Michigan
3-0
Saint Francis (Pa.)
0-2
Wolverines Shut Out St. Francis, Improve Record to 3-0
9/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Site: East Lansing, Mich. (Old College Field)
Event: Michigan State Invitational
Score: #16 Michigan 2, Saint Francis (Pa.) 0
Records: U-M (3-0)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 10 -- vs. Dayton (Saline High School Field), 7 p.m.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The No. 16 University of Michigan men's soccer team improved to 3-0 today (Sunday, Sept. 5) with a 2-0 victory over St. Francis (Pa.) at the Michigan State Invitational. The Wolverines were on the attack throughout the game, outshooting the Red Flash 21-4 in the contest. Tolu Olowolafe (Bear, Del./Glasglow HS) notched the game-winner at 32:29 and Chris Glinski (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes HS) added a goal at 74:44. Joe Zawacki (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) earned the shutout victory.
The Wolverines came out aggressively early, creating three scoring chances in the first 30 minutes of play. The first chance came on U-M's second possession of the game. Mychal Turpin (Pontiac, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit HS) beat his defender down the left side of the field and into the St. Francis box. After driving down to the endline, he sent the ball across the mouth of the goal, but U-M was unable to get a touch on it, resulting in a goal kick for the Red Flash.
On the ensuing play, St. Francis quickly moved the ball up the field, creating a one-on-one opportunity with Kevin Hall (Kalamazoo, Mich./Portage Central HS). Scott Thompson beat Hall to the ball, forcing the foul, but in retaliation the Red Flash forward earned a red card, resulting in St. Francis playing down a man for the remainder of the game.
The Wolverines continued to control the ball and attack the St. Francis defense. Twice, in the 11th minute and in the 23rd minute, Turpin was able to find a teammate in the box on a cross. However, both times the Red Flash defense blocked the shot up over the net, keeping the game scoreless after 30 minutes of play.
Finally, in the 33rd minute, Turpin again beat his man down the right side of the field. With an open lane to the net, the St. Francis goalkeeper Simon Fox came out to make a play on the ball. Turpin crossed the ball to an open Olowolafe, who fired the shot into the open net. At the end of the first half, Michigan led 1-0.
The Maize and Blue continued its aggressive play in the second half, holding the ball in the St. Francis end for the majority of the half. The Wolverines had a chance to increase their lead in the 68th minute as Olowolafe crossed the ball to Jeff Mirmelstein (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central HS), who was making a rin into the right side of the box. Mirmelstein's shot, however, was saved by Fox to keep the score at 1-0.
Glinski gave the Wolverines a two-goal cushion in the 75th minute, scoring on a header off a corner kick. Ryan Sterba (Westlake, Ohio/St. Ignatius HS) serviced the ball to the far post, finding Glinski for the shot. Glinski sent the ball back across the net, banking it off the left post for the goal. St. Francis was unable to penetrate the Michigan defense for the remainder of the game.
The Wolverines will return to Ann Arbor for their first home games of the season. Michigan will face Dayton on Friday (Sept. 10) at 7 p.m. at Saline High School and host Detroit on Sunday (Sept. 12) at 5 p.m. at the U-M Soccer Field.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Michigan | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| St. Francis | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Tolu Olowolafe, 32:29 (Mychal Turpin)
2nd -- U-M, Chris Glinski, 74:44 (Ryan Sterba)
Shots: U-M 21, SFU 4
Saves: U-M 1 (Joe Zawacki), SFU 7 (Simon Fox)
Corner Kicks: U-M 9, SFU 3
Fouls: U-M 13, SFU 9
Cards: U-M, Kevin Hall, 1:59 (yellow), SFU, Scott Thompson, 1:59 (red)
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Steve Burns
On the game ... "There were some positives and certainly some negatives. The negatives are that our possession by our central mids is just not where we need it to be to be a strong team in possession. Our finishing of chances was very sub-par. Now that school is approaching and we get into our regular training rhythm, we can start to address the finishing side of it. That is just repetition and that will get better. The positives are defensively we are coming together. We have a defense that takes a lot of pride in stopping the other team from scoring and keeping the scoresheet at zeros. That is now three shutout games for us. The other positive is that we are 3-0 at this point in the season. However, we still have a lot of work to do before we can claim we are one of the top programs in the country."
On the increased number of scoring chances ... "It is encouraging. I think we are able to get in behind other teams' defenses. It is very tough to defend when you are facing your own goal. As a defender, you always want your back at your own goal so you can keep everything in front of you. We are a dangerous team in that sense. Yet, we are not finishing when we get those chances in behind defenses, slotting ball back across and serving balls into players that are making good runs. The finishing leaves a lot to be desired right now."
U-M Senior Midfielder Matt Niemeyer
On the game ... "We need to do a little better on finishing and keeping possession in their half of the field, but I think it was a good weekend for us to keep growing as a team. We got two wins out of it and hopefully we can keep things going into the rest of the season."
On the challenges St. Francis presented ... "I think it hurt them when they got the red card early. That was tough for them. They are a hard-working team and they tried to play along. They got a couple of good chances on us and kept us on our toes. It was good for us defensively to work on playing against a counter."
On if the season so far is a indicator of the summer work ... "I think it is a start. I think hopefully we will keep building confidence as the season goes on. We want to start generating more offensively, but I think we got a good base from the summer and hopefully things will keep coming together for us."
On the defense ... "Defensively we have guys that take pride in working hard and getting a shutout no matter what it takes. We have to keep that attitude up. We have a team that works hard across the board this year. We have to keep that blue-collar attitude up."
NOTES
• U-M has tied the best start in program history, posting a 3-0 record through the first three games of the season. The Wolverines also started the season 3-0 in 2001.
• Michigan earned its third shutout victory of the season behind Joe Zawacki. Zawacki now has five career shutouts.
• Tolu Olowolafe scored his first career goal at Michigan in the first half. Olowolafe's goal came on a crossing pass from Mychal Turpin.
Team Stats
Olowolafe, Tolu (1)
Assisted By: Turpin, Mychal
GOAL by MICH Olowolafe, Tolu (FIRST GOAL), Assist by Turpin, Mychal, goal number 1 for season.
32:29
Glinski, Chris (1)
Assisted By: Sterba, Ryan
GOAL by MICH Glinski, Chris, Assist by Sterba, Ryan, goal number 1 for season.
74:44
