Mellors-Blair's Big Night Carries U-M Past Rutgers

Saturday, October 11

Piscataway, N.J.

7:00 PM

Michigan

4-5-2, 2-1-2Big Ten

Rutgers

3-7-1, 1-3-1Big Ten

Michigan

Rutgers

10/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Scott Kemps

Site: Piscataway, N.J. (Yurcak Field)
Score: Michigan 3, Rutgers 0
Records: U-M (4-5-2, 2-1-2 Big Ten), RU (3-7-1, 1-3-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Tuesday, Oct. 14 -- at Akron (Akron, Ohio), 7 p.m.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Junior William Mellors-Blair (Nottingham, England/Nottingham Bluecoat School) scored two goals and assisted on another to help spark the University of Michigan men's soccer team to three first-half goals and a 3-0 win Saturday night (Oct. 10) against Rutgers at Yurcak Field. The win is the third straight for the Wolverines.

William Mellors-Blair

Mellors-Blair's first goal came at the 7:57 mark in the first half. Junior James Murphy (Oxford, England/Henry Box School) found Mellors-Blair with a pass after a defensive breakdown left him wide open on the far side of the field. Mellors-Blair calmly carried the ball into the Scarlet Knights' box and slotted the ball past the diving keeper, putting Michigan up, 1-0. It marked Mellors-Blair's first career goal for the Wolverines.

It did not take Michigan long to strike again, and this time it was Mellors-Blair on the feed. After gaining possession in the Rutgers end, Mellors-Blair found senior/junior Colin McAtee (San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines) just outside of the Scarlet Knights' box. McAtee picked up his head, saw goalkeeper David Greczek out of position and fired a shot into the open goal. McAtee's sixth goal of the year extended the Wolverines' advantage to 2-0.

The speed of Mellors-Blair proved too much to handle for the Rutgers backline on U-M's third score. Fifth-year senior Tyler Arnone (Hicksville, N.Y./St. Johns) played a long ball into the path of Mellors-Blair, and the forward muscled his way past a defender and into the box before netting his second goal of the night. His strike came at the 24:34 mark and gave Michigan a commanding 3-0 lead.

Freshman Ahinga Selemani (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) had a pair of chances for Michigan early in the second half, the best coming in the 53rd minute. Selemani flicked the ball over the Scarlet Knight defender and fired a shot from inside six yards. The shot was deflected by a last-second save from Rutgers' goalkeeper Mitchell Walier and out of bounds for a corner. Selemani eyed the goal again in the 58th minute after catching a cross on his chest and firing a left-footed volley on frame. Walier was equal to the task again and kept the score 3-0.

Michigan finished the night with 12 shots, and fifth-year senior Adam Grinwis (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills) made two saves for the clean sheet.

U-M returns to action on Tuesday (Oct. 14) on the road against Akron from FirstEngergy Stadium - Cub Cadet Field at 7 p.m.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	F
Michigan	3	0	3
Rutgers	0	0	0

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, William Mellors-Blair, 7:57 (James Murphy)
1st -- U-M, Colin McAtee, 15:54 (Mellors-Blair)
1st -- U-M, Mellors-Blair, 24:34 (Nick Lewin)

Shots: U-M 12, RU 9
Shots on Goal: U-M 9, RU 2
Saves: U-M 2 (Adam Grinwis), RU 6 (Mitchell Walier 5, David Greczek 1)
Corner Kicks: U-M 4, RU 8
Cards: U-M, Lars Eckenrode, 17:27 (Yellow).

NOTES

• William Mellors-Blair recorded his first career goal for Michigan eight minutes into the contest, the first of two goals for him on the night.

• Colin McAtee scored his team-high sixth goal of the season.

• McAtee has now scored four goals in his last two matches.

• Adam Grinwis made two saves to earn his second clean sheet of the year.

• Michigan has won its last two road matches and its last three matches overall.