MAAC Tournament Preview: Marist

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Tim

Detroit managed a one-goal win over Marist at Titan Field last time out, but this time, the Red Foxes are hosting, and the stakes are even higher. The Red White and Blue will have to come ready to play – but the start to a miracle run like they had last season is far from out of the question.

Marist

Marist Red Foxes Lacrosse

RAWR!

May 1, 2014. 7 p.m. EDT
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
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@DetroitTitans.
Detroit Preview. Game Notes.
Marist Preview.

Tempo-Free Profile

The TempoFreeLax.com numbers displayed here are up to date for this season. Marist’s strength of schedule has improved (shockingly, since they’re played some conference dregs since facing Detroit), which is partially to account for some of the improvements below.

Marist 2014
Pace 60.00 (54)
Poss% 51.15 (23)
Off. Eff. 38.85 (19)
Def. Eff. 38.16 (62)
Pyth% 46.55 (39)

Marist has improved in every aspect since last they faced the Titans. They’re playing at about the same speed, but controlling more of that possession, meaning that valuing whatever possessions Detroit can get will be at a premium (GULP!).

The defense is still really bad, even though it’s taken incremental steps since the last time these teams faced. If Detroit wants to win, Detroit has to score.

…that’s partially because the Marist offense is borderline elite. Although Detroit mostly kept the Red Foxes in check last time out, that’s been the exception rather than the rule for Marist.

Add it all up, and you have a middling program nationally, which places it among the best in the MAAC. Marist isn’t so far behind 1-seed Siena in that department.

When Last We Met

Detroit dug an early 5-1 hole, but clawed back with consistent scoring and a defense that started to step up after the first quarter. The Titans controlled the fourth quarter to open a 12-10 lead, then Marist scored with four minutes left to insert some late-game drama. Detroit was dominated in possession (32/73), but was the better team in both ends of the field, leading to the victory.

You can see my recap of that game here.

Offense

From last time, with updates and comments afterward.

Marist has five guys with double-digit points, and all of them are between 22-30 total on the year. That quintet is responsible for the vast majority of the scoring, and there’s a precipitous dropoff after that.

The main feeder is freshman attack J.D. Recor, who has nine goals and 21 assists on the year, tying him for the team lead with 30 points. He’s the only player with significant playing time to put up more assists than goals.

Sophomore attack Joseph Radin is tied with Recor in total points, though his distribution is very different. He has 26 goals and four assists on the season. The third starting attackman is Colin Joka, a junior with 20 goals and four assists.

Junior midfielders Drew Nesmith (20G, 2A) and Mike Begley (14G, 8A) are tied with 20 points, and they’re the final double-digit scorers to date for the Red Foxes. Fellow junior Patrick Eaker is physically intimidating at 6-0, 200, but even though he’s started all nine games, he has just two goals on seven shots. He’s going to be more prominently mentioned in the next section.

Marist is still a five-man offense, full stop. There is a 14-goal total drop from No. 1 to No. 5, and a 23-goal gap between No. 5 and No. 6. If you have enough to slow those guys down, the offense suddenly looks a lot less elite.

Pouring goals on weak Marquette, Manhattan, and Monmouth defenses (among others) has overrated the Marist offense to a degree, since other programs will gladly call off the dogs. That’s not Marist being poor sports, though – they’ve needed to put up that much scoring to win thanks to an extremely porous defense.

Defense

More from last time out:

Dave Scarcello has been Marist’s main goalie, earning most of the starts and playing all but just over 60 minutes on the year. His save percentage of .484 is pretty poor, but it’s better than backup Brian Corrigan, who is at .261. That’s not a weird sample size deal, with 66 minutes across four games and two starts on the year. Goalie play (and, as always, you don’t know how much they’re being sold out by those in front of them) has been poor.

Juniors Nick Struble, Karl Kreshpane, and Mike Collins are the starting defensemen (though two of Strubles starts have gone to freshman Frankie Brier). Struble and Kreshpane have five CTs each on the year, with eight ground balls apiece. LSM Jesse Brown is the bigger takeaway guy with six caused turnovers and 13 ground balls on the year.

Detroit should be able to succeed in the same ways they did last time. That should include some EMO action, as we’ll see shortly. Shayne Adams saw the previous Marist game start a hot streak, so he should either continue it or open opportunities for other Titans.

