Yesterday the Michigan women”s soccer team learned there is nothing wrong with a little sibling rivalry.
- Paul Wong
- Michigan took advantage of an extra defender to improve to 3-1 in the Big Ten<br><br>TOM FELDKAMP/Daily
Stephanie Chavez won the game for the Wolverines (3-1 Big Ten, 5-4 overall) by scoring a goal in overtime to give Michigan a 1-0 win over Wisconsin. The goal was bittersweet, since Chavez”s sister Lindsay was playing for the Badgers.
The Wolverines had trouble scoring despite chances throughout the game. The best opportunity came after a Wisconsin foul in the goal box led to a red card. This created a situation for a penalty kick where the Wolverines had a chance to gain the lead. Junior Amy Sullivant took the kick but came up empty.
Senior captain Allie Rogosheske, the Badger who earned the red card, had to sit out the rest of the game and could not be replaced. The Wolverines kept the extra player back on defense, leading to another shutout after Friday night”s 2-0 victory over Northwestern. At the same time, keeping the extra player in the backfield instead of allowing her to play up front might have contributed to Michigan”s inability to score until overtime.
“You don”t want to change your system of play so much that it”s what we”re not used to,” said assistant coach Scott Forrester about the decision not to move the extra player on the forward line. “We tried to get more of a presence from one of our center midfielders to get in the attack.”
Michigan was led Friday by Abby Crumpton. Her leadership on the field was evident in her third game back from an injury. Her strong and energetic play from the first minute of the game led to several opportunities in the Wildcats” goal box.
In one outstanding play in the first half, Crumpton had a breakaway with only the goalie left between her and the net. Her shot was accurate, but the ball barely missed the right goal post after the goalie batted it away with her left hand.
Crumpton aside, after Friday”s win over the Wildcats, no smile on a Michigan player”s face shone brighter than that of freshman Theresa Dwyer”s.
“Scoring my first goal for Michigan felt so good,” Dwyer said. “I felt so relieved.
“That was the first goal of the game and I can”t even explain my feelings.”
The freshmen ruled Friday night, scoring both goals against Northwestern. Crumpton beat the Northwestern sweeper to set up a one-on-one with the goalie. She fired a low shot that beat the keeper but bounced off the near goal post. Dwyer came up the right side and caught the rebound for a clean shot on goal with 36:48 left in the second half.
A little more than 10 minutes later, the Wolverines found the back of the net for the second goal of the game. Dwyer chalked up an assist, making a great pass from the sidelines to the center box, right in front of the goal. Stephanie Chavez received the pass but was unable to capitalize due to the difficulty of bringing the ball out of the air and getting the shot off with enough time.
But Chavez made a great decision under pressure and passed to freshman Kate Morgan for the goal.
“Theresa made a great run down the line and after Stephanie chested the ball to me I was surprised to see it right at my feet,” Morgan said. “It was the perfect set-up.”