Michigan's Dream Season Comes to Close at Top-Ranked Virginia

Friday, November 29

Charlottesville, Va.

7:00 PM

Michigan

18-4-1

Virginia

24-1

Michigan

Virginia

Michigan's Dream Season Comes to Close at Top-Ranked Virginia

11/29/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Brad Rudner

Site: Charlottesville, Va. (Klöckner Stadium)
Event: NCAA Tournament (Quarterfinals)
Score: #1 Virginia 2, #11 Michigan 1
Records: U-M (18-4-1), Virginia (24-1)
Attendance: 1,882
Next U-M Event: Season Complete

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan women's soccer team saw its dream season come to an end in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, dropping a 2-1 decision at top-ranked Virginia on Friday (Nov. 29) inside Klöckner Stadium. Senior Meghan Toohey (Philadelphia, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) scored the lone goal for Michigan, her third of the postseason.

Meghan Toohey

Virginia struck first in the 24th minute on a goal from Morgan Brian. With U-M a little out of sorts on defense, Makenzy Doniak took the ball on the far side and slipped it behind the Wolverines defense to Brian, who tapped the shot into the near corner past a diving attempt by freshman goalkeeper Taylor Bucklin (Greenwich, Conn./Brookfield).

Michigan tied the game four and a half minutes later. Senior Nkem Ezurike (Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia/Sackville) won the ball on the near side of the field. After fending off a Virginia defender, Ezurike turned and slotted a ball to Toohey in the center of the box. She brought the ball down, touched it once and slipped a shot by Virginia goalkeeper Morgan Stearns into the lower-left corner to tie the match at 1-1. The two teams went into the half deadlocked, but Virginia had the majority of possession and had an advantage in shots, 15-2.

The first half of the second frame was dominated by Virginia, as Michigan was forced to do a ton of defending. The Cavaliers broke the tie in the 68th minute on a goal from Molly Menchel. A cross into the far side bounced off the post and Bucklin dove for it. As it came back into play, Menchel followed up the attempt, tapping it into the net for the 2-1 lead with 22 minutes to go.

Bucklin and the back line stood tall all evening despite being pelted with shots. The freshman goalkeeper made four saves.

The Wolverines close out the season having set or tied multiple program bests, including highest finish in both the Big Ten Conference (second) and in the NCAA Tournament (Elite Eight), while tying the single-season record for wins (18). Led by seven seniors, U-M won 34 matches over the last two seasons, the most in a two-year stretch in program history.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	F
Michigan	1	0	1
Virginia	1	1	2

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- UVA, Morgan Brian, 23:09 (Makenzy Doniak)
1st -- U-M, Meghan Toohey, 27:38 (Nkem Ezurike)
2nd -- UVA, Molly Menchel, 67:56 (unassisted)

Shots: U-M 4, UVA 22
Shots on Goal: U-M 2, UVA 6
Saves: U-M 4 (Taylor Bucklin), UVA 1 (Morgan Stearns)
Corner Kicks: U-M 2, UVA 7
Cards: None

NOTES

• Friday's match was the first meeting in the series between Michigan and Virginia.

• U-M is now 14-10-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

• U-M officially set the program record for fewest goals allowed in a season (12). The old record was set last season (17).

• It was Michigan's first loss to a ranked team this season (5-1-1).

• Michigan falls to 0-5-1 all-time against No. 1-ranked opponents. U-M played the No. 1 team in the country for the first time since 2006.

• Virginia was the only team this season to score more than one goal on Michigan. The last time U-M allowed two goals was Nov. 2, 2012, vs. Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.

• Michigan's seven-member senior class graduates as the fourth-most successful class in program history. Together they won 53 matches since 2010.

• The Wolverines dropped to 7-4 in matches decided by one goal.

• Meghan Toohey scored half of her season's six goals in the NCAA Tournament.

• Nkem Ezurike is the sixth player in program history to record double-digit assists in a season and first since Amy Sullivant in 2002. Ezurike finishes her career with 118 points, a program record.

• Keyana Thompson-Shaw entered the match midway through the first half and played the entire second half. It was her fifth appearance of the season and first since Nov. 2 vs. Ohio State.

