State. It is the first time Crumpton has reached that plateau in her career. She now has 27 career assists, ranking second among the program's career leaders.

The Season So Far...
Through 18 games, Abby Crumpton has tallied a team-leading 30 points (10 goals, 10 assists). Her assist against Michigan State boosted Crumpton into a tie for the seventh-best season point output in Michigan history, equaling her 2001 mark. Crumpton also is tied for fifth place as her 1999 point total of 32 occupies the slot with Ruth Poulin's (1996-99) 1997 mark.

Maize and Blue Genes
With 111 career points, senior forward Abby Crumpton is within striking distance of becoming Michigan's most prolific scorer. Crumpton is only three points away from Kacy Beitel's (1997-2000) record of 114 points. Amber Berendowsky (1996-99) sits between Beitel and Crumpton in second place with 113 points. Crumpton has 42 goals and 26 assists in her career.

U-M Career Point Leaders

1.	Kacy Beitel (1997-2000)	114
2.	Amber Berendowsky (1996-99)	113
3.	Abby Crumpton (1999-present)	111

Counting the Seconds
Abby Crumpton continues to climb higher among Michigan's career offensive leaders. Crumpton is currently second among Michigan's career goal scorers with 42 tallies. Kacy Beitel (1997-2000) tops the list with 44 goals.

T-Riffic
Senior forward Tammy Mitchell (Birmingham, Mich./Seaholm HS) was in the starting lineup for the first time in her career during Sunday's contest against Oakland. Mitchell has played in 35 career games for the Maize and Blue and has tallied one assist in six contests this season.

Some of the Best Helpers in the Big Ten
Abby Crumpton's 10 assists so far this season are tied for second in the Big Ten, just two behind Penn State's Christie Welsh. Senior defender Amy Sullivant occupies the fourth spot at seven assists and, with five assists, Erika Kleinholz (North Ridgeville, Ohio/Elyria Catholic HS) is one of four players in 10th place.

One of the Best
Abby Crumpton sits atop most of the Big Ten's offensive categories. Crumpton is tied for the conference lead in points with 30. Crumpton is part of a two-way tie for fourth with 10 goals and a two-way tie for second in assists with 10.

Wolverine Drought
The Wolverines have been shut out in all four of their losses this season. With the exception of the game against Minnesota (Sept. 29), the Maize and Blue has three 1-0 losses, two at the hands of ranked opponents.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Class of 2003
Michigan had its Senior Day ceremony prior to its final regular-season home game, against Oakland. Wolverine seniors Abby Crumpton, Andrea Kayal, Tammy Mitchell, Michele Pesiri, Amy Sullivant, Vicky Whitley (Spring, Texas/Klein HS) and Carly Williamson (Barrington, R.I./Barrington HS) received flowers and were honored at midfield for their contribution to the women's soccer program over their four years at Michigan.

Battle for the Big Ten
Michigan (7-2-1) currently occupies second place in the Big Ten Conference with 22 points. The Wolverines seeding for the Big Ten Tournament depends on the outcome of Purdue at Illinois (Nov. 3), the lone remaining conference matchup. If Purdue wins, it will tie Michigan for second place, and gain the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament by virtue of the head-to-head matchup, which Purdue won 1-0 Oct. 11. As only the top eight teams earn spots in the Big Ten Tournament, Illinois can guarantee itself a trip to East Lansing, Mich., with a win of its own as the Illini trail current No. 8 seed Iowa by only one point.

Big Ten Standings (Through Oct. 20)

 Big Ten Pts. Overall Remaining 1. Penn State 9-1-0 27 15-2-1 2. MICHIGAN 7-2-1 22 13-4-1 3. Purdue 6-2-1 19 12-3-1 Illinois 4. Michigan State 5-3-2 17 11-4-2 5. Indiana 4-4-2 14 9-6-2 Wisconsin 4-4-2 14 9-7-3 7. Ohio State 4-5-1 13 6-9-1 8. Iowa 3-6-1 10 9-7-1 9. Illinois 3-6-0 9 6-10-1 Purdue 10. Northwestern 2-6-2 8 4-8-4 11. Minnesota 1-9-0 3 7-10-1

In the Polls
The Wolverines remained steady at No. 21 in the Oct. 28 NSCAA/adidas Coaches' Poll after going 1-0-1 with a tie at Michigan State and a win over Oakland over the weekend. The Maize and Blue also remained third in the Great Lakes region behind Purdue and Notre Dame.

NSCAA/adidas Coaches Poll (Oct. 28)

RK TEAM RECORD LAST 1. Stanford 15-1-0 1 2. North Carolina 13-1-3 2 3. Texas 14-2-1 3 4. Portland 14-3-1 5 5. Texas A&M 14-3-1 6 6. UCLA 12-3-0 7 7. West Virginia 15-1-1 8 8. Pepperdine 14-1-2 24 9. Connecticut 14-2-1 9 10. Penn State 15-2-1 10 11. Santa Clara 12-4-1 4 12. Charlotte 14-0-2 12 13. Purdue 12-3-1 13 14. Tennessee 12-5-1 16 15. Florida State 11-4-3 -- 16. USC 8-5-3 17 17. Notre Dame 11-7-0 18 18. Denver 13-1-2 19 19. Princeton 12-1-0 15 20. Clemson 10-6-0 20 21. MICHIGAN 13-4-1 21 22. Dartmouth 10-3-1 23 23. Maryland 10-6-0 22 24. Arizona State 10-3-2 -- 25. Wake Forest 12-3-1 14

Also receiving votes: BYU, Virginia, Mississippi, Auburn, Cal, Washington

On the Horizon
The Maize and Blue head to the Big Ten Tournament in East Lansing, Mich., next weekend (Nov. 7-10). Matchups for first-round games, held next Thursday (Nov. 7), will be solidified after the final Big Ten regular season contest is played on Nov. 3. The second round will be held on Friday (Nov. 8), with the final taking place Sunday, Nov. 10. All games will be played at Michigan State's Old College Field.

Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423