Michigan Drops Big Ten Semifinal Match at Ohio State

Friday, November 3

Columbus, Ohio

7:30 PM

Michigan

7-10-4

Ohio State

11-6-3

Michigan

Ohio State

11/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Michigan men's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to Ohio State in the semifinals of the Big Ten Championship on Friday (Nov. 3) in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

The Michigan defense relinquished the lone goal of the game 39 seconds into the second stanza. Left unguarded inside the 18-yard box, Ohio State's Geoff Marsh netted the marker, beating sophomore/freshman goalkeeper Patrick Sperry (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central HS) to his right. Sperry was left on a three-on-one and dove to make a play on the ball but was unable to make the save in the top left corner.

The Wolverines responded to the Buckeye goal with freshman Peri Marosevic (Rockford, Ill./Edison Academy) taking two shots on goal in the 53rd and 62nd minutes with Casey Latchem making both saves. Marosevic's first shot on goal in the second half was taken on the left side of the net after he received a long ball from the midfield.

The Michigan defense started the match off with strong aggressive play, earning four fouls in the opening six minutes. Sperry was tested early after a Michigan foul when an Ohio State attacker took a shot on goal off a free kick from 22 yards out. Sperry's second save came in the 17th minute with an OSU attacker taking a diving header after the ball was sent in the middle of the 18-yard box. Sperry, who finished the match with five saves, dove to his left and deflected the ball wide for a corner kick. The Wolverine defense prevented a goal on the corner opportunity by clearing the ball downfield.

The offensive attack began when sophomore Santos Perez (Troy, Mich./Athens HS) took three straight shots in the 26th minute, all of which were blocked. Perez's first shot looked to be a sure goal when the Ohio State goalkeeper came out, leaving the net empty. Perez pounded the shot from the left flank 17 yards out, but a Buckeye defender blocked the ball from the net. Santos then recovered the shot and took two more blocked shots before the OSU defense cleared the ball.

The best scoring opportunity of the half came in the 34th minute when Marosevic got open for a breakaway on the right flank and fired the ball from 12 yards out, but OSU's keeper Casey Latchem knocked the ball out of bounds for a corner kick. U-M took three straight corner kicks off Marosevic's scoring attempt after the OSU defense kicked the ball out of bounds each time. The final corner kick was cleared of danger.

The Wolverines entered halftime tied at zero with five corner kicks to the Buckeyes' one.

With 14 minutes left in the match, senior tri-captain Kevin Savitskie (Plymouth, Mich./Salem HS) searched for the equalizer, taking a wide shot from 25 yards out. The ball looked to be on target but bent to the right and went out of bounds.

Michigan closes the 2006 campaign with a 7-10-4 record, including a 1-2-3 mark and fifth-place tie in the Big Ten regular season.

GAME SUMMARY

Team	1	2	F
Michigan	0	0	0
Ohio State	0	1	1

Scoring, Time (Assist)
2nd -- OSU, Geoff Marsh, 45:39 (Xavier Balc, Ryan Kustos)

Shots: U-M 18, UW 15
Saves: U-M 5 (Patrick Sperry), OSU 4 (Casey Latchem)
Corner Kicks: U-M 8, OSU 3
Fouls: U-M 19, OSU 18
Cards: U-M, Mauro Fuzetti, 14:12 (yellow); OSU, Brent Rohrer, 44:35 (yellow); OSU, Danny Irizarry, 70:19 (yellow); U-M, Peri Marosevic, 70:38 (yellow); U-M Santos Perez, 89:46 (yellow)