Michigan
Portland
Wolverines Thump Portland in Game One of Husky Invite
9/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 4, 2015
» Michigan scored five goals, which is it second highest total of the season, and recorded its second straight shutout.
» Twenty-one different players saw game action tonight, including all 19 field players who made the trip to Seattle.
• Boxscore 
Site: Seattle, Wash. (Husky Soccer Stadium)
Score: Michigan 5, Portland 0
Records: U-M (4-1), UP (1-3)
Attendance: 150
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Sept. 6 -- at Washington (Seattle, Wash.), 5 p.m. PDT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- In its first road match of the 2015 season, the University of Michigan women's soccer team recorded its second straight shutout and poured in five goals to defeat Portland, 5-0, on Friday (Sept. 4) in the first match of the Husky Nike Invitational at Washington's Husky Soccer Stadium. Sophomore Taylor Timko and junior Jessica Heifetz each had one goal and one assist, while junior/sophomore Ani Sarkisian dished out two assists.
The first 20 minutes saw back-and-forth play from both teams, but Michigan held a 7-2 advantage in shots at that point. Senior Lulu Haidar entered the game in the 21st minute and immediately made her presence felt. Timko led Haidar with a perfectly weighted ball into the ride side of the penalty box, and Haidar bent it into the upper right 90 to put U-M up, 1-0, at 25:48.
Michigan's fourth corner kick of the match, which came less than three minutes later, led to its second goal. Senior captain Christina Murillo served the ball to the far post, where Sarkisian redirected it back to the near post with her head, and Heifetz was there to head it home to give Michigan a 2-0 lead (28:19).
29' - U-M goes up 2-0! Ani redirected a Murillo corner with her head and Jess Heifetz was there to head it home for her 1st goal of 2015!
-- Michigan Soccer (@umichwsoccer) September 5, 2015
Timko helped the Maize and Blue push its lead to three goals before the half, as she knocked a lefty shot from just inside the left side of the 18-yard box off the inside of the right post and into the goal. The Wolverines outshot the Pilots, 13-3, through the first 45 minutes of play and took a 3-0 lead into the break.
"Chances are going to be harder and harder to come by as we play better opponents, but today was great," said head coach Greg Ryan. "Lulu ripping a shot like that; the corner kick from Tina (Murillo) to Ani (Sarkisian) to Jess (Heifetz); and then Taylor (Timko) hitting the post and putting one in right before half -- that's great execution, and those are great goals."
Michigan quickly built on its lead in the 50th minute, as Sarkisian played a ball flat to freshman Reilly Martin, who took a touch, turned and fired a shot over Portland goalkeeper Rachel Lusby's head from the top of the penalty box.
U-M's fifth and final goal came in the 79th minute, when Murillo served a corner into the center of the six-yard box -- Portland's keeper bobbled the ball in the air, and freshman Abby Kastroll was there to tap it in.
In total, Michigan outshot Portland 18-8 tonight and has now outshot its five opponents 112-27 and outscored them 19-4.
"When we got in the attacking third, I thought we had more determination about us tonight than we've had in recent games, and that's something we've focused on," Ryan added.
Sophomore goalkeeper Megan Hinz played 83 minutes in goal for U-M and made four saves to earn her second straight shutout.
The Wolverines will wrap up action at the Husky Nike Invitational against Washington on Sunday (Sept. 6) at 5 p.m. PDT at UW's Husky Soccer Stadium.
"It's a huge help getting this win -- spirits are high, the kids are having fun. We're taking the team to a Seattle Sounders game tomorrow night (Saturday, Sept. 5), and that will be a nice fun evening for us, but we'll get to bed early and be ready for Washington on Sunday. Washington is very good, but I'm excited to see our team play again because every time they step on the field I feel like we see something exciting."
Communications Contact: Whitney Dixon
