Weekly Release #13
11/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
NCAA Tournament
Fri-Sun., Nov. 12-14 -- NCAA First/Second Rounds (Columbus, Ohio)
Nov. 12 -- Detroit vs. Michigan, 4:30 p.m.
Nov. 12 -- Bowling Green vs. Ohio State, 7 p.m.
Nov. 14 -- Detroit/Michigan winner vs. Bowling Green/Ohio State winner, 1 p.m.
Fri-Sun., Nov. 19-21 -- NCAA Third Round (campus sites)
Fri-Sun., Nov. 26-28 -- NCAA Quarterfinals (campus sites)
Friday, Dec. 3 -- NCAA Semifinals (Cary, N.C.)
Sunday, Dec. 5 -- NCAA Championship (Cary, N.C.)
This Week
The University of Michigan women's soccer team (11-8-2) will make its eighth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament this weekend. The Wolverines will meet the University of Detroit in the first round on Friday (Nov. 12) at 4:30 p.m. Should U-M win that game, it will advance to face the winner of the Bowling Green/Ohio State contest on Sunday (Nov. 14) at 1 p.m. All games will be played at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Scouting the Field (First and Second Rounds)
Detroit -- The Titans (13-7-1) finished the season strong with a 1-0 win over UW-Milwaukee in the Horizon League championship match. 2004 Horizon League Player of the Year Mary Parker leads Detroit with 36 points on 16 goals and four assists. With six shutouts on the year, Alisson Dube (1.17 GAA) is Detroit's all-time leader in that category with 24 career blankings. This is the first tournament bid for the Titans in the program's 12 year history and will also be the first match-up between the two teams since Sept. 17, 2001, when Michigan shut out Detroit 4-0 in Ann Arbor. Michigan leads the all-time series 5-1-0. Detroit on the Internet: www.detroittitans.com.
Ohio State -- The No. 8-ranked Buckeyes (16-3-3) are coming off a 2-0 victory over No. 5 Penn State to win the Big Ten Tournament title. 2004 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Lara Dickenmann leads the Buckeyes with 34 points on 12 goals and 10 assists. Lisa Grubb was also honored as an All-Big Ten selection, posting a career-high 31 points on 11 goals and nine assists. Rounding out the Buckeyes' All-Big Ten honorees defender Melissa Miller, who has helped hold OSU's opponents to just 0.74 goals per game and a program-record 10 shutouts in 22 matches. Senior goalkeeper Emily Haynam is 13-2-2 on the season and holds an impressive 0.68 GAA. The Buckeyes finished their season with program records in wins (16), league wins (six), winning percentage (.841), shutouts (10) and goals (56). Michigan holds a 9-5-2 advantage in the all-time series since losing to the Buckeyes 5-2 in this year's Big Ten Tournament semifinals (Nov. 5). Ohio on the Internet: www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Bowling Green -- The Falcons (10-11-2) earned their NCAA tournament bid with a Mid-Atlantic Conference tournament title, shutting out Central Michigan 2-0 (Nov. 7). All-MAC honoree Kristy Coppes, the Falcon's all-time leader in goals and points, leads the team with an impressive 18 goals and two assists for 38 points on the year. Michigan has never met Bowling Green in varsity competition. Bowling Green on the Internet: www.bgsufalcons.com.
Big Ten Representation
Three other Big Ten conference teams join Michigan and Ohio State in the field of 64. Big Ten regular-season champion Penn State is the No. 2 seed and will take on Binghamton, Illinois will match up with Rice, and Wisconsin squares off against Dayton.
Michigan in the NCAA Tournament
U-M will make its eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance with its game against Detroit on Friday (Nov. 12). The Wolverines are 9-7 all-time in NCAA competition, having advanced to the second round every season since 1998, including an appearance in the Sweet 16 last year and the Elite Eight in 2002. Michigan lost its first-round contest in 1997, the first year the Maize and Blue qualified for postseason play.
Last Week
The Wolverines suffered a 5-2 loss to No. 13 Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals Friday night (Nov. 5). The host and No. 2 seed Buckeyes scored three goals in the first 20 minutes of the game, then added two more scores in the opening five minutes of second half to eliminate third-seeded U-M. Senior Laura Tanchon (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) and freshman Melissa Dobbyn (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) scored a goal in each half to lead Michigan.
