Michigan
Northwestern
Michigan Succumbs to Upset Bug in Big Ten First Round
11/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan men's soccer team, the Big Ten Championship's No. 2 seed, dropped a 2-1 decision to No. 7 seed Northwestern in the Championship first round Thursday afternoon (Nov. 13) in Indiana University's Bill Armstrong Stadium.
Michigan's loss capped a strange opening day to the tournament that saw the lower-seeded team win each of the three first-round games. No. 6 seed Penn State upset No. 3 Michigan State 2-1 in the opener, and No. 5 Wisconsin was a 2-0 winner over No. 4 Ohio State.
The Wolverines (13-6) went down 1-0 in the early going of the game as Wildcat forward Will Nicholas placed a one-timer past sophomore goalkeeper Peter Dzubay (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview HS) for the 1-0 advantage. The play was set up with a curving cross by Danile Chille that dropped right to the foot of Nicholas.
Northwestern nearly went up 2-0 with 11 minutes remaining in the first half when Kevin Earnest was given the ball in open space in the right corner of Michigan's 16-yard box. Earnest collected the ball and launched a shot, but Dzubay was able to read the line and punched the ball to Kevin Taylor (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep), who cleared the ball to safety.
Michigan nearly netted the equalizer with just 2:00 remaining in the half as Ryan Sterba (Westlake, Ohio/St. Ignatius HS) and Knox Cameron (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman HS) played the give-and-go with Cameron finding Sterba on a run toward the left post. As Sterba attempted his run at the net, his feet intertwined with a Northwestern defender's and he fell face first to the ground. The referee allowed play to continue as the ball bounced in front of the Northwestern goal.
Mychal Turpin (Pontiac, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit HS) alertedly ran to the unguarded ball and headed it toward the Wildcats' vacant net, but the ball was tipped high and ricocheted off the crossbar and out of harm's way. The Wildcats were able to counterattack the Wolverines' scoring attempt as Earnest sent a long through ball to Gerardo Alvarez, who snuck behind the Michigan defense but stayed onside in the process.
With no one in front of him but Dzubay, Alvarez baited the Michigan keeper out of the net and sent a low dribbler past him to the left post for a 2-0 Northwestern advantage at 43:30. Michigan could not respond in the next 1:30, and the Wildcats' took a 2-0 lead into the half.
Michigan cut the deficit to 2-1 as Cameron head home a Turpin shot that banged off the cross bar with 25:50 left in regulation. Following a throw-in along the Michigan goal line, Sterba sent the ball forward to Cameron, who was standing at midfield. With his back to the Wildcat goal, Cameron chested the ball down and touched it forward to Turpin's feet.
As two defenders keyed on Cameron, Turpin was able to break free and carry the ball inside the penalty box, where he sent a cross that caromed off the crossbar as Northwestern keeper Ryan Heckenbach left his feet to make the save. With the net empty, Cameron used height to his advantage as he outjumped a Northwestern defender to win the header that found the back of the net, slicing the Wildcats' lead in half.
With seven minutes left in the game, Cameron one-touched the ball to Turpin inside the penalty box as Turpin's back was to the net. Turpin collected the ball, turned to his left and sent a low dribbler that seemed to fool Heckenbach, but at the last minute the Northwestern keeper reached out his left arm and smothered the ball to preserved the 2-1 victory.
The Wolverines had two chances in the final minute of play to net the game-tying goal, as Mike White (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) and Cameron had two separate chances to send the game into extra time. White found himself with the ball at his feet at the top of the six-yard box with 49 seconds left, but his shot was blocked by two Northwestern defenders. Michigan controlled the deflection and Brian Popeney (Canton, Mich./Plymouth Salem HS) fired one from 20 yards out that Cameron redirected to the far post, but it missed the net's siding by two feet.
Michigan will await the NCAA Championship selection show next Monday (Nov. 17) at 4:30 p.m. on ESPNews to see if it is among the 48 teams selected participate in the national championship tournament.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Northwestern | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Michigan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- NU, Will Nicholas, 3:18 (Daniel Chille)
1st -- NU, Gerrado Alvarez, 43:30 (Kevin Earnest)
2nd -- U-M, Knox Cameron, 64:10 (Mychal Turpin)
Shots: U-M 17, NU 9
Saves: U-M 2 (Peter Dzubay), NU 9 (Justin Pines 5, Team 4)
Corner Kicks: U-M 2, NU 2
Fouls: U-M 19, NU 8
Cards: U-M, Dawson Stellberger, 27:17 (yellow); U-M, Adam Bruh, 26:28 (yellow)
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Steve Burns
On losing to Northwestern ... You have to give a lot of credit to Northwestern for playing with a terrific level of intensity and emotions to get their first Big Ten victory. The last thing I said to our team after the game is that sometimes its not your day and it today it belonged to Northwestern. We had quite a few chances to get the equalizer. Its great to watch a program grow and thats exactly what Northwestern is doing now. I give a lot of credit to Northwestern for showing the composure to win this game.
N O T E S
Knox Cameron's goal was his second in Big Ten Championship play. Cameron netted his first as a freshman in 2001 to help the Wolverines earn their first postseason victory, 1-0 over Wisconsin.
Cameron grabbed sole possession of the Michigan record for goals in a single season with the tally at 64:12. Cameron held the previous record with teammate Mychal Turpin as each Wolverine forward entered the Big Ten Championship with 11 tallies this season.
It marked the first time in Michigan's last 11 games the Wolverines trailed at halftime. The last time Michigan was down heading into the break was against Washington (Sept. 19), when it was down 2-0. Michigan responded for two goals in the second half, eventually falling 3-2 to the Huskies.
Senior Kevin Robinson did not play due to a red card he received in Michigan's final regular-season match with Ohio State (Nov. 1).
It marked the first victory against a Big Ten opponent for the Wildcats in head coach Tim Lenahan's three years. Heading into the weekend action Northwestern was 0-17-3 against league competition under Lenahan.
It marks Michigan's second first-round loss in the Big Ten Championship. In its first year as a varsity program, U-M fell to Penn State 2-1 in double overtime when the Championship was held in Columbus, Ohio.
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
