Tennant's Heroic Game-Winner Sends Wolverines to Victory at Drake

Friday, September 4

Des Moines, Iowa

7:00 PM CT

Michigan

1-1

Drake

1-1

Michigan

Drake

Tennant's Heroic Game-Winner Sends Wolverines to Victory at Drake

9/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Jessica Poole

Site: Des Moines, Iowa (Cownie Soccer Complex)
Score: #22 Michigan 2, Drake 1
Records: U-M (1-1-0), Drake (1-1-0)
Attendance: 487
Next U-M Game: Sunday, Sept. 6 -- at Valparaiso (Valparaiso, Ind.), 5 p.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Junior midfielder Chase Tennant (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester) scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute to give the No. 22-ranked University of Michigan men's soccer team a 2-1 win at Drake in non-conference action on Friday (Sept. 4) at Cownie Soccer Complex. Tennant struck the ball from 25 yards out and placed it in the top shelf for U-M's first victory of the season.

Justin Meram

Senior midfielder Mauro Fuzetti (Houston, Texas/Stratford) broke a scoreless tie in the 48th minute of the game, putting U-M ahead, 1-0. Junior defender Adam Keller (Franklin, Mich./Groves) made the hustle play on the goal by keeping the ball inbounds in U-M's defensive end and getting it around Drake's outside midfielder. The ball was played up the line and senior/junior Cam Cameron (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline) headed it to junior forward Justin Meram (Shelby Township, Mich./Yavapai College), who, after fighting off a defender, slipped the ball to Fuzetti, who sent it past Drozad for the score. The Bulldogs tied the game minutes later on a Garrett Webb goal and the teams remained tied until Tennant's goal late in the second half.

Meram recorded the assist on Fuzetti's marker for his first collegiate points, while junior/sophomore Chris Blais (Seattle, Wash./Kennedy Memorial) recorded four saves in his second consecutive game as U-M's starting goalkeeper.

U-M had a hard time finding its offense in the first half as the Bulldogs dominated the action, outshooting the Wolverines, 7-2. Despite the strong Bulldog offense, the Wolverines were able to keep the opposing team off the board, highlighted by a breakaway save from Blais late in the half. Drake's Nick Foster slipped through the U-M defense, but Blais was there to stymie the scoring opportunity, sending the teams into halftime scoreless.

The Wolverines conclude the weekend at Valparaiso on Sunday (Sept. 6). Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. CDT at Valparaiso's Eastgate Field.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	F
Michigan	0	2	2
Drake	0	1	1

Scoring, Time (Assist)
2nd - U-M, Mauro Fuzetti, 47:12 (Justin Meram)
2nd - Drake, Garrett Webb, 60:29 (Hunter Kennedy)
2nd - U-M, Chase Tennant, 87:25 (unassisted)

Shots: U-M 8, Drake 16
Shots on Goal: U-M 3, Drake 5
Saves: U-M 4 (Chris Blais), Drake 4 (Michael Drozd 1)
Corner Kicks: U-M 2, Drake 11
Fouls: U-M 7, Drake 10
Cards: U-M, Chase Tennant, 67:13 (Yellow); Kofi Opare, 71:23 (Yellow); Justin Meram 86:55 (Yellow); Cam Cameron, 89:14 (Yellow); Drake, Julien Edwards, 67:13 (Yellow).

NOTES

• Tonight's game was U-M's first ever against Drake. The Wolverines have a 2-0 record against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference. Both wins came against Evansville.

• Senior/junior Cam Cameron made his first start of the season. Tonight was his third career start. He has seen action in 38 career games.

• Junior Justin Meram recorded his first points as a member of the Michigan men's soccer team. Meram, a junior college transfer, led Yavapai College to back-to-back NJCAA National Championships and was the 2008 National Junior College Player of the Year in 2008.

• Chase Tennant's goal marks his first since the 2006 season. Tennant, who spent the 2007 and 2008 seasons on a Mormon mission, was a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2005.

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Steve Burns
On the game ... "It's very difficult to beat a top 25 team on the road. Drake gave everything to win this game and they put us under considerable pressure in the second half. You have to give our guys credit as we showed how proud of a team we are in being able to bounce back from another difficult road game."

On the stars of the game ... "Everyone that stepped onto the field for us played up to their full potential as this was the only way we were going to beat a good Drake team. As I told the team at the end of the game, there were certainly several guys that deserved to be singled out. Both Kofi Opare and Latif Alashe played like warriors in controlling the central midfield. They really showed their range and displayed a maturity beyond their years. The Chase Tennant of old is back and he scored a great game-winning goal that will surely be one our Top 10 goals of the season. Our Man of the Match was Mauro Fuzetti, who was splendid up front. He really allowed our team to get Drake off our backs, and he had a great goal that filled our team with confidence."

U-M Senior Midfielder Mauro Fuzetti
On the win ... "It was definitely a great win against a ranked team. We came into it like it was a must-win game after taking a loss at No. 12 Notre Dame on Tuesday. It definitely helped us get our confidence back and it was good to play like we knew we could play, especially being on a long road trip, we felt like we had to get this one."

U-M Junior Defender Chase Tennant
On scoring his first goal since returning from his Mormon mission ... "Scoring the goal felt great. It really made me feel like I was really back and making my mark on the team."