Special Teams

…and this aspect:

Marist is a good faceoff team, with sophomore Dominic Montemurro at .555 on draws, picking up more than a third of his ground ball opportunities on those. SSDM Patrick Eaker is also a big threat coming off the wing, allowing Marist to be really good in this area of the game. Given that it’s one with which Detroit regularly struggles, it may spell trouble.

Marist is an excellent clearing team (helping their offense be successful, I guess), failing just over 7% of the time. They make it up coming the other way though, choosing not to emphasize the ride and causing failed clears at about the same rate. Other than not giving possessions away, their emphasis in the possession game is more about the faceoffs.

Marist commits a ton of penalties (nearly twice as many as opponents), and that’s despite most of the possession in games coming in their own sticks – meaning fewer opportunities to commit infractions. They also stink at stopping the opponent EMO, allowing goals nearly 40% of the time. Going the other way, they score barely more than a quarter of the time. A clean game plays to their advantage.

Detroit was smoked on faceoffs last time out, but it feels like they’re playing with more bullets in their chamber to close the season. With Tyler Corcoran healthy, there’s an option to mix it up between he and Damien Hicks (and possibly include other guys). Wing play has been the bigger issue on faceoffs this season.

Despite a hesitance by Marist to ride, Detroit gave up plenty in the clearing game last time (America’s least  surprising development). If UDM can not kill themselves in that aspect – no small task, apparently – the Titans should be able to make up a possession shortage.

Marist plays dirty, Detroit rocks the EMO better than any team in the country. This will be an opportunity to score some goals. Detroit’s capitalizing on them could be the difference in the game.

Big Picture

Survive and advance. Everyone has forgotten that Detroit basically limped into the MAAC Tournament last year (they weren’t far off this year either, with the loss to Manhattan meaning they didn’t control their own destiny on the regular season’s final day). They won two games there, gave Notre Dame a tough test in the NCAA Tournament, and suddenly the narrative of last year became that they were the best team in program history.

The same can happen this year. With two straight wins – starting against Marist – this can again be labeled a successful season, despite the twists and turns it took to get there. Winning two games would also guarantee a .500 record on the year, and anything else would see UDM finish below that mark.

Predictions

The last game was a nail-biter, but with some easy things going Detroit’s way, it could have been a comfortable Titan win. The question is whether they can fix those things.

  • With more fully healthy options on faceoffs, Detroit should make some incremental improvement there, getting closer to 33% rather than barely clearing 25%. 
  • Speaking of “clearing,” Detroit absolutely must step up its game in that department. Marist pretty much does not ride, and most of the problems in the last game were avoidable by emphasizing clean play in that phase of the game. Even just getting yo 80% (equivalent with a bottom-eight team nationally in terms of season-long performance) would make a huge difference. I think the Titans will do that.
  • Marist’s offense will look to erase the mediocre performance that they had last time out, and I think they should be able to do it. Drew Nesmith scored once on 14(!!!!!) shots, and I don’t think that’s something you’ll see with regularity. Marist’s offense will be more of a test this time, and the lessened possession deficit will be huge.
  • Also huge will be the EMO. Detroit connected on two of four opportunities last time, and although that’s pretty good, it’s below their season average. Since Marist’s defense in general is bad, and the Red Foxes commit a ton of penalties, Detroit will have to step up its EMO game.
  • Jason Weber will be awesome. I should include this in every preview.

Even though last game was a very close one, and both teams had a lot to be upset about in terms of their performance, I think Detroit’s mistakes (or simple lack of success when it comes to faceoffs) are more correctable. Evening out the possession game just a bit and approaching season-long performance on EMO (.696) will see the Titans win a 13-10 game.

Discussion, predictions, etc. go in the comments.

Posted in division 1, previews | Tagged , , | Comments Off on MAAC Tournament Preview: Marist

ECAC Tournament preview: Fairfield

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Tim

Michigan’s first-ever postseason action will take place tomorrow evening. It’s something of a tall task – the 4-seed Wolverines take on 1-seed Fairfield in the first round of the ECAC Tournament – but U-M has already played Fairfield close once this year, as well.

