In the consolation semi-final round of the Big Ten tournament, Michigan had to win on the road in tough conditions to advance to a fifth-place match.
Instead, they’ll play for seventh-place next weekend: The Wolverines (no. 4 Big Ten East) were unable to come out on top, losing 19-14 to Wisconsin (no. 3 Big Ten West) on the road. Michigan held their own for much of a game defined by rain, wind and mud.
“A really disappointing day,” coach Matt Trenary said. “We missed a few chances in the first half and then the conditions bogged down most of the play in the second half.”
Junior Colin Sampic (‘21) and senior George Janke (‘56) each notched tries, with graduate student Nathan Feldman converting both of his kicks. Points were hard to come by for the Wolverines, who couldn’t convert offensive production into tries.
Janke put together another strong outing. The Virginia native was a main reason the Wolverines stayed in the game: moving the ball well in the first half before finding some points in the second.
“George was able to find some space in the first half and helped set up Colin’s try,” Trenary said. “That was an encouraging stretch to the end of the first half, but we really needed to punch a second try in.”
The Wolverines went into half tied 7-7 after failing to take a lead in its final minutes. They certainly had opportunities, but the Badger defense held near the goal line to keep the game even. Those missed chances came back to haunt the Wolverines after a close, low-scoring second half.
For Michigan, there were successful moments — defensive holds, ball movement and turnovers all kept the match highly competitive. But in close matches, the winner is often determined by one specific aspect of the game. One phase, one mistake or even one player that can give a team any edge.
On Saturday, it was the goal line.
“Our goal line defense suffered,” Janke said. “We didn’t get low enough and didn’t show enough aggression. I believe they scored all three of their tries with forwards punching it in from close range.”
The story was the same at the other end.
“Credit to Wisconsin,” Trenary said. “They made breaks when necessary and defended us well near their goal line.”
As has been the case for much of the season, the Wolverines saw positives in a hard-fought match — just not enough to earn a victory.
