Weekly Release #4
9/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sun., Sept. 8-10 -- Host Michigan Invitational (U-M Soccer Field)
Sept. 8 -- Virginia Commonwealth vs. Michigan State, 5 p.m.
Sept. 8 -- Michigan vs. Butler, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 10 -- Butler vs. Michigan State, noon
Sept. 10 -- Michigan vs. Virginia Commonwealth, 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 13 -- at Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.), 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 17 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 3:30 p.m. CDT
This Week ... Michigan Invitational
Butler (2-1-1, 0-0 Horizon League) vs. Michigan (1-3, 0-0 Big Ten)
Friday, Sept. 8, 7:30 p.m. EDT U-M Soccer Field
Virginia Commonwealth (2-1, 0-0 CAA) vs. Michigan (1-3, 0-0 Big Ten)
Sunday, Sept. 10, 2:30 p.m. EDT U-M Soccer Field
The Wolverines come back to Ann Arbor to host the annual Michigan Invitational that will feature Michigan, Michigan State, Butler and Virginia Commonwealth. The Maize and Blue will take on Butler (Sept. 8, 7:30 p.m.) and Virginia Commonwealth (Sept. 10, 2:30 p.m.) on the U-M Soccer Field. This will be the second year U-M will host the Michigan Invitational after finishing in first place as the only team to go 2-0 in the tournament.
Scouting the Opponents ...
A look at Butler (Michigan leads all-time series, 1-0): The Bulldogs finished the 2005 season 9-10 with a first round loss to UW-Milwaukee in the Horizon League tournament. Butler is currently 2-1-1 in the 2006 campaign. This will be the second meeting between Michigan and Butler, with U-M leading the series 1-0. The Wolverines faced the Bulldogs for the first time in 2001, with U-M taking a 2-0 victory in Ann Arbor.
Under Head Coach Kelly Findley: Findley enters his first season with the Bulldogs. Prior to coaching Butler, Findley spent five seasons on the staff, with the last two of the five as the associate head coach at Charlotte University. While with Charlotte, the 49ers compiled a 42-40-14 record with two trips to the Conference USA Tournament semifinals and one berth in the league finals. Butler on the Web: www.butlersports.com
A look at Virginia Commonwealth (First meeting): The Rams ended the 2005 season with a 6-10-4 record and have got off to a 2-1 start in 2006. Virginia Commonwealth is currently on a two-game winning streak after defeating Seton Hall and No. 7 UNC Greensboro. Michigan is the fifth team from the Big Ten Conference to challenge VCU. The Rams are currently 1-3-1 against teams in the Big Ten.
Under Head Coach Tim O'Sullivan: Entering his 12th season, O'Sullivan has led the Rams to an overall record of 122-80-28 with six NCAA College Cup appearances. Coach O'Sullivan has also coached VCU to three Colonial Athletic Association titles as well as the program's second best season in program history in 1997 (15-4-4). Virginia Commonwealth on the Web: vcurams.vcu.edu
THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES ...
Did You Know
Michigan is currently 11-2-1 against teams in the Horizon League, and 1-0 versus Butler.
This is the first meeting with Virginia Commonwealth as well as any team from the Colonial Athletic Association.
The Wolverines are 2-0 in the Michigan Invitational after winning both matches in last year's inaugural tournament.
MSU/Radisson Fall Classic
The Wolverines competed in the annual MSU/Radisson Fall Classic going 1-1 this past weekend (Sept. 1-3). The first win of the tournament was also the first win of the Wolverines' season, as U-M defeated Northern Illinios (Sept. 1) 2-1, with junior Michael Parke (Portage, Mich./Portage Central) scoring the game-winner in the 45th minute. The final match of the event for Michigan was against third-ranked New Mexico (Sept. 3) and ended in a 3-0 loss. The Maize and Blue currently have an all-time record of 9-3 in the MSU/Radisson Fall Classic.
A Walk in the Parke
Junior midfielder Michael Parke netted his first collegiate goal in the 45th minute of Michigan's 2-1 victory over Northern Illinios. Parke's first marker also proved to be his first-ever game-winner as well, as his goal propelled the Maize and Blue to its first victory of the season.
Freshman Connection
Freshmen Mauro Fuzetti (Houston, Texas/Stratford) and Peri Marosevic (Rockford, Ill./Edison Academy) made an offensive connection last weekend that led to Michigan's first win of the season. Fuzetti led the way with two assists, earning his first career assist off of Marosevic's first career goal in the 19th minute. Marosevic led the team in shots (4) and was second in shots on goal (2). Fuzetti also earned his first-ever game-winning assist, as he dished the ball off to Michael Parke at the 45th minute to set up the game-winner.
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U-M Scheduled for Two Live Television Games on Comcast
Comcast Local is scheduled to televise Michigan home games against Notre Dame (Oct. 4, 7 p.m.) and Michigan State (Oct. 8, 2 p.m.).
