Michigan
Evansville
Taylor's Penalty Kick Lifts Wolverines Over Purple Aces
9/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's soccer team earned its first home victory of 2003 Sunday afternoon (Sept. 7), as senior tri-captain Kevin Taylor (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) converted a penalty kick at 54:23 to give the Wolverines a 1-0 win over Evansville on the U-M Soccer Field.
Sophomore goalkeeper Peter Dzubay (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview HS) tallied three saves en route to his third shutout of the season, while junior midfielder Knox Cameron (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman HS) led the offense with six shots on net and numerous scoring chances.
Michigan scored the lone goal of the match off the foot of Taylor when he knocked in his third career penalty kick at the 54:23 mark. The penalty kick was awarded to the Wolverines (3-1), after Evansville goalkeeper Troy Perkins charged out of the box and dove at the knees of senior tri-captain Mike White (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS).
On the penalty kick, Perkins leaned left before the ball left Taylor's feet, allowing the senior defender to place the ball into the back of the net just inside the right goalpost.
Taylor's job wasn't over though as he and the Michigan defense held off a charge by Evansville with a minute and a half remaining in the game to maintain their one-goal advantage. Purples Aces' midfielder Jean-Yves Fankham collected the ball inside the Michigan six-yard box and sent a shot toward the left corner of the net, catching Dzubay offline. However, Taylor, backing up his keeper, was in perfect position to stop the ball at his feet and clear it from the Michigan zone, preserving the Wolverine win.
A scoreless first half was marked by quality scoring opportunities by both teams early in the game. With just over three minutes underway into the contest, Evansville forward Dan Broxup collected the ball in Michigan's six-yard box but waited too long as he shifted it to his right foot, allowing Dzubay to make a point-blank kick save.
Michigan responded with a scoring chance of its own only a minute later when Cameron sent a shot from 15 yards out just wide to the left of the Purple Aces net. The Wolverines sent another quality opportunity inches wide of the net later in the first half on a free kick by Cameron from just outside the Evansville box at the 30:04 mark.
Michigan hits the road again for a two-game set when the Wolverines travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a pair of non-conference matches with North Carolina and UNC Greensboro at the North Carolina Invitational. Michigan faces host North Carolina on Friday (Sept. 12) at 7:30 p.m. and kicks off with UNC Greensboro at noon on Sunday (Sept. 14).
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Evansville | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
2nd -- U-M, Kevin Taylor,54:23 (penalty kick)
Shots: U-M 15,UE 13
Saves: U-M4 (Peter Dzubay 3, Team 1),UE3 (Troy Perkins)
Corner Kicks: U-M 1,UE 3
Fouls: U-M 21,UE 20
Cards: UE, Ian McAuley,25:22 (yellow); U-M, Kevin Taylor, 71:41 (yellow).
Q U O T E S
Senior Midfielder Mike White
On the game ... "After a while playing against a defense you start to notice the holes and you see where you can get in. Our whole team saw that we were sluggish in the first half and the second half we knew we needed to pick it up and get a lot sharper."
Head Coach Steve Burns
On the game ... "It was a team victory in the sense that I think we knew we had a good, deep bench now that we are four years into this program. We were able to use the minutes off the bench pretty effectively to get some energy into the game and ultimately pull out the victory."
On defensive switches ... "The decision was that we wanted to press the other team a little more. There was a big gap between our defense and our midfield and balls were dropping in there and they were able to turn, maintain possession and get it out. By pushing your defense higher you compress all that space. We had a lot better chance of getting that ball and maintaining the pressure on them. It gave us a much higher pressure second half."
On Chris Glinski's performance ... "Chris played well. He is a tremendous athlete and when he allows his athleticism to take over he can take over a game in the back. Having Kevin Taylor back there along with Chris -- you have a guy that can take care of all the balls in the air and win the 50/50 balls and you have a real smart player to balance it off and make sure everything is taken care of behind -- is a real nice combination to have in the back."
Senior Defender Kevin Taylor
On his penalty-kick goal ... "He (Evansville's goalkeeper) kind of beat himself. He leaned a little early and I read that and went to the other side."
On Evansville getting behind the defense ... "Yeah, they got behind us a few times, but we are not too worried about it. We have time to work on it and fix it in practice."
N O T E S
Freshman defender Kevin Hall (Kalamazoo, Mich./Portage Central HS) earned his first career start.
Senior Ian Hirschfield (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Pine Crest HS) saw his first game action of the 2003 season as he started play in the second half.
Michigan's goal was its fourth goal off a penalty kick in program history, and thethirdoff the foot of Kevin Taylor. Knox Cameron scored the other Michigan PK against Brown in 2002.
Michigan now holds a 2-0 advantage in the series against Evansville.
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
