The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2018 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Men's soccer senior midfielder Ivo Cerda: In front of a crowd of 2,245 fans Sept. 7, he scored the golden goal in the 98th minute to give the Wol- verines a 3-2 extra session triumph over Western Michigan. With the match tied at 2-2 in overtime, U-M junior midfielder Jack Hallahan made his way down the right side of the field with the ball and found Cerda, whose right-footed kick landed in the lower left corner of the net. The win was the third straight for the Maize and Blue following their season-opening 2-1 loss to Tulsa Aug. 24. Women's soccer sophomore mid- fielder Nicki Hernandez: She scored the contest-clinching goal in Michigan's narrow 3-2 victory over Marquette Aug. 23. With the match knotted at 2-2 in the 84th minute, Her- nandez fired a pass from fifth-year senior forward Taylor Timko into the bot- tom left corner of the net for the dagger. The sophomore tallied at least one goal in U-M's first four matches of the season — against Boston University, Western Michigan, Marquette and Louisville, re- spectively. Volleyball senior libero Jenna Lerg: She was tabbed as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Aug. 27, after leading the Wol- verines to 3-0 sweeps of High Point and Auburn, respectively, to kick off the 2018 campaign Aug. 25. Lerg racked up 28 digs against the former and 24 against the latter, averaging 8.7 digs per set. Her heroics also earned her MVP of the War Eagle Invitational in Auburn, Ala. Men's swimming and diving junior breaststroker Charlie Swanson: He was pegged to the 2018- 19 U.S. National Team for the fourth consecutive year, USA Swimming an- nounced Sept. 4. Swan- son was chosen to take part in the 400-yard indi- vidual medley, an event he was a Big Ten champion in as a sophomore and a sixth-place finisher in at the Phillips 66 National Championships this past sum- mer. The National Team will be made up of the top six swimmers in each individ- ual Olympic event, taking into account the combined results of the Phillips 66 National Championships, the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships and the 2018 Ju- nior Pan Pacific Championships. Field hockey senior forward Emma Way: She scored both of the Wolver- ines' goals in their 2-1 victory over Pa- cific in the home opener Sept. 7, including the game - ender in over- time. Way intercepted a careless Tiger pass in the extra stanza, carried the ball one-on-one into the circle and netted a reverse chip to seal the win at the 1:43 mark of the post- regulation session. It was the senior's second multi-goal outing of the year — she also netted two in a 5-0 victory over Massachusetts Aug. 31. — Austin Fox 10-2 Is Probably A Bit Too Lofty By Brandon Brown Before the season started I projected Michigan to go 10-2. Without seeing anything from the team during the spring or fall camp, it was hard to predict how things would look and how individual games would play out, but it seemed reasonable. Losing two games with road contests against Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State, along with home matchups against Penn State and Wisconsin, seemed like a pretty realistic outlook. However, after watching Michigan's offense struggle on the road in South Bend, coupled with how easily the Irish jumped out to a 14-0 lead, has me rethinking my prediction. It now seems very unlikely that Michigan will only lose one more game with that treach- erous slate of four games remain- ing, not to mention a road test at Northwestern and a head-to-head tilt against a hungry, Scott Frost-led Nebraska team in Ann Arbor. I'm now leaning toward a 9-3 fin- ish at best with 8-4 looking like a very real possibility. If the offensive line can't perform better against the best teams on the schedule, it's go- ing to be hard for the Wolverines to stack up wins. Michigan Will Finish Strong By Chris Balas Michigan's opener with Notre Dame didn't go quite as planned, but that was a winnable game. The Wolverines saved their worst for first, but there's still a lot of talent on this team … and plenty of winnable games remaining on the schedule. In fact, early odds have U-M the favorite in every game remain- ing on the schedule save one — the November finale at Ohio State. The Buckeyes were a 9.5-point favorite as of Sept. 12 on some books. This squad resembles the 2015 team more than the 2017 group. It's got fantastic quarterback play, playmakers at receiver and tight end, and better running backs. The ceiling depends on the offensive line, but there's some young talent waiting in the wings if the veterans falter. We saw it on display in the Western Michigan game. The punting game has been bet- ter than expected, and the defense — if the interior line holds up — will continue to be lights out. Yes, 10-2 still seems about right, and though it's hard to win in Co- lumbus, the Wolverines seem due for a few breaks down there, too. Never say never. POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT HAVE EXPECTATIONS CHANGED AFTER THREE GAMES? The consensus seems to be Michigan can go as far as the offensive line will take it this fall. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS