Kansas Spoils Michigan's Senior Day with Second-Half Surge

Sunday, October 26

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:00 PM

Michigan

6-6-6

Kansas

14-4-1

Kansas

Michigan

Kansas Spoils Michigan's Senior Day with Second-Half Surge

10/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Marc Ressler

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (U-M Soccer Field)
Score: Kansas 2, Michigan 1
Records: U-M (6-6-6), Kansas (14-4-1)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, Oct. 29 -- at Notre Dame (South Bend, Ind.), 4 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's soccer team suffered a 2-1 defeat to Kansas on its Senior Day Sunday (Oct. 26) at U-M Soccer Field. The Wolverines got on top early, as freshman Katelin Spencer (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) scored a goal 10 minutes into the contest, but Caroline Smith scored twice within three minutes in the second half to send the Jayhawks (14-4-1) to the victory.

The Wolverines earned the early momentum on the offensive end, as senior Stephanie Chavez (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood HS) registered U-M's first shot on goal with a blast from the left corner of the box. Kansas goalkeeper Meghan Miller got her hands on the ball for her first of four saves in the half.

Five minutes later, Chavez fed the ball to sophomore Katie Kramer (Andover, Mass./Andover HS), who was speeding down the left sideline. Kramer fired the ball on net, but the shot was blocked by Miller. The ball ended up in front of Spencer, who easily put it past Miller to give Michigan a 1-0 lead.

U-M nearly went up 2-0, as Chavez's second of four first-half shots went just high and over the crossbar. At 21:40 of the first frame, Kansas' Jessica Kilpatrick got in front of her defender and went one-on-one with senior goalkeeper Suzie Grech (Narberth, Pa./The Shipley School). Grech made a huge diving save to her left to keep the Jayhawks scoreless.

Kansas' final scoring chance of the half came in the final minute, when the ball was sent into the box off a restart. The ball was headed backwards toward the goal, where Smith was able to collect and send a shot on target. Again, Grech came up with a clutch diving save to keep Michigan up by one goal heading into halftime.

The Jayhawks came out of the break with a more aggressive approach on offense, as KU had Michigan on its heels for the first several minutes of the second half. Smith provided Kansas with the equalizer at 59:21, when she sent a long shot from the left side past the outstretched arms of Grech to knot the score at 1-1. The game-winner came just three minutes later, as Holly Gault's pass from the restart found the foot of Smith, who lofted a shot over the head of Grech to put Kansas ahead 2-1.

Spencer looked to tie the game with just under 15 minutes to play, making a couple nice moves past her defender before putting a shot on target. Her strike was headed toward the top of the goal, but Miller made a leaping save to kept KU on top.

The Jayhawks would never relinquish the lead despite a flurry of U-M scoring opportunities in the final minutes. Sophomore Therese Heaton (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South HS) took a nice pass from Chavez and was in front of the ball all alone, but Miller was able to dive and grab the ball before Heaton could get a foot on it. The Wolverines closed the game with two corner kicks in the final seconds but could not convert either chance.

Grech made three saves in her final regular-season game at the U-M Soccer Field, while Miller made six stops for Kansas. The Wolverines finished the game with a 16-9 advantage in the shot category.

The Wolverines (6-6-6) close out the regular season on the road against No. 2-ranked Notre Dame on Wednesday (Oct. 29). Game time is set for 4 p.m.

GAME SUMMARY

Team	1	2	F
Kansas	0	2	2
Michigan	1	0	1

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Katelin Spencer, 9:58 (Katie Kramer)
2nd -- KU, Caroline Smith, 59:21 (unassisted)
2nd -- KU, Smith, 62:34 (Holly Gault)

Shots: U-M 16, KU 9
Saves: U-M 3 (Suzie Grech), KU 6 (Meghan Miller)
Corner Kicks: U-M 2, KU 4
Fouls: U-M 13, KU 15
Cards: None

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Debbie Rademacher
On the game ... "Caroline Smith is by far their key player. Our game plan was to shut her down and we didn't do that. I thought our first half was great and that we really took it to them. In the second half, we weren't as sharp, but I think the wind had something to do with it also. I think it was frustrating because we didn't play that terribly. It was just the two times in the game where Kansas made the most of it."

NOTES

• The game against Kansas was the final home match for five U-M seniors -- Stephanie Chavez, Nicole D'Hondt (Grosse Pointe, Mich./South HS), Suzie Grech, Erika Kleinholz (North Ridgeville, Ohio/Elyria Catholic HS) and Shannon Reid (Centerville, Ohio/Archbishop Alter HS).

• Head coach Debbie Rademacher started all five seniors against the Jayhawks. It marked the second start this season for Shannon Reid and the first of the year for Nicole D'Hondt.

• Junior goalkeeper Annie Padrid (Chicago, Ill./University of Chicago Lab Schools) sang the national anthem prior to the match against Kansas.

• Katelin Spencer's goal against KU was the first of her career. She is tied for fifth place on the team in points in 2003 (one goal, two assists).

• Michigan is 0-1 all-time against the Jayhawks.