The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/213966
big tens: men's soccer Redshirt junior midfielder Tyler Arnone, the team's captain, will be back for his final go-around next season. Arnone earned the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year award and first-team All-Big Ten honors this year, after tallying two goals and nine points. "With all the good stuff that is happening with the program, Tyler is the catalyst," Daley said. "He is certainly the main man. He has taken on a great amount of responsibility, and it's sometimes not easy being a captain when you're a junior and there are older guys ahead of you. "He has a ton of respect for the guys around him, and that give him the strength to truly lead the team in his own image: blue-collar quality, unbelievable fight and an all-out passion. He's a superb student-athlete, and he's a model of distinction, both on and off the field, how he prepares and how he has grown as a player since we first got here." Arnone will be surrounded by a strong cast of players next year, too. Goalkeeper Adam Grinwis, who posted 73 saves and a 1.30 goals-against average this year, will be back for his fifth-year senior season. Defenders Lars Eckenrode and Rylee Wood were unanimous selections for the Big Ten All-Freshman Team after breakout seasons this year. "Those two played in 90 percent of the games this year as freshmen, which is extremely challenging with our schedule, and they had a really solid year," Daley said. And with sophomore Andre Morris, who got hurt after being "one of the sharpest young guys" in the preseason; sophomore Zach Brown, who exploded in the second half of the season; and incoming freshman Billy Stevens, the No. 17 defender in the 2014 class according to TopDrawerSoccer.com, the Wolverines' defensive unit should be stalwart next year. Offensively, sophomore forward James Murphy led the team with four goals and 11 points, and junior midfielder T.J. VanSlooten was not far behind him, with four goals and nine points. They will both be back next year. In fact, four of the Wolverines' top six scorers will be back, and they will add Nathan Kohl of Hilliard, Ohio, the No. 11 forward in the 2014 class according to TopDrawerSoccer.com, and midfielder William Mellors-Blair, a Nottingham, England, native who will transfer into the program from Georgia State. "We're moving in the right direction, being consistent with a challenging schedule," Daley said. "To be above .500 with the schedule we have will put you one the bubble for sure, and then you need to win some big games. And we didn't take care of business when we could have. It's disappointing in that sense, but we're moving in the right direction, and we're bringing in a lot of young guys, which bodes well for the future." — Andy Reid