To start the season, Michigan’s backline has been a solid wall. Although they tied their last three games, the Wolverines were unbeaten on the backs of their defense.
However, No. 4 Ohio State marched into Ann Arbor with a scorching-hot offense, scoring 10 goals in its previous three games. If Michigan was to pull off the upset, it would have to rely on its strong defense, which had conceded less than two goals in eight of nine matches. However, the Buckeyes dominated in a 6-3 victory that handed Michigan its first loss of the season.
From the opening kickoff, Michigan was vulnerable to Ohio State’s attacking abilities. The Buckeyes were technically sound in possession, forcing the Wolverines to defend in their own half early on.
Just three minutes into the match, Michigan was undone by a string of passes in the middle of the field that led to Buckeyes midfielder Marko Borkovic’s opening goal.
In response, the Wolverines gained a stronger foothold before the half ended, performing their best spell of the game. The match became more end-to-end, which allowed Michigan to threaten Ohio State with crosses from the wing.
“They were on top of us,” Michigan coach Chaka Daley said. “In that sense, we kind of got going a little bit near the end of the half.”
Another issue that plagued Michigan defensively was its transitional defense. Despite the fact that the Wolverines improved after conceding the first goal, they were still plenty vulnerable. Setting up in a back five, Michigan asked its wing backs to contribute a lot in attack. This allowed for a plethora of dangerous crosses into Ohio State’s box, but it also made the wing a prime area for the Buckeyes to attack.
Ohio State winger Michael Adedokun took advantage of the space offered, darting down the touchline before playing a cross that was fired home to make it 2-0. This proved to be a problem in the second half as well when Adedokun punished the Wolverines on the counter again, this time scoring himself with a finish at the near post.
Despite the tight nature of the first 45 minutes, the second half was barely a contest. Almost all of the shot attempts in the second half were from the Buckeyes, resulting in a barrage of four goals after halftime. While it certainly was not the defense’s best showing, it’s nearly impossible to defend for long periods of time against such a cohesive team. If not for some impressive saves by sophomore goalkeeper Isaiah Goldson, the margin of victory could have been even greater.
After going down three goals, Daley committed more players forward as a last-ditch attempt to rescue the game. Ohio State took advantage of its superior numbers in transition to cement its rout with a fifth goal.
For a unit that had conceded just eight goals in nine matches, Friday’s result was a shock for the Wolverines. However, the six goals they conceded were arguably not indicative of the actual performance. Michigan pushed high to get a goal back, inevitably putting tremendous pressure on the backline, and ended up doing a greater disservice to its goal difference. Still, this was undoubtedly the Wolverines’ worst defensive performance of the season.
“This blows it out of the water a little bit,” Daley said. “But we’ve defended quite well to this point.”
If Michigan wants to snap a four-game winless streak, it will need to get back on track defensively. Ohio State was the biggest test so far to a strong Wolverines defense, and on Friday they looked more mortal than ever.
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