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Greg Ryan
Opening statement ... "First of all, I'd like to congratulate the University of Virginia. Steve Swanson is not only a great coach but a great person. He and I were teammates back in the day. Virginia showed their quality. They are an outstanding team. We played our hearts out. More than anything, I want to thank Holly (Hein), (Meghan) Toohey and our whole senior class for not only the great run in the tournament this year but for being great people and great players for four years. They completely rebuilt Michigan's program, which was in last place in the Big Ten the year before I got here and the next two years before I recruited this class. They changed soccer at Michigan, and I couldn't be prouder for the whole group and the whole team."

On if he's seen a style of play in the college game that Virginia plays ... "No. I think Virginia plays the best brand of soccer in the women's college game that I've seen in a long time. Stanford plays a similar style, but Virginia does it at a much higher pace, not only with the ball, but when they're out of possession, they are so quick to possess. They're very much like FC Barcelona. It's very difficult to get into any kind of rhythm. You know your best chances are in the counter and that's where we scored and that's what we worked on. But they're going to keep coming after, keep pressing, keep putting balls in behind, and they're going to wear you down. They're No. 1 and there's no question they deserve it. I want to wish them the very best as they go into the Final Four. It's great to see that quality of soccer in the women's college game."

On the 2013 season ... "This year was a blast. The reason why I didn't get up here first was because I couldn't get out of the team huddle because the kids wouldn't stop hugging each other. It's a group of people that are a family. They love each other. They didn't want to leave. Our seniors were like, 'I don't want to leave this huddle.' They weren't disappointed that they lost to the No. 1 team in the country. They were disappointed that they won't be together every day in the future. For me, I'm so thankful and that's the culture Holly was talking about that's been built here. As a coach, I get to benefit from being with a great group of young women who give it all on the field, are great off the field, great students and fun people to be around. I couldn't be happier."

On defending Virginia's attack ... "Weather the storm is right. Virginia throws the kitchen sink at you and a couple of pipes from the basement and the crowbar from the back of your trunk. You have to be able to deal with so many attacking positions they have. We decided that if we were going to give them anything, we were going to give them the flanks and not up the middle, but unfortunately, we were out of position on our first goal. Today, it was team defending. It was a back five today because they had four or five on our back line all day. They played fantastic. Every chance Virginia had was under pressure other than that first one. They've given up 12 goals this entire year. Virginia is the first team to score more than one goal on this team all year. We set the record last year with 17 goals against. This year's 12 obliterated that record. That's Holly and Shelina's (Zadorsky) leadership at the back. Keyana (Thompson-Shaw) played an important role today. That's Kayla (Mannino), Chloe (Sosenko) and Christina Ordonez and our holding midfielders in front, from Tina Murillo to Cassie (Collins) and Tori (McCombs). And then you have little Meghan Toohey who covers 10 miles a game. I'm so proud of them. They did all that with a freshman goalkeeper. I know Virginia has a freshman goalkeeper, too. It's just ours had a bit more work today. And Taylor (Bucklin) did a great job."

U-M Fifth-Year Senior Holly Hein
On the team's defensive strategy ... "Credit to Virginia. They have an awesome attack going forward. We did well for a lot of the game to keep them contained. They put a couple in behind us, but we really fought the whole game to make sure they weren't able to get in behind, but they did a couple times. That's the way soccer goes. I couldn't be more proud of our back line all year and every one of us who defended in front. We've just done a great job and I'm really proud of our team."

On the legacy of this senior class ... "I think first and foremost, the thing that stands out in my mind is the culture we've created for Michigan soccer. I couldn't be happier for that and I'm so proud to leave that behind. That's really driven our success over the last couple of years. We're a family. It allows us to play for each other on the field. The records and whatnot that come with it is an honor and a testament to how great of a team we had this year. I'm proud of everyone and couldn't have done it without every single player on the field, from Taylor (Bucklin) to Nkem (Ezurike) up top, who broke so many records this year. It's a team effort and I'm happy to say we were a part of it."

U-M Senior Meghan Toohey
On her goal ... "After they scored, we huddled together and said that we have to keep going after it. We couldn't let it affect our play. We had a game plan. It was on the counter. Nkem (Ezurike) got the ball and crossed it pretty much to my foot. I tried to hit it into the back of the net and it went in."

On if the team met the expectations set at the beginning of the year ... "This year was just special and we kind of knew it starting the season. We came in second in the Big Ten and went on a run to the Elite Eight. One of our goals was to just get further than we did last year, and I think it's a credit to our team and the hard work and dedication put in every day at practice. We put in the hardest fight we could tonight and I walk away proud."