Soccer transition working as hoped

By Naweed Sikora (mbk, crd)

Daily Sports Writer

For the Michigan men's soccer team, the transition from the club level to the varsity level has been pretty much on schedule. The season was a valuable learning experience that will help them in the future.

Michigan will wrap up its inaugural regular season at home this Saturday against Ohio State. With a win, the Wolverines could finish the regular season with a record of 2-4 in the Big Ten and 7-8 overall, which would be good enough for fifth place in the conference.

Although the season wasn't a fairy tale, the team did accomplish many of its initial season goals.

"One of our major goals was learning how to play at the varsity level," Burns said. "Varsity games are very physical and fast-paced. With our young team it took some time, but we have learned to play at a higher level."

The other major goal for the Wolverines was to get a solid victory against a tough opponent. Burns feels that Saturday's game against Ohio State will be the perfect opportunity for his team to get that win.

The 20th-ranked Buckeyes are currently tied for fourth in the Big Ten with a record of 1-2-2 (8-4-4). Ohio State goalie Kerry Thompson leads the conference with seven shutouts and a 0.82 goals-against average.

"They are another one of our big rivals," Michigan freshman Pat Tuohey said. "I believe it is going to be a tough, physical game."

Although it has been a difficult season, Burns and the players are very pleased with how well the team came together this year.

"We developed a lot of team chemistry this year," Burns said. "The members of the team, both young and old, all had a great deal of respect for each other."

Tuohey saw improvement on the field as well.

"For a first-year program, I think finishing around .500 is pretty decent," Tuohey said. "I think we all came together really well this season. Because of that, our scoring has really improved."

Looking ahead to next year, Burns has several ideas in mind to improve the team. He plans to use the upcoming recruiting class to strengthen his team's midfield.

"Last year, we focused on improving the defense and the counter-attack," Burns said. "With this year's recruiting class, we're looking to put a midfield together with powerful players who can attack."

ALEX WOLK/Daily

Michigan senior defenseman Steve Huber is a throwback from the club soccer days. So far, the transition to varsity has worked well, despite the less-than-stellar record.