Michigan Opens Season With Loss at No. 5 Texas A&M

Friday, August 27

College Station, Texas

8:00 PM CT

Michigan

0-1

Texas A&M

1-0

Michigan

Texas A&M

8/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Marc Ressler

Site: College Station, Texas (Aggie Soccer Complex)
Score: #5 Texas A&M 2, #20 Michigan 1
Records: U-M (0-1), Texas A&M (1-0)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Aug. 29 -- at Texas (Austin, Texas), 7:30 p.m. CDT

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The No. 20 University of Michigan women's soccer team opened the 2004 regular season Friday night (Aug. 27) with a 2-1 loss to No. 5 Texas A&M in front a record crowd of 4,403 at the Aggie Soccer Complex. The Wolverines got out in front early with a first-half goal by freshman Melissa Dobbyn (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS), but Aggie midfielder Christina Echavarry answered with a pair of goals before the break to put Texas A&M ahead for good.

The Aggies gained the early momentum with a number of good looks at the goal, but sophomore goalkeeper Megan Tuura (Tucker, Ga./St. Pius X Catholic HS) came up big with three saves in the first seven minutes of action. U-M had trouble finding its offensive execution in the early stages of the first half, with freshman Kandice McLaughlin (West Hills, Calif./El Camino Real HS) firing the team's first shot wide at 21:12.

Less than one minute later, Dobbyn gave the Wolverines a huge lift with her first career goal at 22:06. With the ball at midfield, Dobbyn got behind the Aggie defense and made a diagonal run toward the box. Sophomore Katelin Spencer (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) sent a through ball into Texas A&M territory, where Dobbyn collected the pass and went one-on-one with goalkeeper Kati Jo Spisak before putting the ball in the net to give U-M a 1-0 lead.

The Aggies wasted little time, as Echavarry tied the game at 27:05 after getting a head on an Annie Burnett cross and sneaking it past the reach of Tuura. Texas A&M continued to pressure the U-M defense with a shot by Carrie Berend, but Tuura was able to get a hand on the ball for her fourth save of the half. Unfortunately, Michigan was unable to clear the ball out and Echavarry broke through and took a centering pass from Berend to score the game-winner at 37:24.

Texas A&M looked to increase its lead in the opening minutes of the second frame, but Tuura made three crucial stops in the first 15 minutes to keep the Wolverines in contention. Michigan had an opportunity to draw even in the 59th minute, but Spisak blocked a shot by senior Kate Morgan (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty HS) before making a a save on an attempt by senior Laura Tanchon (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS). The Aggie defense continued to stifle any U-M chance by clearing out three corner kicks in the final 25 minutes of the game to seal the victory.

The Wolverines (0-1) return to action on Sunday (Aug. 29) when they visit No. 13 Texas. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. CDT at Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.

GAME SUMMARY

Team	1	2	F
Michigan	1	0	1
Texas A&M	2	0	2

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Melissa Dobbyn, 22:06 (Katelin Spencer)
1st -- Texas A&M, Christina Echavarry, 27:05 (Annie Burnett)
1st -- Texas A&M, Echavarry, 37:24 (Carrie Berend)

Shots: U-M 7, Texas A&M 19
Saves: U-M 7 (Megan Tuura), Texas A&M 3 (Kati Jo Spisak)
Corner Kicks: U-M 3, Texas A&M 2
Fouls: U-M 5, Texas A&M 15
Cards: None

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Debbie Rademacher
On the team's performance ... "At times we showed that we could play, but at times we were disjointed and couldn't do some simple things very well. Their two goals were really just a result of us not marking up in the box, but we held them in every other respect. They tried to play long balls and it was very much a running game. Anytime we could get the ball on the ground and pass it around, we did okay. But it was tough for us when it became a running game because that isn't our style of play."

On whether the team was ready to play in such a tough atmosphere ... "I don't think they really knew what kind of atmosphere they were going to face, but they knew they were going up against a tough team. We started three freshmen, so we had some youth on the field. I think we were a little bit nervous and it took time to settle in, but I think it was good for us because we need to face that kind of competition. I think when you play the best teams, then you are ready for everything else the rest of the season."

On the play of the three starting freshmen ... "Melissa (Dobbyn) is a pure goal-scorer and she got a really nice first goal. She took a shot from pretty far out and tried to bend it in the goal. Jamie (Artsis) was just tireless, she played the entire 90 minutes. She had to run on the outside midfield all night and she just did a great job. Kandice (McLaughlin) played the whole game in the backfield. Playing against the No. 5 ranked team in the country is just great experience for all three of them."

On what the team needs to do to prepare for Texas ... "We need to talk about the basics on our defense, just fundamental positions and how to organize when we mark up. We just need to talk about those things and go in with our heads up because we competed well tonight."

NOTES

• Freshmen Jamie Artsis (Chatsworth, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS), Melissa Dobbyn and Kandice McLaughlin were in the starting lineup in their first career game wearing the Maize and Blue. Redshirt freshman Emily Kalmbach (Coto de Caza, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS) also saw her first career regular season action.

• Melissa Dobbyn scored her first career goal on an assist from Katelin Spencer. It was Spencer's third career assist.

• Kandice McLaughlin (West Hills, Calif./El Camino Real HS) recorded her first career shot against Texas A&M.