Nick Colleluori Classic
Fear the Tiger!
Saturday, October 8th, 12:30 PM
Ridley High School (details)
Folsom, PA
Michigan will take on their second scrimmage opponent of the day and the toughest test of the fall at 12:30 on Saturday when they face Towson in a scrimmage.
Tempo-Free
From their official 2011 statistics, what can we figure out about Towson?
| Towson 2011 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Opponents | Towson | ||
| Faceoff Wins | 138 | Faceoff Wins | 115 |
| Clearing | 186-225 | Clearing | 190-225 |
| Possessions | 398 | Possessions | 379 |
| Goals | 107 | Goals | 102 |
| Offensive Efficiency | .269 | Offensive Efficiency | .269 |
Towson was sloooooooooooooow last year. They played the fourth-slowest lacrosse in the nation, with only Fairfield, Hofstra, and Princeton having fewer possessions per game. A high-scoring thriller, this shall not be.
Often, teams will play at a slow pace when they aren’t good at controlling possession in any other way, but Towson was just about dead even with its opponents in possession, making up for a slight deficiency on faceoffs with better success in the clear/ride game.
Towson was ever so slightly more efficient than their opponents (though it’s hidden in the chart above by rounding). The .269 mark is pretty good for a defensive number – I sense a lot of zone defense, given the slow pace as well – and mediocre for an offensive mark.
Schedule
Despite a 3-10 record, Towson ended up ranked 30th to LaxPower’s computers. That’s a testament to losing tight games to good competition. Outside of the Colonial Athletic Association, the Tigers had games against the likes of Johns Hopkins (a 6-10 loss) and eventual NCAA runner-up Maryland (a 4-8 loss). The lowest-rated opponent on the schedule was fellow CAA team St. Joseph’s, Michigan’s scrimmage opponent earlier in the morning tomorrow.
Personnel
Faceoffs – Towson had three main faceoff guys last year, each taking more than 50 draws and all finishing in the .426-.481 range. The most-frequently deployed (and best) was Matt Thomas, who will return as a junior this season. There’s no reason to expect a success rate much different than he had last year, so if Michigan wins more than 50% of draws, we can expect about average performance on faceoffs this year. The two backups, Ian Mills and Warren Kalkstein, are also juniors.
Scoring Threats – Seven different Tigers had double-digit points last year, but only three had double-digit goals. Midfielder Pat Britton (15G, 3A) has graduated, but attacks Matt Hughes (18G, 6A, now a junior) and Matt Lamon (12G, 2A, now a senior) are both back. Midfielder Peter Mezzanotte and attack Tim Stratton were the team’s leading assist men last year, and both have graduated. Tiny sophomore midfielder Andrew Hodgson (5-8, 150) will have to pick up some of the slack.
Defensive Field Players – Defenseman Marc Ingerman was the lone All-CAA player for Towson last year, earning second-team honors – after earning a first-team selection in 2010. He has since graduated, and Towson will have to compensate for that. Mike Landy and John Fennessy started every game last season (Fennessy as just a redshirt freshman), and look to do the same this year.
Goalies – Travis Love started every game between the pipes for Towson last year, but he has since graduated. Diminutive Andrew Wascavage (5-9, 189) was his primary backup as a redshirt sophomore, and looks to take on a full-time starting role as a junior. He saved just .375 of shots faced last year, so redshirt sophomore Jake Graves may get a shot as well (he saved 3 of the 4 shots he faced in limited time last year).
The Lowdown
This is going to be by far Michigan’s biggest test of the fall ball season. Not only is Towson the best team they’ve faced, but they also get little rest between the early-morning St. Joseph’s scrimmage and the tilt against the Tigers.
Towson is a solid team that was better last year than their 3-10 record would seem to indicate, and while they have some personnel losses, they have some youngsters ready to step in and fill roles. They play a slow, frustrating brand of lacrosse, and will be a good mental test for Michigan’s young team.
While I’d like to pick a Michigan win, it just doesn’t seem realistic in this game. Towson will choke the life out of the scrimmage, playing slow on both sides of the ball. Michigan could dominate possession without it showing on the scoreboard. I think possession will be slightly tilted in the Wolverines’ favor, but Towson gets the 7-3 win.