The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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season to have that opportunity to bond and talk about team goals, and everyone agreed that we had the po- tential to do something great if we pushed ourselves." At forward, Ezurike promised this team would not lack scoring. The Ca- nadian native set a program record with 49 goals and 118 points in her career, and she had plenty of help in 2013, with her Wolverine teammates netting 31 of Michigan's 45 goals. U-M averaged 1.96 goals per game, its highest mark since 2000 (2.26 per game). Toohey and McCombs brought the balance of both offense and defense to the midfield, while a defensive corps heavy on experience limited opponents to a mere 94 shots on goal all season — the lowest per-game average (4.1) in the program's 20- year history. Someone had to stand between those shots and the net, and that player, freshman Taylor Bucklin, was probably Michigan's biggest ques- tion mark because of her youth. "Having a freshman goalie … you trust the coaches because they have confidence in her, but you do every- thing you can as a senior to make her transition go smoothly. You know that you're relying on her to make all your dreams possible," Toohey said. "The talent was there, but the big- gest thing with a young goalie is how would she manage the game," Duerst added. "You can have great moments and make the big save, but there needs to be a consistency in your communication, in your posi- tioning, in your technique and your ball skills, and that is often the big- gest challenge. "The good news is we had a very experienced back four, and we really say defensive five, back there, and after a few early struggles, you could really see that entire group, including Taylor, coming together." Bucklin would stop 79 of the 90 shots she faced, setting a Michigan single-season record in allowing 0.48 goals per game. She also set single- season marks for wins (18), shutouts (12) and save percentage (.878), start- ing all 23 of U-M's contests. "What we didn't expect as coaches is just how good Taylor would con- tinue to get," Duerst said. "Her learn- ing curve was incredible, but I think a big part of that was the culture this team created, setting a high standard that she was determined to meet, and then the way the defensive group in front of her helped manage the game." When Michigan fell 1-0 to Minne- sota (a team that went 4-5-2 in the league) in a late September home game, U-M stood just 1-1-1 in the Big Ten and faced a key juncture. If the Maize and Blue lost again, they would likely have no chance to cap- ture the Big Ten regular-season title. They resolved to win out, knowing they had to go through Nebraska and Penn State in back-to-back road games in October. The Wolverines found an inner strength and accomplished their mission, beating the Cornhuskers 2-1 and the Nittany Lions 1-0 while marching to eight straight confer- ence victories. They needed a little