The Michigan men’s soccer team walked off the field Friday night after a frustrating outing, with seven shots, three shots on goal, two corners and just one goal the only fruits of their labor.
Though Michigan (2-0-1)’s defense turned in an admirable showing against No. 19 Oregon State (1-1-1), ineffective performances from its forwards meant that the Wolverines failed to take advantage of the opportunity to secure victory over its first ranked opponent of the season. Instead, the Beavers managed to secure a 1-1 draw.
“It’s not so much the middle third,” Wolverine coach Chaka Daley said, when addressing the causes of Michigan’s attacking woes. “It’s the guys on the periphery of it. When you win it, (it’s) those guys’ ability to keep it and make good choices. We struggled a bit with that, and then it was turnover, and we’re back defending again, and it’s hard work.”
Michigan’s attacking efforts in the first few minutes displayed a sense of purpose and energy — most notably from graduate forward Beto Soto, who made use of his dribbling abilities to directly take on defenders in an attempt to breach Oregon State’s final third.
In the seventh minute, Soto’s efforts quickly paid off. After dribbling into the Beavers’ half, he offloaded the ball to senior midfielder Bryce Blevins, surged into the box, and fired in Blevins’ deflected attempt to give the Wolverines an opening goal. With an early goal and Blevins and Soto connecting on the left periphery, it looked as though the game could shape up in Michigan’s favor.
“He’s got a ton of a ton of danger in and around the box,” Daley said. “ He’s got a lot of quality. He’s got a smashing left foot, and he’s real dangerous on set pieces.”
However, the Wolverines’ advantage didn’t last very long.
Thirteen minutes later, sophomore defender Matthew Fisher made a good tackle and recovery in Michigan’s half, but immediately after, a defensive lapse allowed Oregon State forward Ellis Spikner to fire in an equalizer.
“Once we scored, we kind of went down a little bit,” Daley said. “When they scored, they kind of went up a little bit for energy. And then we started to, candidly, probably panic a little bit based on them keeping the ball a little bit longer. We weren’t accustomed to someone keeping the ball a lot longer than we were.”
Michigan’s unease after the equalizer was clear. It made fewer dribbles, fewer runs into the box and struggled to establish possession through the midfield. Its few attempts at chance creation consisted of long balls and crosses that failed to find a recipient in the box, and in the entirety of the second half, the Wolverines recorded just four shots. The closest they came to another goal was Blevins’ 47th-minute shot, and they spent the rest of the match attempting to win back possession, leaving little room for meaningful offense.
Even Soto, despite his ideal start to the match, was ineffective in Michigan’s attempts to progress the ball into its opponents’ box. The Wolverines’ poor link-up play and lack of attacking dynamism, aside from Soto, resulted in the subsequent dearth of chances to score, ensuring Michigan never stood a chance of taking back the lead.
On the other hand, Oregon State’s attackers continued to torment the Wolverines for the rest of the match, continuously pushing forward and dominating Michigan in terms of corners won, with 12 corners to the Wolverines’ two. But despite the constant threat their opponents posed, excellent performances from Michigan’s back line helped secure a draw, in spite of the attackers’ underwhelming showing.
However, with an inability to move the ball through the midfield, a lack of flair and an overly cautious approach following Oregon State’s equalizer, the Wolverines failed to take advantage of their resolute defensive effort, and missed the opportunity to make it three wins from three games.
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