Wolverines Defeat Long Island, Win Own Tournament

Sunday, September 11

Ann Arbor, Mich.

2:00 PM

Michigan

Long Island

Michigan

9/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: Joseph Conrad

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (U-M Soccer Field)
Event: Michigan Invitational
Score: Michigan 3, Long Island 1
Records: U-M (4-1-0), LIU (0-3-0)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 16 -- at Oakland (Rochester, Mich.), 5 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's soccer team took first place in the Michigan Invitational with a 3-1 win over Long Island on Sunday (Sept. 11) at the U-M Soccer Field. The Wolverines had four representatives on the all-tournament team, with senior Trai Blanks (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) and senior Peter Dzubay (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview) earning offensive and defensive MVP honors, respectively.

The first half of the game consisted of a strong U-M defense that only allowed one shot, which gave Dzubay his first save. The defense was also able to stop two Long Island corner kick opportunities in the first half, and three in the second half. To complement their defense, the Wolverines poured on an offensive attack that took six shots, two on goal, and scored one goal.

The first goal for Michigan was 36:02 into the game, when Blanks was on the left wing and found senior Ryan Alexander (Southfield, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) at the top of the goal area, where he beat the goalie to his left.

The Wolverines led 1-0 at the intermission, which would change at the 59:47 mark when Long Island's Szymon Hryszczyk lofted a pass to Jukka Lehto to set up a one-on-one break against the goalie. Lehto beat Dzubay to his left, from the far side of the field, to tie the game.

U-M responded by subbing out the entire front third of the lineup, with Blanks and Alexander leading the charge to get the go-ahead goal. The game-winning goal came 12:18 after Long Island's score, when Alexander repaid Blanks for his goal by sliding the ball to Blanks 18 feet from the net, forcing Blanks to fire the ball into the left near-side of the net.

Blanks' second goal of the night -- and third of the season -- was a header that was flicked into the net, assisted by senior Ryan Sterba (Westlake, Ohio/St. Ignatius) from a corner kick.

With a victory over Long Island and Friday's 1-0 win over Louisville, U-M was able to go undefeated in the tournament. The Wolverines finished in first place, while Louisville (1-1), which defeated Michigan State 1-0 in Sunday's first contest, earned second. MSU (1-1) placed third and Long Island (0-2) was fourth. Alexander and Kevin Savitskie (Plymouth, Mich./Salem) joined Blanks and Dzubay on the 12-player all-tournament team.

The next game for the Wolverines will be against Oakland on Friday (Sept. 16) at 5 p.m. in Rochester, Mich.

GAME SUMMARY

Team	1	2	F
Long Island	0	1	1
Michigan	1	2	3

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Ryan Alexander, 36:02 (Trai Blanks)
2nd -- LIU, Jukka Lehto, 59:47 (Szymon Hryszczyk)
2nd -- U-M, Blanks, 72:05 (Alexander)
2nd -- U-M, Blanks, 80:37 (Ryan Sterba)

Shots: U-M 10, LIU 6
Saves: U-M 2, LIU 3
Corner Kicks: U-M 5, LIU 7
Fouls: U-M 13, LIU 14
Cards: LIU, Jukka Lehto, 60:26 (yellow); LIU, Ryan Vignona, 81:56 (yellow)

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Steve Burns
On the importance of the tournament victories ... "I think you see a team that is beginning to really come together. We had a great weekend with some higher temperatures. We probably had six or seven guys who ran 20 miles in the last three days. We had six or seven guys that ran 15 or 16 miles. To see the fact that we put together as complete a game as we have in this point of the season, it's refreshing to know that the mental discipline is there."

On the confidence from being offensive and defensive MVPs ... "I don't think they need any more confidence than they already have. They are definitely some confident individuals. Zoobs (Peter Dzubay) is that stalwart for us there in between the pipes. He comes up with big saves whenever we need him to come up with big saves. He's found his form in his senior year here. And the same thing applies to Trai Blanks. To see the growth of Trai Blanks over the last three years, now in his fourth year, he has such a comfort and an ease in front of the goal now and a confidence. That wasn't always the case, but now through all of the training, he just knows what to do in front of the goal. He is clearing his brain of thoughts and just finishing balls, which is great to see, and he put a great weekend together as did Zoobs."

On controlling the ball possession ... "Long Island had a good tactical game plan to sit in and play off of the counterattack because they probably saw some things over the course of the weekend that they thought we were susceptible with. That allowed us clear possession in the back half of the field, but that also allowed our central players that are very good spraying balls about to start linking all parts of the field. We could really pick where we wanted to probe and get in behind their defense. I think Chase Tennant and Adam Bruh were special on the day, and Santos Perez came in and did some special things right in the middle of the field to really stretch them out that allowed us to find some gaps in between them."

On the mindset for the line change in the second half ... "One of the things we talked about at halftime was the mental discipline. When the physical side of the game and the pace is taken out of the game, it's that mental discipline to stay sharp and stay connected and recognize the movement and energy required to play. And it's difficult because you' re fighting that wants to take it easy at times. I think that was the biggest thing we showed, the fact that we've got that mental discipline to play at a higher level. We were just able with the substitutions to sustain it."