The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1412876
OCTOBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 55 OLYMPIC SPORTS time ever when the first regular-season coaches' poll was revealed Sept. 7. It was the first time the Tar Heels had relin- quished the top spot since Sept. 11, 2018. The momentum has continued, on both the offensive and defensive sides, with more shutouts — and even historic blowouts. The Wolverines posted a 12-0 win over Ball State in the home opener, then went on a road trip to New York and brought home a 4-1 victory over Albany and a 3-2 triumph over Cornell. The 12 markers in the blowout of Ball State marked the third-most goals in a game in program history and gave the squad its biggest margin of victory in 41 years. Southam led the way with five goals on seven shots, and Pankratz noted her team got a boost from a raucous crowd at Phyllis Ocker Field, which the coach was quick to note she hopes will continue. "It was under the lights, the stands were packed," Pankratz beamed. "We started the game with a lot of great en- ergy and came out flying. It was just one of those games." MORE TESTS AHEAD The Wolverines' stats are certainly gaudy so far, befitting a No. 1 squad. Through Sept. 15, the Wolverines led the country in goals per game (6.25, 0.75 more than anybody else), points per game (15.5, 0.5 more than anybody else), scoring mar- gin (plus-5.75, 0.86 more than anybody else) and shutouts per game (0.75). Wolverines populate the individual leaders as well. Southam's 2.33 goals per game led the nation by 0.83, while team- mate Tina D'Anjolell was tied for sixth (1.0); the two also ranked first (4.67) and 16th (2.25), respectively, in average points. The 0.667 goals-against clip posted by senior goalie Anna Spieker, a second- team All-American last year, checked in sixth nationally. Fifth-year senior Halle O'Neill may not put up huge stats as a de- fensive midfielder, but the returning first- team All-American is an integral part of the team that Pankratz doesn't discount. Peterson, a fellow midfielder and senior, was a third-team All-American in the spring. About the only category where the Wolverines didn't rank highly was in Spieker's save count — she only had Maize & Blue Highlights Men's Cross Country U-M finished first out of six teams at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational Sept. 10 … Graduate student Devin Meyrer placed third and earned Big Ten Ath- lete of the Week honors, while sophomore Oli Raimond placed fourth. Women's Golf The Wolverines bested their previous record for a single-round team score at the U-M Golf Course twice in the Wolverine Invitational Sept. 14 … U-M shot a 4-under-par 280, then a 2-under-par 282, which was one stroke lower than the previous mark of 283 … The 54-hole score of 851 was also a new record for the course and 12 strokes better than the runner-up team … Junior Mikaela Schulz — who was not one of the team's three All-Big Ten preseason honorees (senior Ashley Lau, junior Hailey Borja and sophomore Monet Chin) — shared medalist honors at the event and was named the Big Ten Golfer of the Week. Women's Soccer Michigan wrapped up non-conference play with a 6-1-1 mark, its best non- conference record under fourth-year coach Jennifer Klein, and broke into the nation's top 25 … The Wolverines had conceded just four goals in their first eight games, the fewest that deep in a season since 2013 … U-M's final non- conference win, 2-1 over Cincinnati Sept. 12, was the program's 300th victory … Michigan followed with a 2-1 win over Illinois Sept. 17 on Senior Day. Wrestling Junior heavyweight Mason Parris placed second at the U.S. World Team Trials Sept. 12, falling only to two-time NCAA champion and three-time finalist Nick Gwiazdowski … Olympic bronze medalist Myles Amine was not the only pos- sible super senior for the wrestling team — 133-pounder and former NCAA finalist Stevan Micic, who represented Serbia at the Tokyo Olympics, still has not announced if he'll return like Amine; neither has All-American 174-pounder Logan Massa … However, 149-pounder Kanen Storr, a three-time NCAA qualifier, will be back for a sixth season … The Wolverines checked in at No. 5 nationally in InterMat's preseason rankings — led by No. 2 184-pounder Amine and No. 2 heavyweight Parris … Massa is included in that listing, ranked No. 4 at 174, but Micic is not … Senior 197-pounder and All-American transfer (Princeton) Patrick Brucki gives the Wolverines four ranked among the top eight in their weight class, checking in at No. 7. — Ryan Tice After a five-goal outburst versus Ball State, senior midfielder Sofia Southam led the country with an average of 2.33 goals per game through Sept. 15. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY Head coach Marcia Pankratz on her team's season-opening win over No. 1 North Carolina "We had six players who weren't in the game for us. The rest of the team really stepped up and played great. … I couldn't have been more proud of them."