Weekly Release #11 (vs. Michigan State)
10/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Nov. 2 -- vs. Michigan State (U-M Soccer Field), 7 p.m.
Senior Swan Song
The University of Michigan women's soccer team (3-9-5, 1-5-3 Big Ten) closes its 2007 campaign with an intrastate showdown with Michigan State. The Wolverines will celebrate their senior class prior to Friday's match. The game is slated for 7 p.m. on the U-M Soccer Field.
Corner Kicks: Michigan State
The Spartans (7-10-1, 1-8-0 Big Ten) come to town to round out the 2007 campaign. MSU's offense is led by sophomore Lauren Hill and senior Maureen Pawlak -- each with 16 points. Hill's seven markers leads the Spartan attack in goals while freshman Cara Freeman has set up five scores. Senior Erin Doan serves as a co-captain, leading the squad's defense. Fifth-year senior Nicole Galas has minded the net in 16 of the Spartans 18 games, posting a 5-9-1 record with three shutouts and a 1.31 goals-against average. Michigan State has been a strong first-half team this season, scoring 13 of the teams 17 goals in the first half.
Two-time Big Ten coach of the year Tom Saxton is in his 17th year as head coach in East Lansing. Michigan owns an 8-4-3 edge on its intrastate rival; however, U-M is winless since 2003 (0-2-1). Michigan State took last year's contest, 1-0, on a goal in the 63rd minute of a physical game that marked the conclusion of the 2006 campaign. Michigan State on the Internet: www.msuspartans.com.
The Week That Was
Michigan dictated the pace for much of the game, but it had to settle for a 1-1 tie with Oakland Sunday (Oct. 28) on the OU Soccer Field. The Wolverines doubled the Grizzlies in shots, 20-10, and U-M held a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks. The Wolverines got a first-half goal from fifth-year senior Emily Kalmbach (Coto de Caza, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic), and two saves from senior Lindsay Yakel (Shelby Township, Mich./Utica) in her first career start in net.
Friday (Oct. 27) saw a 2-0 setback to Illinois on the U-M Soccer Field. Junior goalkeeper Madison Gates (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) made two spectacular saves to keep the game tight, but the Michigan offense could not solve the Illini goaltending.
Leaders and Best
Through 17 games, Amanda Bowery (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester) leads the Wolverine offense with 10 points, followed by Sarah Banco (Medfield, Mass./Noble and Greenough School) with seven points. Katie Bohard (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) added her team-leading third helper for the season against Wisconsin (Oct. 21). Melissa Dobbyn (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) has taken the most cracks at the net with 41 shots. Madison Gates has shouldered the load in goal, playing 1,493-plus minutes with a 1.15 goals-against average. Gates has three shutouts for the season, and played the majority of two combined-shutouts with Lindsay Yakel.
Dobbyn Adds Career Shots Record To Resum
Senior Melissa Dobbyn moved past Abby Crumpton's (1999-2002) program record of 300 shots on Friday (Oct. 19) against Northwestern. The senior forward owns the new program record at 312 and counting.
Dobbyn On The Career Charts
Senior Melissa Dobbyn is sixth place on the U-M all-time points list with 72 career points and needs nine more to catch Jessica Limauro (1995-98), who is next on the list in fifth place with 79 career points. Crumpton holds the top spot on the list with 116 points.
Dobbyn is also near the top five in goals (27, three short of fifth place) and assists (18, one shy of fifth place) on the U-M career list.
Cottrell Joins Top 10 Starters
Lindsey Cottrell (Kalamazoo, Mich./Central), who has started all17 games this season moved into10th place on the U-M career starts list. Cottrell made her 78th start on Sunday against Oakland (Oct. 28), passingMichelle Pesiri (77, 1999-2002).
Cottrell, Dobbyn and Kalmbach Putting In Their Time
Lindsey Cottrell is also climbing the U-M all-time minutes played list. She jumped into third place with 6,940 minutes logged. Melissa Dobbyn is fifth with 6,202 minutes and Emily Kalmbach is eighth all-time at 5,121 minutes. Goalkeeper Suzie Grech (2000-03) is the career leader with 11,826 minutes, while the 7,130 minutes played by Katelin Spencer (2003-06) tops the list for field players.
Opponents Ranked in NSCAA National Rankings
Michigan is 0-2-2 against ranked opponents this season; U-M tied No. 2 Notre Dame, 0-0, in the Wolverines' season opener on Aug. 31, lost to No. 22 Southern Cal on Sept. 23, tied No. 8 Purdue, 0-0, on Oct. 7 and lost at No. 10 Penn State, 2-0, on Oct. 14. Check out the full rankings at the NSCAA site.
Contact: Ryan Sosin (734) 763-4423