Fairfield

fairfield stags lacrosse logo

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May 1, 2014. 5 p.m. EDT
Jesse Owens Stadium
Columbus, Ohio
Live stats. Tournament Central.
@UMichLacrosse. @UofMLaxManagers.
@GreatLaxState. @StagsMensLax.
Michigan preview.
Fairfield preview.

Tempo-Free Profile

The TempoFreeLax.com numbers displayed here are up to date for this season. Fairfield was the top-ranked ECAC team (a deserving one-seed), but played a middling schedule in comparison to the other teams that made the Little dance (except Air Force, which played a very weak schedule).

Fairfield 2014
Pace 59.79 (55)
Poss% 51.73 (19)
Off. Eff. 36.06 (15)
Def. Eff. 29.10 (22)
Pyth% 70.68 (14)

Fairfield really slows it down, and they’ve improved their ability to control those possessions since playing Michigan. They’re now in the top third of the nation in possession percentage, despite only being OK on faceoffs and generally ignoring their ride.

The offense has dropped slightly since Michigan played them last (with the Wolverines’ second-half near-shutout of the Stags playing a role in that). They haven’t dropped far though, and are still in the elite range.

The defense has dropped off as well, and a bit more precipitously. They’re still top-third nationally, but not the top-ten unit they were when they rolled into Michigan Stadium. Still a very strong unit.

Add it all up, and – despite the No. 37 strength of schedule in the nation – the Stags are a solid top-15 team.

When Last We Met

Michigan dug an 8-4 deficit at halftime, but clawed back using consistent offense (two goals in each quarter) and lockdown defense in the second half – just one goal allowed, albeit the deciding one.

You can read my recap of the previous contest right here.

Offense

Quoting liberally from the earlier preview, with some updates noted at the end:

The 33-point man is junior attack Tristan Sperry. His points are pretty evenly distributed, with 18 goals and 15 assists. Linemate Colin McLinden is right behind him with 32 points, but might even be the team’s leading scorer if he hadn’t missed a game earlier this spring. He has 11 goals and 21 assists, so he’s your bigtime feeder.

Among true midfielders, TJ Neubauer (who has played in all 10 games but hasn’t started any, if for no other reason than to allow the many A/Ms to get on the field at once) is the leading scorer, with 21 goals and two assists. Jake Knostman has started every game, but has only nine goals and four assists, to close out the double-digit point scorers.

McLinden has passed Sperry as the Stags’ leading scorer, but the distributions between those two remain about the same: McLinden is assisting more, Sperry is scoring more (he’s actually a bit more lopsided in that direction by now). Neubauer is the third-leading scorer, with A/Ms Eric Warden and Dave Fleming right on his heels before Knostman.

Defense

Same story as above. Lots from the earlier preview:

Senior Greg Perraut is the team’s leader [in caused turnovers] with 10 on the year, though classmate Toby Armour, sophomore LSM Conor Barr, and even keeper(!) Jack Murphy have nine apiece. Junior Max Buchanan is the third longpole starter, though he has a pedestrian six turnovers on the year.

Freshman LSM Jay Walsh also plays significantly – only slightly less than Barr, and I would estimate both cycle through at close D on occasion, given the limited playing time for other poles – and actually has seven CTs on the year. Junior Bryan Barry is the top SSDM, with 17 ground balls and only two shots on the year. He’s not a takeaway guy with only two on the year, but a solid on-ball defender.

Murphy has played the vast majority of time between the pipes, and despite the overall quality of the Fairfield defense, he has a good-not-great save percentage of .549 (below .600 is still great, but .560 or so is my cutoff for great). If you can get enough good shots on the guy, you can score. Of course, that’s not super-easy to do, and for a team like Michigan, it might be particularly tough.

Murphy’s save percentage has dropped a bit as the Stags’ defense has declined slightly, and Fairfield is also allowing more shots per possession, though there are fewer possession opportunities than before for opponents.

Special Teams

From before:

Fairfield’s mediocrity in the possession game is actually harmed by a ton of struggles on faceoffs, and this should be a matchup that the Wolverines dominate. Leading specialist Michael Roe is only .406, and No. 2 Louis DiGiacomo hits only slightly better at .436. If Brad Lott doesn’t solidly beat both of them (and both should play), it either on account of poor GB play by himself and the wings, or a sign that he’s still not consistent enough to succeed regularly.

