Michigan
11-7-2
Wisconsin
15-5-1
Dobbyn's Late Goal Sends U-M to Big Ten Semifinals
11/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Site: Columbus, Ohio (Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Quarterfinals)
Score: Michigan 1, #25 Wisconsin 0
Records: U-M (11-7-2), Wisconsin (15-5-1)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Nov. 5 -- at Ohio State at Big Ten Tournament (Columbus, Ohio), 7 p.m.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Michigan women's soccer team advanced to the Big Ten Conference Tournament semifinals after defeating No. 25 Wisconsin 1-0 in quarterfinal action Thursday evening (Nov. 4) at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Freshman Melissa Dobbyn (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) scored her seventh goal in the 82nd minute for the lone score of the contest, and sophomore goalkeeper Megan Tuura (Tucker, Ga./St. Pius X Catholic HS) made two stops for her seventh shutout of the season. With the loss, the sixth seeded Badgers fall to 15-5-1 overall and snap a seven-game winning streak.
The Badgers had Michigan on its heels in the early stages of the game, with Katy Lindenmuth firing a shot from the top of the box that was blocked by freshman Kandice McLaughlin (West Hills, Calif./El Camino Real HS) in the opening minute. Three minutes later, Amy Vermeulen collected a cross in front and sent a shot wide right of the net.
The Wolverines earned their first corner kick six minutes into the contest, as senior Laura Tanchon (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) lofted the kick to junior forward Therese Heaton (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South HS), but her attempt went left into the side netting. With 33 minutes left in the first half, senior Rachel Rothenbach (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) intercepted a ball at midfield and sent a pass forward to Heaton, but her shot sailed wide left once again.
Minutes later, Heaton sent a perfect through ball to Dobbyn on the break, but Badger goalkeeper Lynn Murray charged out and was able to deflect the ball clear of danger.
The Wolverines appeared to have taken a 1-0 lead with 29 minutes remaining until halftime, but freshman Jamie Artsis' (Chatsworth, Calif./Harvard-Westlake School) header off a Tanchon corner kick was disallowed after U-M was penalized for a push inside the box.
Michigan's last scoring chance in the first half came with just under 16 minutes left, as Heaton's header off a restart was saved by Murray. Wisconsin nearly went into the break with a one-goal lead, but Marisa Brown's shot hit the far post and Lindsey Walker was unable to get a foot on the rebound as Tuura was regaining her position, and the two teams went into the locker room without a goal on the scoreboard.
U-M picked up the pace of play 10 minutes into the second half, as sophomore Emily Kalmbach (Coto de Caza, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS) dribbled the ball from midfield and placed a perfect through ball on the foot of Heaton at the right post, but her shot sailed just left of the far post and out of play.
Dobbyn scored the game-winner with 8:09 left on the clock, as she received a short through ball from Heaton before blasting the ball past Murray to give the Wolverines the 1-0 lead.
Vermeulen nearly scored the equalizer two minutes later, but her attempt from inside the box went high over the crossbar. The Badgers regained control of the possession and Lindenmuth had the ball all alone near the top, but sophomore Brenna Mulholland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) caught up to the play and blocked the shot.
Wisconsin pressured the ball down on the Michigan's end in the closing minute. Kara Kabellis chipped a ball off a restart that was deflected out of bounds, and the Wolverines were able to clear a pair of corner kicks in the final two minutes of action. In the final seconds, Brown battled with Mulholland for a loose ball inside of the box, but Brown was called for a hand ball and Michigan escaped with the victory.
The third seeded Wolverines (11-7-2) advance to play No. 2 seed Ohio State tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 5) in the semifinals. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
2nd -- U-M, Melissa Dobbyn, 81:51 (Therese Heaton)
Shots: U-M 15, UW 13
Saves: U-M 2 (Megan Tuura), UW 3 (Lynn Murray)
Corner Kicks: U-M 7, UW 3
Fouls: U-M 16, UW 13
Cards: UW, Molly Meur, 74:11 (yellow)
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Debbie Rademacher
On the victory ... "I think we had some really strong performances and I think we definitely worked hard for that win and we earned it."
On matching up against Wisconsin ... "We both play the same style of soccer, we both like to possess the ball. They played the formation that we thought they would play. If we could just minmize that play out wide to Amy Vermeulen, then I thought we would get good chances with our outside backs getting forward and we were able to do that."
On the semifinal matchup against Ohio State ... "We have to be at our best and we have to contain (Lara) Dickenmann in the midfield. She was the one that gave us problems before. If we can do that and get organized and have good cover on whoever is marking her, that will be one key. They try to play possession and we want to do the same. We had a couple of opportunities tonight where we didn't finish and we need to create those again. We're going to have to be on the top of our game defensively as well because they have a lot of weapons."
On how the win helps U-M's bid at an NCAA Tournament berth ... "I think it's one step closer for us. It gives us one more glimmer of hope. I'm feeling pretty confident. I've looked at the strength of the schedule in the Big Ten and I think we have a pretty strong schedule. I'm hoping that helps us out."
NOTES
• Melissa Dobbyn recorded her seventh career goal and her third career game-winning score. She ranks second on the team in points with 17 on seven goals and three assists.
• Therese Heaton tallied her team-leading fifth assist of the season and the 12th of her career. She leads the team with 21 points on eight goals and five assists.
• Megan Tuura collected her seventh shutout of the season and the 12th of her career.
• Michigan improves its Big Ten Tournament record to 15-8 and its all-time mark against Wisconsin to 7-8-1.
• This is the second consecutive year that U-M has ended the Badgers' run at a Big Ten Tournament title. Last season, Michigan handed Wisconsin's a 1-0 loss in the semifinals on Nov. 7, 2003.
• The Wolverines move their season record against nationally ranked opponents to 3-4-1.
Team Stats
Dobbyn, Melissa (7)
Assisted By: Heaton, Therese
from center outside 12 yd box
81:51
