It was an action-packed week of college soccer. With the preseason winding down and the regular season beginning, find out how your favorite City players fared. (Spoiler alert: There was a hat trick, a few of Player of the Week awards and a couple game-winning goals.) Stay tuned at https://www.detcityfc.com for a new edition of Le Rouge Review each week.
Saginaw Valley State: The Cardinals picked up two dominant road wins in Week One, defeating Lewis University, 3-0, on Friday, Sept. 4, followed by a 4-1 win over Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday, Sept. 6. In the season-opener against Lewis, Tyler Channell recorded assists on all three goals on the way to Alex Bouillennec’s first shutout of the regular season. Two days after, against Wisconsin-Parkside, Channell was once again the leading distributor, this time with a pair of assists. Alex Isaevski opened his scoring account when he found a Channell pass to make the score 2-0 in the 30th minute. Isaevski also added an assist on the opening goal of the 4-1 win. Troy Watson started in both matches, while Tyler Stephens played 45 minutes on Friday and a full 90 minutes on Sunday.
Channell and Isaevski earned GLIAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors, respectively, for their performances.
SVSU will take its 2-0-0 record to Northwood on Friday, Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. EST. The Cardinals open up their home campaign on Sunday, Sept. 13 when they host Marygrove at 3:30 p.m. EST.
Michigan: The Wolverines (2-1-0) recorded a pair of commanding wins at home over the weekend to start the season at 2-1. After losing to Creighton in its season opener in Nebraska on August 28, UM traveled home to host West Virginia on Sept. 4, handing WVU a 3-1 loss in the home-opening match. Will Mellors-Blair played 48 minutes in the match and recorded an assist, while Colin McAtee, James Murphy and Andre Morris all started. Morris also tallied an assist. TJ VanSlooten was not rostered.
Sunday’s home match for the Wolverines was nothing short of exciting, with Murphy scoring the 2OT game-winning goal to propel UM past Niagara, 2-1. WMB, Murphy, VanSlooten, Morris and McAtee all started for Michigan in the win.
The Wolverines visit Maryland on Friday, Sept. 11 in their first conference match of the season. The match will be aired live on Big Ten Network at 7 p.m. EST.
Michigan State: DCFC head coach and MSU assistant coach Ben Pirmann, joined by former City coach and first-year MSU assistant coach Cale Wassermann, improved to 3-1-0 on the season with the Spartans over the weekend. MSU lost, 1-0, at the hands of Oregon State on August 30, but turned around and picked up a 4-0 win over Niagara and a 1-0 win over West Virginia last weekend at home. The Spartans move on to face Creighton at home in East Lansing on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 2 p.m. EST. The match can be viewed live on Big Ten Network Plus.
Butler: The Bulldogs kicked off their season in undefeated fashion, securing a 1-0 win over Wisconsin on August 28 followed by a 3-2 victory against IUPUI. Most recently, Butler secured a point on the road in its 1-1 draw with UIC, in which senior Jeff Adkins recorded an assist on the opening goal. Adkins started in all three matches for Butler. Next up, the Bulldogs, now 2-0-1, host Drake in their home opener on Sept. 12 at 1 p.m. EST and then face Indiana at home on Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Western Michigan: The Broncos (3-0-0) have also enjoyed a bright start to the 2015 season, picking up a 2-0 win over Marshall at home, and then a 1-0 win over IPFW and a 1-0 win over IUPUI on the road. Senior captain Connor Furgason started in all three matches. Western is set to face St. Bonaventure on Sept. 11 at 5 p.m. EST and Western Illinois on Sept. 13 at 2 p.m. EST in the Radisson Invitational in Kalamazoo.
St. Ambrose: After two back-to-back losses to old rivals to start the season – a 4-0 loss to Grand View and a 5-2 loss to Mount Mercy – the Fighting Bees were eager to get back on track when they returned to Davenport, Iowa for their home opener against Concordia (Neb). The Bees (1-2-0) did just that, playing to a 3-1 victory. Captain Ross Hendry tallied the assist on St. Ambrose’s go-ahead goal, despite coming off the bench. Hendry started in the first two matches, and also picked up an assist in the loss to Mount Mercy. The Bees travel to William Penn on Sept. 13 at 4:30 p.m. EST, and then host Culver-Stockton College on Sept. 16 at 6 pm. EST.
Coastal Carolina: DCFC goalkeeper and Coastal Carolina assistant goalkeeper coach Bret Mollon has helped lead the Chanticleers to a 3-0-1 record and up to a No. 7 ranking in the national NSCAA standings, securing three 2-0 wins against Old Dominion, VCU and Charlotte. On Sept. 7, CCU played to a 1-1 2OT draw with No. 6 Clemson at home. Mollon and the Chanticleers will host William & Mary on Sept. 12 at 7:00 p.m. EST.
Robert Morris: The Colonials are off to a 3-1-0 start to the season, outscoring their opponents 7-2 in the first three matches of 2015, but falling to Eastern Illinois, 2-1, on Sept. 6. Bennett Jull has started in every match for RMU thus far. Robert Morris faces Marshall at 7:30 p.m EST on Sept. 11, then travels to Bowling Green on Sept. 13 at 2 p.m. EST.
Albion: Bobby Budlong notched a hat trick in the Britons’ second match of the season, a 3-2 OT win over Capital University on Sept. 5. Budlong’s first two goals came in the 44th and 57th minutes, and he sealed his third – the game-winner – in the 95th minute in OT. Prior to the junior captain’s standout performance, Albion opened the season on Sept. 1, where Budlong tallied two assists. Most recently, the Brits were defeated by Ohio Wesleyan, 3-1, on Sept. 6. Budlong has started in all three matches for Albion, and was named the MIAA Offensive Player of the Week for his dominant performances so far this season. The Brits (2-1-0) hit the road on Sept. 11 when they face Elmhurst at 8 p.m. EST, followed by another 8 p.m. EST kickoff at North Park on Sept. 12.
Oakland: Eliott Tarney and the Golden Grizzlies snapped the nation’s longest unbeaten streak of 13 wins when they defeated Navy, 3-2, on Sept. 4 on the road. Tarney made his first start of the season and recorded five saves in the OT win. On Sept. 6, Tarney made his second start, but this time fell to UMBC, 2-1. The Grizzlies are 2-2-0 overall, and will look to bounce back when they travel to Dayton on Sept. 12. Kickoff for that match is set for 7 p.m. EST.