Fairfield’s clear is very good, No. 13 in the country, but they’ve faced primarily poor rides to date, so the evidence one way or the other is not established. Given that Michigan is able to ride pretty hard should they desire (albeit giving up a goal 25% of the time or so), there might be an opportunity there. Coming the other way, the Stags are content to give a little pressure and let the opponent mess things up for themselves. Michigan might be susceptible to that, but they won’t see a hard ride.

Brad Lott had his lunch money taken against Fairfield – 7/20 – and with an average performance out of him in that game (which is well above average for a standard FOGO), Michigan would have had a real opportunity to win the game. He’s mercurial at this point, and mastering the matchup is almost a matter of chance as much as skill.

The Stags’ clear has gotten better and their ride worse, so expect more of the same in this one. Penalties haven’t been a major factor for the Stags all year – including the previous game against Michigan – so I’ll excise that preview portion.

Big Picture

Michigan is basically playing with house money at this point, since nobody expected them to win more than a few games and they were unanimously picked last in the league. A loss doesn’t harm them, but a win would be absolutely huge for the growth of the program.

That they came so close to the win last time will serve as a motivating factor – but that’s a two-way street. Michigan wants to close the deal this time, while Fairfield wants to show that the razor’s-edge victory in The Battle at the Big House was a fluke. An angry Fairfield team might have a bit more motivational boost than a confident Michigan team.

Should the Wolverines win, they’d also be on the verge of the NCAA Tournament, looking to avenge a second loss against the winner of the Ohio State-Air Force game on the other side of the bracket.

Predictions

Fairfield was better over the course of the year than they were against Michigan, but U-M also happened to do some things poorly that they’re generally expected to do. There should be some major intrigue in this one.

  • Brad Lott gets back toward his season-long faceoff performance (.540), and though he won’t hit that number, getting within a couple draws of 50/50 should rectify the possession shortage Michigan had last time around.
  • Fairfield isn’t going to go through a 28-minute goal drought this time around. For Michigan to succeed, they need to balance that out by not giving up a big early lead themselves. Having some opportunity to control possessions early should help that (Lott was 3/13 in the first half last time).
  • McLinden will have a big day in the assist department. He only had three last time out (in a low-scoring game), and will probably take that as a personal challenge to step his game up. Sperry will be the primary boat shoe beneficiary of that, with four goals.
  • I have more faith in Fairfield’s offense to adjust to Michigan’s defense (which has had some holes this year) than in Michigan’s to adjust and produce even more this time around. I do think a Wolverine will score a hat trick once more, but it won’t be David Joseph. The Stags might put a bit more focus on Joseph since he was the leading scorer last time, opening things up for other middies or the attackmen.

I think Fairfield’s season-long performance (and Michigan’s, for that matter) will say more about the outcome of this game than the previous contest’s result. Fairfield has more personnel and schematic things to tinker with by simple virtue of having more history and recruiting. They’ll come out looking to prove last time was a fluke, and have a more resounding Stags win by a 13-7 score.

Feel free to use the comments for questions, discussion, and your own predictions.

Posted in division 1, previews | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Scores and Schedule: April 30, 2014

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Tim

The final day of April, and a day away from some serious D-1 conference tournament action.

Yesterday’s Scores

High School Boys

Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 16, Dearborn Divine Child 6
Clarkston 14, Bloomfield Hills 3
Cranbrook 16, Detroit Catholic Central 11
Forest Hills Eastern 9, Caledonia 6
Comstock Park 8, Grandville 7
UD-Jesuit 12, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 5
East Grand Rapids 12, Grand Haven 3
Grosse Pointe South 10, L’Anse Creuse North 7
Grand Rapids Christian 6, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 5
Holland Christian 11, Spring Lake 7
Zeeland 9, Hudsonville 5
Lansing Waverly 7, East Lansing 5
Lowell 9, Northview 5
Okemos 12, Grand Ledge
Rochester Adams 11, Oxford 5
Portage Northern 11, Battle Creek Lakeview 8
Rochester 16, Auburn Hills Avondale 2
Forest Hills Northern 18, Rockford 4
Troy 16, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 1
Royal Oak 9, West Bloomfield 7
Henry Ford II 10, Warren Cousino 3
Haslett-Williamston 8, Holt 6
Warren Mott-Sterling Heights 17, Madison Heights Bishop Foley 3
Port Huron United @ Anchor Bay Fairview
Flint Powers @ Bay City Western
Belleville @ Chelsea
Brother Rice @ Warren De La Salle
St. Clair United @ Detroit Southeastern
Forest Hills Central @ Holland West Ottawa
Saginaw Heritage @ Lapeer West-East
Kalamazoo United @ Battle Creek Pennfield
Notre Dame Prep @ Royal Oak Shrine
Grand Rapids South Christian @ Muskegon Reeths-Puffer
Romeo @ Utica Eisenhower
Utica @ Utica Stevenson

