Michigan Rally Falls Short in Season Opener

Friday, August 30

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:30 PM

Michigan

0-1-0, 0-0-0

Florida Gulf Coast

1-0-0, 0-0-0

FGCU

Michigan

Mohammed Zakyi

8/30/2019 11:46:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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By: Brad Rudner

» The No. 24-ranked Wolverines clawed back from an early 2-0 deficit and got level going into halftime, but couldn't finish the rally in a 4-3 loss to Florida Gulf Coast.
» Mohammed Zakyi (31'), Nebojsa Popovic (43') and Joel Harrison (89') scored for the Wolverines.

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (U-M Soccer Stadium)
Score: Florida Gulf Coast 4, #24 Michigan 3
Records: U-M (0-1-0), FGCU (1-0-0)
Attendance: 1,602
Next U-M Event: Monday, Sept. 2 -- vs. SIU-Edwardsville (U-M Soccer Stadium), 1 p.m. [ Tickets ]

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 24-ranked University of Michigan men's soccer team clawed back from an early 2-0 deficit to get level at halftime, but could not finish the rally in a 4-3 loss to Florida Gulf Coast on Friday (Aug. 30) at U-M Soccer Stadium. Graduate student Nebojsa Popovic and juniors Mohammed Zakyi and Joel Harrison scored for the Wolverines.

The visiting Eagles jumped ahead early as they scored twice through Ryan Medilah in the opening 15 minutes. The Wolverines began their rally in the 31st minute with some fancy interplay between Zakyi and freshman Christian Pulselli. Senior Jack Hallahan played a ball into the box that found Zakyi, who touched it to Pulselli. The freshman played Zakyi through, and his shot beat FGCU goalkeeper Gustavo Vasconcelos inside off the right post to make it 2-1.

Michigan got level in the 43rd minute, and it was Popovic who found the back of the net in his Michigan debut. Junior Marc Ybarra sent a free kick into the box that junior Jackson Ragen headed to the far post. Popovic was there, unmarked, to tap it into the net and even the score at 2 as the teams headed into halftime.

The visitors went back ahead for good in the 57th minute as Medilah netted his hat trick. The Wolverines remained resilient, peppering Vasconcelos with several high-quality chances from Popovic, Hallahan and junior Umar Farouk Osman. They controlled play in the second half, firing 11 shots, forcing Vasconcelos into making six saves.

Florida Gulf Coast added an insurance goal in the 80th minute from Ivan Rosales, making it 4-2. With just over a minute to play, Harrison found the back of the net to bring the score to 4-3, as the Wolverines capitalized on a miscue from a Florida Gulf Coast defender who failed to clear the ball off a corner kick. But the Wolverines ran out of time and the comeback fell just short.

Senior Andrew Verdi played the entire match in goal, making one save.

The Wolverines return to action on Monday (Sept. 2), when they will host SIU-Edwardsville for a Labor Day showdown. The match will begin at 1 p.m. at U-M Soccer Stadium. It is the program's Back to School Bash, which will feature a Kids Zone, postgame penalty kicks and postgame autographs.