First Touch #8: U-M to Enter Home Stretch with No. 9 Notre Dame, Wisconsin

THIS WEEK
Tuesday, Oct. 16 -- vs. #9 Notre Dame (U-M Soccer Stadium), 6 p.m.
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Friday, Oct. 19 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 7 p.m. CDT
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Following a six-day break, the No. 16-ranked University of Michigan men's soccer team (9-2-1, 3-1-1 B1G) will return to the field on Tuesday (Oct. 16), facing No. 9 Notre Dame (7-4-1) at U-M Soccer Stadium. First touch is slated for 6 p.m. The match will be televised live on the Big Ten Network with Mike Monaco (play-by-play) and Jamie Watson (analyst) on the call.

Following that, the Wolverines will return to Big Ten play for their final three matches of the regular season, beginning with a road tilt at Wisconsin (6-5-2, 3-2-0 B1G) on Friday (Oct. 19) at McClimon Track/Soccer Complex in Madison, Wisconsin. The match will begin at 7 p.m. CDT and will be streamed live via BTN Plus (subscription required).

Team Notes

• Friday's match with Wisconsin weighs heavily on the Big Ten standings, as Michigan currently sits third with 10 points (3-1-1), while the Badgers are right behind with nine points (3-2-0). Indiana remains in the lead (15 points, 5-0-0), while Michigan State is in second (12 points, 4-1-0). The top four teams in the standings will host quarterfinal matches in the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday, Nov. 4. The winners of those four matches will advance to the semifinals at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana.

• Michigan is ranked No. 16 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, released last Tuesday (Oct. 9). The new poll will be released tomorrow (Oct. 16). The Wolverines are also ranked No. 17 by TopDrawerSoccer.com and No. 13 by College Soccer News. Michigan is at No. 46 in the RPI (through games of Oct. 14) but will have plenty of opportunities to move up, as three of its four remaining regular-season matches come against teams in the top 50: Notre Dame (5), Michigan State (28) and Maryland (33).

• Through 12 matches, the Wolverines are +19 in goal differential (27 GF, 8 GA). They are out-shooting opponents by a 173-75 margin and have six clean sheets. Individually, 13 players have recorded at least one point -- Carlos Tellez and Sosa Emovon got their first career assists in the team's 5-0 win over Detroit Mercy last week -- while eight players have scored at least two goals.

• Junior Jack Hallahan (5G, 7A) and sophomore Umar Farouk Osman (7G, 3A) are tied for the team lead with 17 points, while sophomores Mohammed Zakyi (2G, 4A in seven matches) and Marc Ybarra (2G, 4A) are tied for third with eight points each. Following his four-point output against Detroit Mercy, Hallahan is now ninth on the school's all-time list in both career points (50) and career goals (18), and he moved into a tie for ninth in career assists (14).

• Heading into the week, Michigan ranks 10th nationally and second in the Big Ten in goals scored (27) while also ranking 13th nationally and first in the Big Ten in goals-against average (.650).

• Sophomore Henry Mashburn has been stellar both in goal and organizing Michigan's defense, increasing his save percentage (.704 in 2018, up from .583 in 2017) and decreasing his goals-against average (0.65 in 2018, down from 1.37 in 2017). He has made only 19 saves in 12 matches this year, as the back line in front of him has allowed just six shots per match.

Opponent Preview

NOTRE DAME is 7-4-1 on the season and is 3-2-0 in the ACC standings. The Fighting Irish are ranked No. 9 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll (Oct. 9) and are No. 5 in the RPI (Oct. 15). They are coming off a 3-2 loss at Duke last Friday (Oct. 12) but prior to that had won four consecutive matches. Notre Dame is +10 in goal differential. Patrick Berneski leads the team in goals (six), while Felicien Dumas leads in assists (six). Sean MacLeod, Thomas Ueland and Aiden McFadden all have three goals each. Ryan Krutz has started 10 matches in net, posting 31 saves with a 1.05 GAA.

Series: Michigan is 2-9-3 all-time against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish won last year's match-up, 3-1, in South Bend, Indiana.

WISCONSIN is 6-5-2 on the season and 3-2-0 in the Big Ten. The Badgers are coming off a 1-0 loss to Penn State on Sunday (Oct. 14) and sit at No. 64 in the RPI, though they have road wins over Maryland and Michigan State on their resume. Wisconsin is even on goal differential (14 GF, 14 GA) and is averaging 10.8 shots per match. Andrew Akindele leads the team in goals (three) and assists (three), while Noah Melick and Isaac Schlenker have two goals each. Goalkeeper Dean Cowdroy has played every minute in net this season, making 45 saves with a 1.01 GAA.

Series: Michigan is 14-6-5 all-time against Wisconsin. The two teams played twice last year; Michigan won the regular-season meeting, 2-1 (Sept. 8 in Ann Arbor), while Wisconsin won, 4-0, in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament (Nov. 10 in Westfield, Indiana).

Up Next

Tuesday, Oct. 23 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 8 p.m. (TV: BTN)
Sunday, Oct. 28 -- vs. Maryland (U-M Soccer Stadium), 4 p.m. (TV: BTN)