The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OLYMPIC SPORTS worry come Selection Sunday. A win in the Big Ten Tournament Nov. 7-15 would also go a long way towards earning a berth, and U-M has proven it can beat any conference foe. Coach Chaka Daley: "We have a nice, young competitive group with room to grow. We're excited about where we are but still humbled in many ways. We want to see how far this thing can really go this year and make it a building block for the future. "We've put ourselves in a position where everything is still up to us. We still have the potential to com- pete for a lot of things coming down the stretch and I think the group is highly motivated in that sense. "[The final part of the season] gives us an opportunity of doing very well, so that keeps our foot on the gas pedal. It gives us an opportunity to be competitive. It's really an 'us or them' situation at this point." U-M's Best Players: Freshman mid- fielder Francis Atuahene leads the team in points (21), goals (nine) and shots (51) … A Ghana native, Atua- hene is tied for sixth in the nation with his total of nine markers … Sophomore goalkeeper Evan Louro has been solid in the net for Michi- gan, only allowing 11 goals on the year and recording four shutouts. "Attack-wise, the guys have done a good job getting the ball in the goal," Daley said. "Certainly Francis has done well as a freshman — he's an exciting young player who has done a great job for us. It's been a really good team effort. "There have been a lot of players in a lot of positions that have been very solid all year. I think our goalkeeping and our back four have been good — I think to concede less than a goal a game is really, really solid." WOMEN'S SOCCER Overall Record: 10-5-2 (through Oct. 20) Big Ten Record: 5-2-2 Projected Big Ten Finish: Michigan was in position to rank first in the Big Ten, leading Wisconsin 2-0 Oct. 15, but the Wolverines allowed three goals in the final 25 minutes and fell 3-2. With a tie at No. 11 Minnesota Oct. 18, U-M sits five points back of the Big Ten-leading Badgers (7-1-1), and has two games remaining — home against Purdue Oct. 24 and at Penn State Oct. 28 — before the Big Ten Tournament Nov. 1-8. NCAA Prospects: The Maize and Blue ranked 51st in the RPI Oct. 20, which would earn an NCAA Cham- pionships berth, but it's a dangerous place. Any slip and the Wolverines might need to win the conference tournament. This is an NCAA team, talent-wise, but Michigan needs to win its last two regular-season games to guarantee its inclusion. Coach Greg Ryan: "We're playing really well, and I'm happy with the attitude of this team. It was a dis- appointing loss to Wisconsin, but our team has shown great resolve, rebounding every time we encoun- ter adversity, and I thought we did that again with a really strong per- formance at Minnesota against what