After the U-M Soccer Complex’s dedication ceremony in front of a record crowd of 3,503 on Friday, the Michigan men’s soccer team had fans on the edge of their seats, as it played 110:00 minutes of back-and-forth, eye-for-an-eye soccer with Notre Dame.

Both teams ended the night with seven shots on goal, but none found their way past either keeper as the match ended in a 0-0 tie after double overtime.

The Wolverines (3-1-3) came out strong and looked to capitalize on their momentum from their 1-0 win over Oakland on Wednesday night, but couldn’t seem to finish any of their attacks — an issue the team had Sunday in its 1-1 tie with Marquette as well.

However on Friday, Michigan featured its most balanced offensive attack of the season as five Wolverines ended the night with three or more shots to their names. Senior forward Justin Meram led the team with five shots and three on goal, but came up just short each time.

The Wolverine offense forced Notre Dame goalie Will Walsh to make seven saves in the match, despite the fact that the strikers struggled to get quality shots off all game.

The Michigan defense was truly the story of the night. The Wolverines were forced to defend nine Fighting Irish corner kicks, but on a night when Blais tied his then-career high for saves (seven), Michigan wasn’t letting Notre Dame capitalize on any of them.

Defender Chase Tennant credited the discipline of the back line and Blais, as the Fighting Irish offense was visibly frustrated all night.

“(Notre Dame) came on full force,” Tennant said. “They had some really good forwards that were very fast. But defensively, we’ve been playing great, and one of the things we’ve been working on is to not let the other team score and to not let them get in behind us.

“I was so proud of the whole back line, because as soon as a ball slipped in behind us, we would get back and block the shots or crosses or anything that was coming back.”

Coming off the tie at home on Friday, Michigan had little time to regroup as the team traveled to Milwaukee to take on Marquette on Sunday. The Wolverines are in the middle of the toughest portion of their schedule, playing five games in ten days starting with Wednesday’s win over Oakland.

“It’s a crazy schedule of games,” Blais said. “But I think any of us would rather play games than practice. It’s going to be tough (but) the team, even though we’re young I think we’re mature, and I think the guys are ready for this stretch.”

Missed opportunities characterized the game against Marquette, as Michigan out-shot the Golden Eagles, 29 to 19. But Marquette kept pressure high, blasting nine shots on goal that Blais defended to reach a new career high in saves at eight.

Four minutes into the second period, Meram connected with a ball on the left side of the goal to give the Wolverines the 1-0 lead on the road. Michigan couldn’t celebrate for long as Marquette’s equalizer at 78 minutes came off a set piece that found its way past Blais to tie the game at one.

“(Marquette) hit a decent ball off the right side of the goal, off-center to the right,” Michigan coach Steve Burns said. “Blais got there, but right as he was making his power step to play the ball wide, his plant leg went out on him.

The offense couldn’t push any shots past Marquette in regulation, despite freshman forward Soony Saad’s team-high seven shots in the game.

Freshman midfielder Dylan Mencia provided fresh legs in the match, coming in with three shots off the bench for a worn-down starting crew. Sunday marked the team’s fourth overtime game this season — three of which have resulted in a tie.

Michigan needs its big scorers to step up and start netting some of its shots in regulation, starting with Wednesday’s home game against Kentucky.

But if the enthusiasm of the school-record crowd from Friday continues to show up in masses, the team can't help but feed off of it.

“The more fans we get, the better we play,” Tennant said. “When the atmosphere is big and we get people out here, it’s a good feeling to know we have the whole school behind our back because we’re playing with a lot of pride.”