The Book on Burns
Head coach Steve Burns is 61-52-9 in six seasons as the leader of Michigan's varsity program. Last season Burns guided the Wolverines to an overall record of 8-10-1, tying for fifth place in the Big Ten. Since Burns took the helm in 2000, the Wolverines have posted 10 or more wins in four out of six seasons, making two NCAA College Cup appearances. Prior to Michigan soccer being granted varsity status on March 26, 1999, Burns was the head coach of the Michigan club team since 1993. Under his leadership, Michigan posted a 121-51-26 mark (.677 winning percentage) and made six consecutive appearances in the national club championship tournament. The team won back-to-back national championships in 1997 and 1998.
Defensive Leadership
With a new face in the net for the Wolverines, the defensive back half will be key in maintaining Michigan's defensive reputation. With three senior defensemen in the backline -- Kevin Hall (Kalamazoo, Mich./Central HS), Michael O'Reilly (Spring, Texas/Klein HS) and Kevin Savitskie (Plymouth, Mich./Salem HS) -- the Wolverines look to produce another season that is full of defensive stability. In 2005, Hall, O'Reilly and Savitskie led a Michigan defense that tied a Michigan record of five shutouts for the season. On Sept. 1, the Wolverines demonstrated their defensive prowess versus the Detroit Titans as they held them to six shots with none on goal.
"Putting the Onion in the Onion Bag"
"Putting the onion in the onion bag," "netting a goal" or just plain scoring. The 2006 Wolverines will need to replace the players that "put the onion in the onion bag," for the 2005 season as the top four point earners, Ryan Alexander (2004-05), Trai Blanks (2002-05), Ryan Sterba (2002-05) and Adam Bruh (2002-05), have all departed. Alexander led the team in points (11) with Blanks second (9). Alexander and Blanks also finished tied for first in goals (4). Sterba and Bruh finished tied for third in points (8) and tied for fourth in goals (2). Taking the reigns from the four top point earners will be senior tri-captain defender Kevin Savitskie, sophomore forward Jake Stacy (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central HS), sophomore forward Steve Bonnell (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Detroit Country Day HS) and sophomore defender Chase Tennant (Rochester, Mich./Rochester HS). Savitskie and Stacy finished the 2005 season tied for fifth in points (6), while Bonnell and Tennant finished tied for seventh in points (5).
Team Leadership
The 2006 Wolverines will be led by senior tri-captains Kevin Hall, Kevin Savitskie and Brian Popeney (Canton, Mich./Plymouth Salem). Hall and Savitskie were defensive leaders for the Wolverines in 2005, not only defending but also scoring goals. Savitskie was fifth on the team in points (6) and third in goals (3). Hall, who is in his second season as a captain, scored his lone goal of the season against Denver (Sept. 4), netting the game-winner in the 85th minute giving the Wolverines a victory in the MSU/Radisson Classic. Popeney will bring his leadership and experience to the table after playing in 36 games, making five starts and dishing off two assists in his career.
New Faces in Town
Michigan's 2006 recruiting class ranked 26th on the College Soccer News top 40 list with three highly touted recruits joining the Wolverines. Incoming freshmen Mauro Fuzetti (Houston, Texas/Stratford HS), Perica Marosevic (Rockford, Ill./Edison HS) and Julian Robles (Hacienda Heights, Calif./Damien) will join sophomore midfielder Nader Jarun (Peachtree, Ga./McIntosh HS), a transfer from Vanderbilt. In 2006, Fuzetti earned All-Greater Houston and first team all-district honors. Marosevic was a member of Parade magazine's 2006 All-America team and participated in his second year with the U.S. National Team Under-18 group, traveling to Portugal and competing with the squad in the 13th annual Lisbon International Tournament in June. Robles was named 2006 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern California Defender of the Year after leading Damien High School to its first CIF State Championship title. Robles was also an all-state honoree after receiving all-district and all-region recognition. Jarun played in 14 of 18 matches at Vanderbilt University, tallying six shots with two on goal, as he was part of an attacking front line that ranked fifth in the conference in goals (28) and assists (27), leading the Commodores to their first winning record (9-7-2) in six years.
Raising the Bar
Michigan finished the 2005 season with an overall record of 8-10-1 and tied for fifth place in the Big Ten Conference at 2-4-0. One of the biggest wins of the season came on Oct. 20 when the Wolverines defeated the No. 25 Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers in double overtime by a score of 2-1. The Wolverines missed making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002.
Wolverines and the Michigan Bucks
The Michigan Bucks won the 2006 Premier Developmental League (PDL) Championship with the help from three current Wolverines, sophomores Michael Holody (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS), Alex Morisset (Shelby Township, Mich./DeLasalle HS) and Chase Tennant (Rochester, Mich./Rochester HS), and U-M alumnus Mychal Turpin (2001-04). The No. 13 Bucks became the lowest seeded team to capture the title as they defeated the Laredo Heat, 2-1.
Contact: Joseph Conrad (734) 763-4423