Michigan advanced to play the Buckeyes thanks to a 1-0 quarterfinal victory over No. 25 Wisconsin on Thursday (Nov. 4). Dobbyn 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.
Dobbyn Picked to All-Tournament Team
After collecting two goals at the Big Ten Tournament last weekend, including the game-winner against Wisconsin in the quarterfinals, Melissa Dobbyn was the lone Wolverine selected to the All-Tournament team following completion of play.
Wolverines Honored at Big Ten Banquet
Four members of the women's soccer team were selected to All-Big Ten teams at the annual postseason tournament banquet held last Wendesday (Nov. 3). Sophomores Brenna Mulholland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) and Megan Tuura and freshman Jamie Artsis (Chatsworth, Calif./Harvard-Westlake School) were named to the All-Big Ten second team, while Artsis and classmate Melissa Dobbyn were picked to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. In addition, Laura Tanchon was chosen as U-M's Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Heaton Earns Academic Distinction
Junior Therese Heaton (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South HS) was selected to the Academic All-District IV second team by the College Sports Information Directors of America last Thursday (Nov. 4). To be nominated for the Academic All-America team, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore starter or significant reserve on her team with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average. Heaton is enrolled in the School of Education, majoring in elementary education. This marks the second time that Heaton has been honored by CoSIDA for her achievements on and off the field, as she was named to the Academic All-District IV third team in 2003.
The Leader of the Wolverines
Head coach Debbie Rademacher is in her 11th season at the helm of the U-M women's soccer program and holds a career record of 140-82-21 at the school. Over that stretch, the Wolverines' program has exhibited steady growth; from an impressive Big Ten Conference Tournament semifinal finish in the inaugural 1994 season, to a pair of conference tournament titles in 1997 and 1999, the Maize and Blue has begun to expect success on the national level, with seven consecutive NCAA Tournament trips, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2002 and the Sweet 16 in 2003. Rademacher has coached four National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Americans, 19 NSCAA all-region honorees, 35 All-Big Ten first- or second-team picks and 73 Academic All-Big Ten recipients.
Michigan vs. Ranked Opponents
Michigan dropped to 3-5-1 against nationally ranked opponents this season with the loss to No. 13 Ohio State on Nov. 5. U-M's three wins came against No. 22 Boston (3-0), No. 11 Illinois (1-0) and No. 25 Wisconsin (1-0).
Michigan in the National and Regional Rankings
The Wolverines are not listed in the the most recent NSCAA/adidas national rankings, released Tuesday (Nov. 9). This is the fourth consecutive week that Michigan has not appeared in the national poll. U-M moved up one spot to No. 5 in the association's Great Lake Regional rankings.
NSCAA/adidas National Rankings (11/9/04)
Rank, School W-L-T Prev 1. North Carolina 18-0-2 1 2. Notre Dame 19-1-1 2 3. Virginia 16-2-2 5 4. Santa Clara 14-4-2 4 5. Penn State 19-2-1 3 6. Portland 17-3-0 6 7. Texas A&M 17-5-0 10 8. Ohio State 16-3-3 13 9. Florida 16-3-3 16 10. Tennessee 15-4-2 8 11. UCLA 13-6-0 14 12. Princeton 15-2-0 12 13. Kansas 17-4-0 7 14. Washington 14-4-1 25 15. Connecticut 16-6-1 NR 16. Auburn 14-3-2 9 17. Arizona 15-5-0 15 18. Duke 13-7-0 17 19. Illinois 13-5-2 18 20. Texas 13-6-2 21 21. San DIego 11-7-2 22 22. SMU 15-3-2 NR 23. Villanova 13-5-2 23 24. Florida State 12-5-2 20 25. Boston College 14-6-0 19 Stanford 12-5-3 11
U-M Listed in Soccer Buzz Regional Poll
With losses in five of their last seven games, the Wolverines have dropped out of the Top 30 in the most recent Soccer Buzz national rankings, released Monday (Nov. 8). Michigan remains at No. 6 in the publication's Great Lakes Regional rankings.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
