Michigan
Central Michigan
First Touch #4: Wolverines vs. Chippewas to Kick Off Soccer Doubleheader
9/6/2018 9:25:00 AM | Women's Soccer
» Michigan and Central Michigan have met on the pitch just six times, with the Wolverines holding the 5-0-1 advantage.
» U-M and CMU will play each other for the first time since the 2015 season, when Michigan earned a 3-1 victory at U-M Soccer Stadium.
» Then-freshman Abby Kastroll led the Wolverines with one goal and one assist and then-freshman Taylor Timko also added a goal for the Maize and Blue.
» Michigan is 3-3-0 after falling twice in its road openers to Wake Forest and Florida Gulf Coast.
» Following the match with Central Michigan, the Wolverines hit the road to open up Big Ten play at Indiana (Sept. 13) and Purdue (Sept. 16).
THIS WEEK
Friday, Sept. 7 -- vs. Central Michigan (U-M Soccer Stadium), 5 p.m.
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The University of Michigan women's soccer team will play host to cross-state foe Central Michigan Friday (Sept. 7). The match will feature a doubleheader with the Michigan men's soccer team with the women playing at 5 p.m. against CMU and the men taking on Western Michigan at 7:30 p.m. at U-M Soccer Stadium.
SERIES HISTORY WITH CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Michigan and Central Michigan have met six times in the history of the two programs as CMU has traveled to Ann Arbor for all six contests. U-M holds a 5-0-1 all-time advantage in the series, taking the last three matches. The Wolverines and the Chippewas last met on the pitch in the 2015 campaign with Michigan earning a 3-1 victory. Seniors Abby Kastroll and Taylor Timko had big roles in that win as both scored a goal and Kastroll added an assist to her stat line.
SCOUTING THE CHIPPEWAS
Central Michigan makes the trip to Ann Arbor with a 1-4 overall record. The Chippewas earned their lone win of the season against Southern Utah and have fallen to Detroit Mercy, Iowa and Northern Iowa in their last three matches. CMU has scored seven goals in the 2018 campaign and has given up 10 to the opposition. Lexi Pelafas leads Central Michigan with three goals, and Shannon Magnan has scored two goals and earned two assists. Also carrying a multi-point stat line into Friday's contest are Madison Costner (1 goal, 1 assist), Sheila Magnan (1 goal) and Maria Kaschalk (2 assists). CMU has had two goalkeepers see time between the pipes this season, with Morgan Britain playing in all five matches and Briann Wallbridge seeing 52:37 in one match. Britain holds a 1.78 goals-against average and a .704 save percentage, stopping 19 shots and allowing eight goals in 405:00 minutes on the pitch.
STRATIGAKIS COMING INTO HER STRIDE
Sophomore Sarah Stratigakis is starting to come into her offensive stride, scoring three goals in the first six matches of the season. Stratigakis scored the only goal that was credited to a U-M player against Florida Gulf Coast when she tipped in a pass from Katie Foug. The sophomore midfielder also scored the game-tying goal against Marquette and tallied one against Western Michigan.
SHARING THE WEALTH
Michigan has scored 10 goals and notched 11 assists coming from nine different players in the 2018 campaign. The Wolverines are led by sophomore Nicki Hernandez, who has 10 points in 2018 with four goals and two assists, while Sarah Stratigakis has three goals for six points. Seniors Reilly Martin and Abby Kastroll have both notched three points on the season with one goal and one assist each, while sophomore Alia Martin (1 goal, 2 assists) and freshman Meredith Haakenson (2 assists) also have multiple points for the Maize and Blue. Finally, Katie Foug, Raleigh Loughman and Taylor Timko all have one assist.
FRESHMEN PLAYING BIG ROLES FOR MICHIGAN
Freshman Janiece Joyner has started all six matches for the Michigan defense, playing all but 10 minutes. Joyner has made some key stops on the backline, including chasing down the ball in what would have been a one-on-one with the keeper had she not made the stop at the top of the 18-yard box against Louisville. Also playing a big role for the Wolverines in her first four matches as a collegiate student-athlete is Meredith Haakenson. Haakenson has appeared in all six matches and earned her first career start against Louisville. The freshman midfielder has tallied two assists. Finally, Sammi Atterbury, Skylar Anderson and Raleigh Loughman have all seen playing time for the Wolverines this season.
U-M HAS TOUGH ROAD STINT
The Wolverines opened up their 2018 road campaign with a pair of losses, falling to both Wake Forest (Aug. 30) and Florida Gulf Coast (Sept. 2). Michigan looked to take an early lead on the Demon Deacons, but a header from Janiece Joyner sailed wide of the net. Wake Forest scored two goals in the first half and added two more in the second to take a 4-0 win over Michigan. In the second match of the week, the Wolverines were the first to get on the board against Florida Gulf Coast with an own goal, but the Eagles quickly responded, netting the next two goals to take a 2-1 advantage. U-M evened the score in the first half of play on a Sarah Stratigakis goal, but FGCU found one more before the half ended to take a 3-2 lead. Neither team scored in the final 45 minutes as Michigan fell, 3-2.
COACH KLEIN ERA
University of Michigan Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics Warde Manuel announced Feb. 28, 2018 the appointment of Jennifer Klein as the third head coach in women's soccer program history. Klein came to Ann Arbor after spending the last four seasons at the University of Southern California, including the last three as USC's associate head coach. Prior to her time at USC, Klein spent two seasons as an assistant at Washington State, where the program twice advanced to the NCAA Tournament and produced the 2014 Pac-12 Player of the Year in Michaela Castain. In 2013, the Cougars tied the program records for victories with a 14-3-4 mark, as the team and players set or tied 27 school records including allowing just 11 goals. Klein graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology in May of 2006. She earned her master's degree in athletic administration at UNLV in May of 2011. At Arizona, Klein was a four-year letterwinner from 2002-05 and was a two-time team captain. She was part of the school's first Pac-10 championship team in 2004 and was a starter on the 2005 squad that advanced to the third round of the NCAA Championship. Klein appeared in 78 career games, starting 60 contests at midfield and outside back. She was also a member of the Arizona Heatwave in the semi-professional W-League from 2003-05.
TICKET INFORMATION
Individual and group tickets on are sale for all 2018 home matches. For group experiences such as high five tunnel, halftime mini games and more, please call (734) 647-1268 or email gobluegroupsales@umich.edu. For more information on purchasing tickets, please visit the women's soccer ticket page.
NEXT TIME OUT
Michigan will opens its 2018 Big Ten Conference season Thursday (Sept. 13) when it heads to Bloomington, Indiana, for a 6 p.m. contest featured on the Big Ten Network. The Wolverines will close out the weekend in West Lafayette, Indiana, with a Sunday (Sept. 16) contest against Purdue at 1 p.m.