High School Girls

East Lansing 17, Lansing Waverly 7
Okemos 17, Grand Ledge 0
Saline @ Temperance Bedford
Cranbrook-Kingswood @ Bloomfield Hills
Midland Dow @ Flint Carman-Ainsworth
Williamston-Haslett @ Holt
Grosse Pointe South @ Grosse Pointe University Liggett
Northville @ Ann Arbor Skyline

Today’s Schedule

Division-3 Women

Albion @ Adrian
Calvin @ Alma

High School Boys

Ann Arbor Skyline @ Ann Arbor Pioneer
Rochester Adams @ Auburn Hills Avondale
Saline @ Temperance Bedford
Monroe St. Mary-Catholic Central @ Chelsea
Plymouth @ Farmington North-Harrison
Detroit Country Day @ Forest Hills Central
Grand Blanc @ Hartland
Walled Lake Northern @ Howell
Grosse Pointe North @ L’Anse Creuse
Dexter @ Ypsilanti Lincoln
Swartz Creek @ Lapeer West-East
Battle Creek Harper Creek @ Mattawan
Canton @ Northville
Notre Dame Prep @ Orchard Lake St Mary’s
Novi @ South Lyon
Brighton @ Walled Lake Central
Huron Valley-Lakeland @ Waterford

High School Girls

Caledonia @ Forest Hills United
Birmingham @ Rochester Adams
Temperance Bedford @ Ann Arbor Huron
Walled Lake United @ Brighton
Salem @ Canton
East Grand Rapids @ Grand Rapids Catholic Central
Bloomfield Hills @ Clarkston
Grandville @ Comstock Park
Bloomfield Hills Marian @ Cranbrook-Kingswood
Rochester @ Farmington
Hartland @ Grand Blanc
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard @ Warren Regina
Northview @ Hudsonville
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep @ Livonia Ladywood
West Bloomfield @ Farmington Hills Harrison
Northville @ Novi
Lake Orion @ Oxford
Farmington Hills Mercy @ Sacred Heart Academy
Ann Arbor Pioneer @ Ann Arbor Skyline
Plymouth @ South Lyon United
Saline @ Tecumseh
Huron Valley United @ Waterford United
Swartz Creek @ Lansing Waverly
Grand Rapids Christian @ Holland West Ottawa

Corrections, omissions, etc. always appreciated in the comments. Also use the comments for discussion of today’s action.

Posted in division 3, high school | Tagged | Comments Off on Scores and Schedule: April 30, 2014

The Next Level: April 29, 2014

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Tim

Our weekly look at Michigan natives who are playing college lacrosse at division-1 institutions this spring. Air Force 10, Quinnipiac 15

  • Senior attack Tommy McKee (Holt) – Did not see game action

Bellarmine 13, Mercer 6

  • Freshman attack/midfield Graham Macko (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.

Canisius 7, Marist 13

  • Freshman midfielder Steve Wizniuk (Warren De La Salle) – Did not see game action.

Delaware 15, Massachusetts 7

  • Junior midfielder Bennett Packer (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.

