The Saad brothers have established themselves as Michigan’s offensive powerhouse combo. Together, freshman forward Soony and sophomore midfielder Hamoody have tallied a total of 94 shots in just 10 games for the Michigan men's soccer team, 35 of which were on goal and 10 made it into the net. But yesterday, the dynamic duo rode the bench.

Hamoody continued to rest a knee injury during the non-conference game against Cincinnati while Soony was forced to sit out because of a red card he received against Penn State on Sunday. Although this was not the game plan that Michigan (6-2-3) had envisioned, the Wolverines proved that their bench has the depth that every Big Ten team craves.

“My biggest compliment to this team is that we are very deep, deepest we’ve had in a long time,” redshirt senior forward Matt Schmitt said after the game. “Guys can step in and in practice also, we always go hard at each other. The Orange Crush is what we call our reserve team, with the orange pinnies. They push everybody in practice.”

Senior forward Justin Meram continued to be one of Michigan’s offensive threats, scoring the first goal of the game within the starting minutes. Meram tallied his fourth goal of the season, capitalizing on a set piece delivered by freshman midfielder Fabio Pereira Villas Boras.

But it was the handful of reserve players who really made the difference. Although the game was not as pretty as what Michigan is used to, the Wolverines still managed to seal the win. A variety of less familiar names made it onto the pitch against Cincinnati, including Schmitt and underclassmen midfielders David Yang, Nobel Sullivan and Dylan Mencia.

Schmitt is a veteran player who has been overshadowed by the fancy feet of the Saad brothers. Although the contest against the Bearcats was his first start of the season, he made his contribution to the team evident. Schmitt scored the second goal of the game, essentially capping off the win as the Bearcats aggressively attempted a comeback.

“Matt is a player that that can come off the bench and raise the level of the game,” Michigan coach Steve Burns said. “To be a good team, you need those players. He is fully capable of it, he is a guy that understands his role and really embraces it.”

As Michigan travels to Wisconsin this weekend for its third Big Ten match of the season and first conference game on the road, it can feed off of two solid wins. But the team can also go into the weekend with an extra boost of confidence from the bench.

As the season continues there will be more injuries, more chances for red cards and more fatigue on behalf of the starting 11. But like they showed against Cincinnati; the Orange Crush are capable of taking care of it.