Wolverines soccer team to host NCAA Tournament game on Sunday in Ann Arbor

The Wolverines celebrate after their 4-1 win on November 14 over Penn State in the tournament final. Photo courtesy of MGoBlue.com

While the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor soccer team has always sported the same maize and blue colors and represented the same university as its American football counterparts, the gap between the two in terms of success has almost always been wide.

But the soccer program took a big step toward building the type of rich winning tradition the football program is known for this past Sunday, November 14, as the Wolverines captured the first Big Ten Conference Tournament Title in their 11-year history with a 4-1 win over Penn State.

Now, the Wolverines are set for a 2 p.m. first round NCAA Tournament game at the UM soccer complex in Ann Arbor  on Sunday, Nov. 21 against Central Florida.

Michigan was led all season by a trio of all-conference Arab American performers, so it was only fitting that all four goals were scored in the clinching game by the trio. Justin Meram of Shelby Township scored two goals against Penn State while Dearborn’s Saad brothers, Hamoody and Soony, each added a goal as the Wolverines clinched an NCAA Tournament berth.

While the individual success has been nice, Michigan’s stars are quick to deflect the attention back to the team’s success when interviewed.

“For me, I’m just more focused on how the team’s doing, if the team’s doing well then I’m doing well,” said Soony Saad, who was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and pulled off the remarkable feat of leading the country in goals scored with 18 when tournament play ended on Sunday.

“I wasn’t focused on breaking records or getting awards or anything, I’m much more more focused on team awards.”

Along the way, Soony Saad, the 2010 Gatorade High School National Player of the Year before arriving at Michigan from Dearborn High School, managed to break several UM regular-season records including points in a season with 34, shots in a season with 112, and goals for a freshman with 14. 

Soony Saad also made the Big Ten All-Conference First Team while his brother Hamoody and teammate Meram made the second team.

Meram, who led the team in assists, spoke about the upcoming NCAA Tournament, which the Wolverines will enter as the 10th seed (ranking) out of 48 teams.

“It’s exciting and we got a good draw, to be able to get a number ten seed is tremendous,” he said.

The Wolverines will enter the tournament on a six-game winning streak before struggling a bit early on. They finished the regular-season with a 14-4-3 record.

“At the beginning of the year we weren’t clicking as well because we were a little too focused on individual goals but we just had to put that behind us,” Meram said.

“Now with me and Soony just on fire scoring and with Hamoody out there, us three together, our attack is so deadly that they can’t just worry about one of us; we just start scoring out of nowhere sometimes like against Penn State we hit them with a 1-2-3 and then a 4th goal and it was over.”

With the weather expected to be fall-like on Sunday, the Wolverines believe they’ll have an edge over their opponents, who are used to the southern climate.

Soony Saad hopes the fans will come out and support what could be Michigan’s best-ever soccer team on the first day of what could be another long tournament run.

“The fan support has been incredible, even in the not-too-big games,” he said. “Hopefully on Sunday everyone from Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Livonia, or from anywhere really come out to support us and support Michigan soccer as a program.”

Tickets for adults are $7 for the game and can be purchased by calling 734.764.0247. Parking is free at the UM soccer complex, a new state-of-the-art stadium located at 2250 S. State St. in Ann Arbor.