Detroit 11, Monmouth 6

  • Junior attack Brandon Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Started, scored a Goal on four Shots (two on goal), and added an Assist. Also added three turnovers.
  • Freshman attack Kyle Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Played, but only made the scoresheet by committing one turnover.
  • Junior midfielder Mike Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started, scored two Goals on five Shots (three on goal), added two assists, and picked up one ground ball. Also committed six turnovers.
  • Junior defenseman Matt Burnett (Clarkston) – Did not see game action.
  • Redshirt senior midfielder Tyler Corcoran (South Lyon) – Won 11 of 21 faceoffs, picking up seven ground balls, and took one Shot.
  • Sophomore LSM Nick Demattia (Clarkston) – Did not see game action.
  • Junior midfielder Scott Drummond (Birmingham Seaholm) – Started, scored a Goal on six Shots (three on goal), recorded one Assist, and picked up one ground ball.
  • Redshirt freshman goalie Connor Flynn (Rockford) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior midfielder Nick Garippa (Notre Dame Prep) – Played, but only made the scoresheet by committing two turnovers.
  • Junior defenseman Joe Gifford (Notre Dame Prep) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Freshman attack Alec Gilhooly (Detroit Catholic Central) – did not see game action.
  • Freshman midfielder Ben Gjokaj (Walled Lake Central) – did not see game action.
  • Redshirt freshman midfielder Brad Harris (Saline) – did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Andy Hebden (Brother Rice) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Redshirt freshman midfielder JD Hess (Birmingham Seaholm) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Senior midfielder Joe MacLean (Detroit Country Day) – Took one Shot.
  • Freshman defenseman Bryan Matney (Ann Arbor Pioneer) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore attack Nick Melucci (Northville) – Picked up two ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior LSM Tim Robertson (Notre Same Prep) – did not see game action.
  • Senior midfielder Drew Schupbach (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) – did not see game action.
  • Junior midfielder Thomas Sible (Forest Hills Central) – Played, but only made the scoresheet by committing one turnover.
  • Sophomore midfielder Mike Spuller (Dexter) – did not see game action.
  • Senior attack Tyler Staruch (Brighton) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Freshman attack Adam Susalla (Birmingham Seaholm) – did not see game action.
  • Senior D/LSM Mike Wenderski (UD-Jesuit) – Did not see game act
  • Sophomore defenseman Jordan Yono (Detroit Catholic Central) – Picked up two ground balls.

Georgetown 8, Rutgers 12

  • Senior midfielder Grant Fisher (Brother Rice) – did not see game action.

Hartford 10, Stony Brook 14

  • Freshman defenseman Bennett Dipzinski (Forest Hills Northern) – Did not see game action.

Marquette 9, Denver 17

  • Redshirt sophomore midfielder K.C. Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore attack Henry Nelson (Brother Rice) – Picked up one ground ball.

Michigan 19, Robert Morris 10

  • Freshman midfielder Brian Archer (Brighton) – Did not see game action.
  • Junior defenseman Mack Gembis (Cranbrook) – Started, caused one turnover, and picked up three gorund balls.
  • Sophomore attack Riley Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Took four Shots (three on gol) and picked up one ground ball.
  • Junior attack Will Meter (Brother Rice) – Scored a Goal on his only Shot and picked up one ground ball.
  • Junior midfielder Thomas Orr (Detroit Catholic Central) – Picked up three ground balls.
  • Senior midfielder Tom Sardelli (Notre Dame Prep) – Scored a Goal on two Shots (one on goal)
  • Senior LSM Dakota Sherman (Cranbrook) – Took two Shots (one on goal) and picked up two ground balls.
  • Sophomore defenseman Chris Walker (Brother Rice) – Started, acused two turnovers, and picked up five ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Redshirt junior defenseman Max Zwolan (Ann Arbor Pioneer) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.

Notre Dame 6, Maryland 5

  • Freshman midfielder Sergio Perkovic (Brother Rice) – Started, took four Shots (one on goal), and recorded one assist. Also committed one turnover.

Notre Dame 15, Syracuse 14

  • Freshman midfielder Sergio Perkovic (Brother Rice) – Started, scored two Goal on five Shots (three on goal), and picked up two ground balls.

Ohio State 5, Fairfield 7

  • Senior midfielder Nick Diegel (Northville) – Did not see game action.

Penn 15, Towson 9
Penn 17, St. John’s 10

  • Freshman goalie Ahmed Iftikhar (Detroit Country Day) – Did not see game action.

Richmond 6, VMI 7

  • Freshman attack J.P. Forester (Brother Rice) – Started, scored a Goal on five Shots (four on goal) and picked up one ground ball. Also committed four turnovers.

Robert Morris 10, Michigan 19

  • Freshman attack Kento Nakano (Rockford) – Scored a Goal on two Shots. Also committed one turnover.

