Sept. 13, 2004

By Jamie Josephson The Michigan Daily

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (U-WIRE) - The No. 9 Michigan men's soccer team was ready to shake the hands of its Detroit opponents following its 2-1 victory yesterday at the Varsity Soccer Field. And this time, the gesture wouldn't have been out of "good sportsmanship", but rather as a "thank you."

Michigan had the Titans to thank for the Wolverines' first goal of the game, which resulted from an own-goal by Detroit within the first 15 minutes of the game. At 14:38, Michigan fifth-year senior Matt Niemeyer fired a shot that was sailing wide of Detroit's goal. But, in a failed attempt to clear the ball, the Titans accidentally found the back of their own net after the ball bounced in off the left post. While Detroit was shooting itself in the foot, the Wolverines were on their way to their fifth straight victory of the season, improving their overall record to 5-0.

"To be honest, it was all about who was willing to put more energy into this game to win it," Michigan coach Steve Burns said. "They wanted to play a slower game, and we fell into that at first. But then we got out of that and played a more up-tempo game. We were able to make them defend a lot, kept possession in the front half of the field and took a lot of energy out of them, which was to our advantage."

Before Michigan was able to get on the scoreboard again, Detroit converted late in the 38th minute of the first half. Titans senior Ablaye Camara tied the game late in the second half after sliding the ball past Michigan's junior goalie Peter Dzubay.

"It was a give-away from the center of midfield," Burns said. "That's one of the key parts of the field you always want to have control of. We gave the ball away there, which created a counterattack right up the middle of the field."

With the game tied 1-1 at halftime, Michigan was having difficulty converting on the many scoring opportunities it created, a recurring challenge for the Wolverines' offense so far in the season. Michigan posted 13 shots on goal and 25 total shots for the game.

Luckily, Michigan senior Mychal Turpin was able to take advantage of one of those many opportunities in his typical athletic fashion.

At 55:25, junior Ryan Alexander's fancy footwork on the far left side of the field set up a pass back to sophomore Brian Popeney in the middle of the field. Popeney then sprayed the ball across to Turpin, who found the right side of the net and gave the Wolverines the lead.

"We just worked hard and won first and second balls," Turpin said. "Once you do that, our talent takes care of itself."

Turpin's second-half goal was his second of the season and proved to be the game-winner for Michigan.

"Mychal's a special player," Burns said. "He continues to get better game in and game out. He's a player that gets a lot of attention from the other teams, and he knows how to handle that."

Burns also gave a lot of credit to Detroit's goalkeeper, Ryan Mendonca, who made several saves throughout the game, including two consecutive headers from Michigan players. And while the Wolverines are struggling to generate offense, they continue to turn to their most consistent weapon -- their defense.

"(Chris) Glinski and (Kevin) Hall stepped up and shut down everyone," Dzubay said. "(Camara) liked to dribble a lot, so we tried to body him a lot more. We gave him a hard time, and he started getting frustrated. I think we're pretty solid on defense right now."

Dzubay himself contributed to Michigan's defensive effort, recording a save and only allowing one goal. Dzubay demonstrated a "no-fear" style when he repeatedly came out of the goalie box to challenge Detroit forwards.

"This year, I'm trying to make it one of my strong points to come off my line and be more aggressive because it gives more confidence to the team," Dzubay said. "Basically, if the ball comes into my box, I want to try to win it."

Consistent defense also played a role in Michigan's 2-1 victory over Dayton on Friday. Glinski scored the game-winning goal at 84:05 and also tallied an assist when Michigan sophomore Bobby Trybula tied the game at 1-1 in the 53rd minute.

The win marked the Wolverines' best start (4-0) since the program's inception in 2000.