Early Goal Gives Wolverines Upset of No. 20 Indiana

Saturday, October 4

Bloomington, Ind.

7:30 PM

Michigan

8-2-2 (1-0-1)

Indiana

5-3-2 (1-1-0)

Michigan

Indiana

10/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Ryan Sosin, Jeremy Reid

Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Bill Armstrong Stadium)
Score: Michigan 1, #20 Indiana 0
Records: U-M (8-2-2, 1-0-1 Big Ten), IU (5-3-2, 1-1-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Oct. 12 -- vs. Western Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 2:30 p.m.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Senior Jake Stacy's (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) tally at 1:18 held up as the only marker of the match as the University of Michigan men's soccer team defeated No. 20 Indiana, 1-0, on Saturday evening (Oct. 4) at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Senior/junior goalkeeper Patrick Sperry (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) registered five saves as the Wolverines knocked off the Hoosiers for the first time in school history.

Jake Stacy

The Maize and Blue stormed out of the gate as Stacy's seventh goal of the season gave Michigan the lead just 78 seconds into the match. Senior Alex Morisset (Shelby Township, Mich./De La Salle) took the ball on the right flank and served a long cross to Stacy who was running into the box from central midfield. Stacy, fully extended with his right foot, caught the ball cleanly and fired a shot back across the goalkeeper into the right side of the goal.

The homestanding Hoosiers pushed for an equalizer, outshooting the Wolverines 11-3 in the first half, but Michigan took the 1-0 advantage into the halftime intermission.

In the second half, Indiana again held the edge in shots, 9-6, but was still unable to find an equalizer against Sperry and the Michigan defense, and the Wolverines hung on to defeat the preseason Big Ten favorite.

Michigan is now unbeaten in its last five contests. The win also marks the first for U-M against a Big Ten opponent since November 2, 2006.

The Wolverines will return to action next Sunday (Oct. 12) when they host Western Michigan. The match is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

GAME SUMMARY

Team	1	2	F
Michigan	1	0	1
Indiana	0	0	0

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Jake Stacy, 1:18 (Alex Morisset)

Shots: U-M 9, IU 20
Shots on Goal: U-M 4, IU 5
Saves: U-M 5 (Patrick Sperry), IU 3 (Chay Cain)
Corner Kicks: U-M 1, IU 6
Fouls: U-M 9, IU 10
Cards: IU, Brian Ackley, 65:48 (Yellow); IU, Brad Ring, 83:23 (Yellow).

NOTES

• Saturday's win over No. 20 Indiana, coupled with Wednesday's (Oct. 1) victory over No. 8 Notre Dame, is the first time in U-M men's soccer history that the Wolverines have defeated back-to-back ranked opponents.

• The victory was Michigan's first in 11 tries against Indiana. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series, 9-1-1.

• Jake Stacy's seventh goal of the year was the 14th of his career -- fifth-best all-time total in U-M history.

• Goalkeeper Patrick Sperry recorded the 16th shutout of his career. Sperry is second on Michigan's career shutout list behind Peter Dzubay (2002-05) who recorded 19 in his career.

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Steve Burns
On the game ... "It was a game where (Indiana) had more shots, but in terms of dangerous chances it was pretty even. We could have scored a couple more goals; their goalkeeper had to make a couple of good saves. Sperry really didn't have to make any big saves. He came out and won a couple of balls in the air but most everything they hit was high and wide.

On scoring early and playing with a lead for 88 minutes ... "I really didn't think it would be a 1-0 game where we would score and have to play like that for 88 minutes. Our team showed an incredible amount of discipline, playing the shape and sticking to the game plan. They showed an incredible amount of focus. When you are tired that's the first thing that goes, your mind, and you start making mistakes. Indiana is a good team that was pushing a lot of players forward. Our guys also showed the heart and courage. You can't see that but certainly if you could have videotape of what was inside everyone's heads and hearts we would see some really good things."