Yesterday, In only its third game of the season, the Michigan women's soccer team was able to produce the second-highest goal total in its young history.
Capitalizing on numerous scoring opportunities, Michigan trounced Eastern Michigan, 7-1, in Ypsilanti behind the scoring of freshman Emily Schmitt.
The Wolverines' record-high is eight goals, scored against Valparaiso last year.
Schmitt led the scoring assault against the Eagles (1-1) by recording the first hat trick of her collegiate career. But even though Schmitt was the star of the game, Michigan (2-1) also had a large supporting cast of players.
Four other Wolverines found the back of the Eastern Michigan net, including another freshman, Jen Stahl. Junior captain Deb Flaherty notched her second goal of the season, while junior Ruth Poulin and sophomore Jessica Limauro chipped in one each.
Yesterday's game not only showed that Michigan was the superior team, but the Wolverines also proved to themselves that they could actually find the net.
"Lately, we have been having lower scores than we should," Flaherty said. "(Yesterday), we proved to ourselves that we can score."
In their previous two games, the Wolverines scored a total of two goals and were held scoreless in the season opener against Butler. Yesterday's scoring barrage is highlighted by the fact that Eastern was riding high after recording a shutout in its first game.
Despite the one-sided score, Michigan didn't have a good start, according to Stahl.
"We came out a little slow and didn't have a good start," she said. "It was a pretty sloppy game for a while in the beginning."
The Wolverines didn't get the ball rolling until 15 minutes into the game, when they scored their first goal. But Michigan's lead was short-lived, as the Eagles scored right back.
It wasn't until after Eastern evened the score that the Wolverines realized that they had to accelerate into high gear.
"When (the Eagles) scored, we realized that we had to work a lot harder," Stahl said.
As the clock began to tick toward the end of the first half, Michigan began its assault on the Eagles' goal and began to put the game away.
Much of Michigan's scoring success could also be contributed to a stronger display of teamwork, which is continually evolving as each game progresses.
"Each game, you play harder for each other," Flaherty said. "You play to each other's weaknesses and hope we peak at the right time."
Still, it is hard right now for Michigan to get more opportunities to click together, because the games are coming at a snail's pace.
"It is so hard when we have big gaps between games," Flaherty said. "When we have big gaps between games it will be a hard week of practice."
There is no doubt that Flaherty and her teammates will have another hard week of practice. They won't play until next Tuesday when they play Toledo at home.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
The Michigan soccer team posted its second-highest single-game goal output in its brief, three-year history with a seven-goal explosion yesterday against Eastern Michigan. The Wolverines' best total was an eight-goal barrage against Valparaiso last season.