Michigan
10-5-1,2-3-0Big Ten
Northwestern
9-3-4,2-2-1Big Ten
Schmitt Delivers U-M Win Over No. 12 Northwestern in Double OT
11/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (U-M Soccer Complex)
Score: Michigan 1, #12 Northwestern 0 (2OT)
Records: U-M (10-5-1, 2-3-0 Big Ten), Northwestern (9-3-4, 2-2-1 Big Ten)
Attendance: 721
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Nov. 7 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 6 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Senior/junior forward Matt Schmitt (Muskegon, Mich./Reeths-Puffer) scored the golden goal in the 102nd minute to send the University of Michigan men's soccer team to a 1-0 double-overtime victory over No. 12 Northwestern on Sunday (Nov. 1) at the U-M Soccer Complex.
Matt Schmitt
Schmitt, who scored his second goal in as many games, was in the right place at the right time for the game-winner. The Wolverines had back-to-back blocked shots from junior forward Justin Meram (Shelby Township, Mich./Yavapai College) and one of those shots deflected off the goal post onto Schmitt's foot, where he put it just past Northwestern's Misha Rosenthal to give U-M head coach Steve Burns his 100th career victory and program its 100th all-time victory.
Junior/sophomore midfielder Adam Shaw (Lone Tree, Colo./Highlands Ranch) and senior forward Mauro Fuzetti (Houston, Texas/Stratford) led the way for the Wolverines with four shots each. Junior/sophomore goalkeeper Chris Blais (Seattle, Wash./Kennedy Memorial) made four saves on the afternoon and earned his sixth shutout of the season.
The Wolverines were knocking on the door throughout the second half and both overtime periods, and it looked like U-M was going to get the victory in regulation with a goal from Meram in the final seconds. Meram put a shot just past Rosenthal, but it was called back on a handball call. Northwestern also had two quality opportunities in the second half to nearly get on the board. The first was a shot from Drew Pavlovich that hit the post and rolled out of bounds and the second was a header on a corner kick from Piero Bellizzi that went just over the crossbar.
The teams entered the second half deadlocked at 0-0 after a first half that was a typical Big Ten slugfest as neither team registered a shot on goal until the 25th minute of the half when Michigan freshman defender Brian Klemczak (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) hit a shot from the right side that was scooped up by Rosenthal.
Northwestern's Oliver Kupe looked like he was going to give the Wildcats the early 1-0 lead after breaking through the U-M defense, but Blais made a point-blank save, one of his four of the game, to keep the game knotted at 0-0.
The Wolverines controlled the midfield in the first half as junior midfielder Alex Wood (Northville, Mich./Northville), getting his first start of the season, served several spectacular long balls through the midfield and Shaw proved to be U-M's workhorse, battling for every ball that came his way.
The Wolverines close out the 2009 regular season on Saturday (Nov. 7) when they travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State in a televised match on the Big Ten Network. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. in Jesse Owen Memorial Stadium.
GAME SUMMARY
| By Periods | 1 | 2 | OT | OT | F |
| Northwestern | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
2OT -- U-M, Matt Schmitt, 101:05 (unassisted)
Shots: U-M 16, NW 17
Shots on Goal: U-M 7, NW 4
Saves: U-M 4 (Chris Blais), NW 6 (Misha Rosenthal)
Corner Kicks: U-M 4, NW 8
Fouls: U-M 5, NW 7
Cards: U-M, Mauro Fuzetti, 83:37 (Yellow).
NOTES
• Michigan moves to 8-4-1 against Northwestern and has won the last two games in the series.
• Michigan moves to 1-0-1 in overtime contests this season with today's victory. The Wolverines battled Oakland to a 0-0 tie on Sept. 30.
• This is the second consecutive season that the Wolverines have defeated a ranked Northwestern squad. Last season, U-M defeated then-No.3 Northwestern for Michigan's first-ever win over a team ranked in the top 3. Today's victory was U-M's second win over a ranked team this season. The Wolverines defeated No. 23 Drake on Sept. 4.
• The Wolverines have a 1-5-1 record when playing on the Big Ten Network. Today's game marked U-M's second televised contest of the season and the first-ever win for U-M in a televised game on the Big Ten Network. The Wolverines fell to Indiana, 1-0, on Oct. 10 in front of a national audience on the Big Ten Network.
• Senior/junior forward Matt Schmitt scored his second goal in as many games. Schmitt was playing in his eighth game this season and scored his sixth career goal.
• Junior midfielder Alex Wood earned his first start of the season at today's contest.
• The Wolverines conclude the 2009 home slate with a 6-2 record at the U-M Soccer Complex. U-M's two losses came against Indiana and top-ranked Akron.
• Today's contest was Parents/Senior Day. The Wolverines honored all of the parents of the 2009 Wolverines as well as the 2009 senior class of Mauro Fuzetti, Daniel Gray, Tom McCurdy and Julian Robles.
• The men's soccer program picked up its 100th all-time victory. U-M's overall record is 100-76-19 in its 10th season as a varsity program. Head coach Steve Burns also picked up his 100th career victory at the helm of the program. Burns has the distinction of being the only head coach in U-M's history.
NOTES
Michigan Head Coach Steve Burns
On the game ... "This was definitely a typical Big Ten soccer game. You had two teams that were very patient in their game plans, which were both very similar. A real credit to our team for showing discipline and getting behind the ball and defending well and really looking to hurt Northwestern in the counterattack. In addition to that, we did some great work in possession and trying to get around the flanks and placing balls around the face of the goal. Overall, I'm really pleased with how the team played, and we got a great win."
On the play of senior/junior forward Matt Schmitt ... "He's one of the guys that at the beginning of the season I thought that we could ill afford to lose. Regardless of his role on the team being a starter or coming off the bench to raise the level of play, he's an important player for us. He's managed his injury very well to the point where he can be impactful in games and he's doing a great job with that."
On getting his 100th career victory and the 100th program victory ... "As coaches, we tend to not want to reflect on things that have happened in the past because you feel like you are letting your guard down. Reflecting on it now, it just shows how far we have come as a program. It shows how hard our conference is, in that every win is a difficult win. I'm real pleased with the progress that we're making but at the same time I'm not going to let my guard down because there is a lot of soccer left to play starting with this Saturday at Ohio State."
U-M Senior/junior forward Matt Schmitt
On the game-winning goal ... "I tried to keep it low and on frame and thankfully it went as planned. It feels good to contribute. I put in a lot of work in the offense and it's been a little delayed this season because of my injury until this point, but it really feels good to contribute."
Team Stats
Schmitt,Matt (2)
rebound off of a blocked shot
101:54
