Up until yesterday, the Michigan women”s soccer team struggled to play consistently for an entire game and paid for it. The team was 1-3 going into yesterday”s game with Detroit-Mercy. The game was added after the team canceled last weekend”s games against Hartford and Connecticut.
- Paul Wong
- Michigan”s Laney Rosin scored the fourth and final goal in the Wolverines” 4-0 win over Detroit-Mercy yesterday<br><br>ABBY ROSENBAUM/Daily
In the first two minutes of the game it appeared that the Wolverines hadn”t fixed the problem as they came out flat and allowed the Titans to get two corner kicks. But Michigan dominated the remaining 88 minutes and won 4-0.
“The first two minutes they came out really hard and had a lot of pressure on us but we settled down and were able to get control of the game,” freshman Kate Morgan said.
On the afternoon, the Wolverines out-shot Detroit 30-2. Sixteen of Michigan”s 30 shots were on goal, with many of the misses bouncing off the goal”s frame.
“We missed a few opportunities, but this is the time to do it,” Morgan said. “We”re just getting it out of our system.”
Detroit was unable to challenge Michigan goalies Suzie Grech and Bre Bennett as neither of its two shots were on goal. Both Grech and Bennett played a half as the two continue to split time at the goalie position.
After the Wolverines started the game with a couple of close shots, Morgan scored at 33:15 in the first half on an assist from Amy Sullivant and Abby Crumpton, who missed the last two games with a strained calf.
Crumpton scored on Detroit goalie Alisson Dube a couple minutes later after a scramble in front of the goal.
With a 2-0 lead at the half, the team made a commitment not to let another lead slip away.
“We went back out after the half and got in our little huddle and we were like “Okay, the problem is we need to stay focused for the full 90 minutes. We”re halfway there, let”s keep focusing,” ” Morgan said.
Less than three minutes into the second half it was apparent Michigan was not going to let up on Detroit as Amy Sullivant scored on a penalty kick.
With the game winding down, Laney Rosin scored the final goal of the game at 83:33 with a ball that snuck between the goalie”s outstretched hands and the top of the goal.
One of the keys to Michigan consistent play was getting an early lead so that more players could get into the game.
“Obviously we used a lot of different people so we had fresh legs,” Michigan coach Debbie Rademacher said. “So it was kind of different than the other games we have had being able to sub.”
By allowing only two shots, the Wolverines also found a solution to their problematic defense yesterday.
“At the beginning it”s always hard because we”re trying new things, trying new people,” captain Laurie Peterson. “I think we”re finally starting to get more calm and more organized. Everyone knows their role on the team now.”