U-M Blows Out Western Michigan on the Road

Saturday, September 19

Kalamazoo, Mich.

2:00 PM

Michigan

6-1-0

Western Michigan

0-6-0

Michigan

Western Michigan

9/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Sept. 19, 2009

Site: Kalamazoo, Mich. (WMU Soccer Complex)
Score: Michigan 5, Western Michigan 1
Records: U-M (6-1-0), Western Michigan (0-6-0)
Attendance: 357
Next U-M Game: Wednesday, Sept. 23 -- vs. Bowling Green (U-M Soccer Complex), 7 p.m.

• Boxscore

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Junior forward Justin Meram (Shelby Township, Mich./Yavapai College), senior/junior Cam Cameron (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline) and junior defender Alex Wood (Northville, Mich./Northville) each posted a goal and an assist to lead the University of Michigan men's soccer team to a 5-1 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday (Sept. 19) at the WMU Soccer Complex.

Junior Adam Keller (Franklin, Mich./Groves) and sophomore/freshman Alex Klein (Seattle, Wash./The Bush School ) each added goals, while freshman Hamoody Saad (Dearborn, Mich./Dearborn) had two assists. Meanwhile, junior midfielder Chase Tennant (Rochester, Mich./Rochester) and fifth-year senior Daniel Gray (Setauket, N.Y./Chaminade) each added an assist, and junior/sophomore goalkeeper Chris Blais (Seattle, Wash./Kennedy Memorial) made four saves in 63:05 minutes of play before sophomore/freshman Tim Bergsma (Beverley Hills, Mich./Southfield Christian) made one save in relief.

Keller opened the scoring in the 33rd minute when Saad collected the ball in the left corner and delivered it to Meram's feet. With a quick move to get past a Western defender, Meram laid the ball off to a streaking Keller, who one-timed it past Western's goalkeeper for the score and the 1-0 U-M lead.

Cameron added to the U-M tally with his first goal of the season just before the half. Tennant served a ball in the box and Wood flicked it to Cameron, who placed it into the side of goal. Second-half tallies from Wood, Meram and Klein iced the game for the Wolverines.

Western Michigan's Saeed Sulemana Baba scored a late goal to get the Broncos on the scoreboard and ruin the shutout.

Western Michigan opened the game utilizing the long ball to get around the U-M offense, but the Wolverines used the precision and speed of their outside defenders and midfielders to keep the ball up field and in the Western end for the majority of the first half.

U-M had two scoring opportunities early in the half. Saad served a cross into the middle of the box, but Meram could not put a foot on it. Saad also had a chance in the box, but Western's Casey Abuil made the save.

Michigan welcomes Bowling Green to the U-M Soccer Complex on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	F
Michigan	2	3	5
Western Michigan	0	1	1

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Adam Keller, 32:16 (Justin Meram, Hamoody Saad)
1st -- U-M, Cam Cameron, 40:57 (Alex Wood, Chase Tennant)
2nd -- U-M, Wood, 48:36 (Jeff Quijano, Cameron)
2nd -- U-M, Meram, 70:46 (Daniel Gray)
2nd -- WMU, Saeed Sulemana Baba, 79:34 (Danny Mortemore)
2nd -- U-M, Alex Klein, 88:27 (Saad)

Shots: U-M 20, WMU 7
Shots on Goal: U-M 10, WMU 6
Saves: U-M 4 (Chris Blais, Tim Bergsma 1), WMU 5 (Casey Aubil)
Corner Kicks: U-M 8, WMU 3
Fouls: U-M 12, WMU 5
Cards: U-M, Julian Robles, 31:00 (Yellow); U-M, Alex Klein, 86:41 (Yellow); WMU, Sam Meyer, 77:26 (Yellow); WMU, Darren Jones, 82:42 (Yellow); WMU, Team, 83:00 (Yellow).

N O T E S

• The Wolverines also defeated WMU by a 5-1 count last season on Oct. 12, which was also the last game U-M notched five markers in a single contest.

• Michigan owns a 5-1 all-time record against Western Michigan. The Wolverines lone loss to the Broncos came in the 2005 season, a 2-1 defeat in Kalamazoo, Mich. U-M has a 18-10-5 record against in-state men's soccer programs.

• With three goals in the second half, the Wolverines are now outscoring their opponents, 16-6, for the season in the second frame. Starting goalkeeper Chris Blais has not allowed a second-half goal since Valparaiso scored one on Sept. 6.

• For the first time this season, U-M scored in the first half. It is the first first-half goal for the Wolverines since defeating UC-Davis, 2-1, on Nov. 25, 2008, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

• The Wolverines are now 3-1 in road games this season; U-M's lone road loss came to then-No. 12 Notre Dame in the season opener on Sept. 1.

• Sophomore/freshman Tim Bergsma made his first appearance for the Maize and Blue, making one save.

• Sophomore/freshman Alex Klein scored his first collegiate goal, while senior/junior Cam Cameron scored his first goal of the season.

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Steve Burns
On the team's performance ... "Adam Keller's goal was a top-10 nominee for us. Adam Keller played a really strong game. He started out a center back and kind of felt his way into the game where he could contribute offensively. Then we pushed him forward into a more defensive role. I thought he did a great job of winning balls and winning that part of the space and getting forward in the attack. That's why Keller is our "man of the match" on that one, he played really well. Two other guys that I thought did exceptionally well were Jeff Quijano starting at a new position for him, in an outside midfield. He's a guy that gets in the box and causes a lot of problems getting on the ends of services and Danny Gray, who came in and did really well playing in the rhythm of the game to help open Western Michigan up. In addition to those guys, it was great we had some guys that scored their first goals. Alex Klein scored his first goal in a Michigan uniform, Alex Wood scored his first goal of the season and Cam Cameron his first goal of the season, and we expect many more from him. Those guys have been putting the time in training and it paid off today for them."

On the progression of the team throughout the season ... "You always learn more in losses and sometimes it's difficult to learn things in a win, but this was a game where we answered a couple of questions. We answered two big questions that we had out there and we still have one more to answer before I'd say were pretty set on our lineup, and we're doing it by winning games."

Contact: Jessica Poole (734) 763-4423