'M' soccer topples conference rivals in opener

To be the best you've got to beat the best, and knocking the king off the throne is a pretty good start.

Only two years after finishing at the bottom of the Big Ten standings with a lone conference victory, the Michigan women's soccer team finds itself at the head of the pack, cruising to what could be Michigan's first-ever Big Ten championship.

The Wolverines, 2-0 in conference play, are sitting pretty after disposing of defending-champion Indiana, 1-0, on Friday, and Ohio State, 4-1, yesterday.

"Friday's victory was huge, it was a great feeling," Michigan leading-scorer Amber Berendowsky said.

Michigan (7-1) strutted into Bloomington and dethroned upstart Indiana, 1-0, behind senior Karen Montgomery's second-half goal from 20 yards out. The Wolverines showed little regard for Indiana's past success, taking twice as many shots on goal and

JOHN KRAFT/Daily Emily Schmidt and the rest of the Michigan soccer team began their Big Ten campaign this weekend. The Wolverines shot down Indiana and Ohio State.

controlling the game's tempo.

"Our team dominated the whole game," Berendowsky said. "Everyone was on and we came out strong."

Yesterday's home matchup presented another important conference battle, although Ohio State didn't quite fill the giant shoes of the Hoosiers.

Michigan dominated from the beginning, tallying two goals before the match was 15 minutes old. Freshman Kacy Beitel delivered on a centering cross from Berendowsky just six minutes into the match.

Berendowsky then netted her own goal to put the Wolverines out of reach.

All in all, 90 minutes of relentless pressure from the left side of the offense resulted in two more second-half goals in the Michigan victory.

Shannon Poole and Ruth Poulin delivered goals along with Beitel, but it was Berendowsky, the unselfish catalyst, who emerged as Sunday's biggest hero. The forward assisted Beitel and Poole's scores in addition to her own goal.

"Our game plan was to get one early and take advantage of our team speed," Michigan coach Debbie Belkin said. "We were trying to take control of the transition and once we did that, we just kept the pressure on."

Once again, Michigan dominated the game's tempo from start to finish, using team speed and Berendowsky's creativity to subdue the Buckeyes.

"It's hard to control the tempo for all 90 minutes," Belkin said. "We try to eliminate the letdowns and today we did that, except for the goal we allowed at the end."

Their won't be much room for errors in the coming weeks, either. This weekend was Michigan's orientation session for the season-long dogfight that will eventually determine a Big Ten champion. The Wolverines face four more tough conference foes before they see another subpar outsider - Wright State on Oct. 10.

"Everybody can beat everybody else in the Big Ten," Belkin said. "So you play each game like it's your last - it doesn't matter who the opponent is."

The team that wallowed in the conference basement as late as two years ago isn't taking anything for granted. That's why Friday's upset over Indiana meant so much to this fourth-year program.

Still, Michigan didn't just squeak by the defending champion. It ran circles around the Hoosiers, issuing a statement in the process - a statement that Belkin wouldn't have uttered until recently.

"It's our goal to win the Big Ten," the fourth-year coach said. "We've got the talent to do it - we've just got to keep playing like we have been."

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