Rutgers 12, Georgetown 8

  • Sophomore midfielder Jacob Coretti (East Grand Rapids) – Did not see game action.

Sacred Heart 14, Mount St. Mary’s 10

  • Junior midfielder Joe Kemp (Troy Athens) – Played, but did not see game action.

St. John’s 10, Penn 17

  • Freshman midfielder David Stafford (Mattawan) – Did not see game action.

VMI 7, Richmond 6

  • Junior midfielder Andrew Erber (Dexter) – Started and took one Shot. Also committed one turnover.

Yale 14, Quinnipiac 11
Yale 10, Harvard 11 (OT)

  • Freshman midfielder John Lazarsfeld (Ann Arbor Greenhills) – Did not see game action.

Corrections, comments, discussion, and statlines from other divisions can be shared in the comments.

Posted in high school | Tagged | Comments Off on The Next Level: April 29, 2014

Scores and Schedule: April 29, 2014

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Tim

Another weekend with no time to write about lacrosse. That means a big update today…

Yesterday’s Scores

High School Boys

Ann Arbor Huron 15, Temperance Bedford 0
Vicksburg @ Battle Creek Harper Creek
Madison Heights Bishop Foley 16, Detroit Southeastern 1
Brighton 8, Hartland 5
Dexter 9, Monroe St. Mary-Catholic Central 6
Lake Orion 14, Farmington 2
Davison 23, Swartz Creek 0
Waterford @ Grand Blanc
Zeeland 15, Grandville 3
Howell @ Huron Valley-Lakeland
Mattawan 11, Portage Central 10 (OT)
Northville 16, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 3
Rochester Adams @ Oxford
Novi 13, Plymouth 6
Walled Lake Western @ Salem
South Lyon 9, Saline 6
Birmingham 8, Troy Athens 5
Warren Mott-Sterling Heights @ Utica

High School Girls

Ann Arbor Pioneer 11, Saline 4
Clarkston @ Birmingham United
Grand Rapids Catholic Central @ Caledonia
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 19, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 5
Hudsonville 8, Grandville 7
Walled Lake United @ Grand Blanc
Comstock Park @ Grand Rapids Christian
Dexter 21, Warren Regina 4
Hartland @ Huron Valley United
Portage Northern @ Kalamazoo Central
Salem 17, Farmington Hills Harrison 6
Lowell @ Northview
Plymouth @ Novi
Sacred Heart Academy @ Flint Powers
Lake Orion 8, Rochester 8
Forest Hills United @ Rockford
Canton @ South Lyon United
Farmington @ Troy Athens
Brighton @ Waterford United
Grand Haven @ Holland West Ottawa

Today’s Schedule

High School Boys

Port Huron United @ Anchor Bay Fairview
Divine Child @ Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard
Flint Powers @ Bay City Western
Clarkston @ Bloomfield Hills
Cranbrook @ Detroit Catholic Central
Forest Hills Eastern @ Caledonia
Belleville @ Chelsea
Grandville @ Comstock Park
Brother Rice @ Warren De La Salle
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s @ UD-Jesuit
St. Clair United @ Detroit Southeastern
Grand Haven @ East Grand Rapids
L’Anse Creuse North @ Grosse Pointe South
Grand Rapids Christian @ Grand Rapids Catholic Central
Spring Lake @ Holland Christian
Zeeland @ Hudsonville
Forest Hills Central @ Holland West Ottawa
East Lansing @ Lansing Waverly
Saginaw Heritage @ Lapeer West-East
Northview @ Lowell
Grand Ledge @ Okemos
Kalamazoo United @ Battle Creek Pennfield
Battle Creek Lakeview @ Portage Northern
Auburn Hills Avondale @ Rochester
Forest Hills Northern @ Rockford
Notre Dame Prep @ Royal Oak Shrine
Grand Rapids South Christian @ Muskegon Reeths-Puffer
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek @ Troy
Romeo @ Utica Eisenhower
Utica @ Utica Stevenson
Royal Oak @ West Bloomfield
Henry Ford II @ Warren Cousino
Holt @ Haslett-Williamston
Madison Heights Bishop Foley @ Warren Mott-Sterling Heights

High School Girls

Saline @ Temperance Bedford
Cranbrook-Kingswood @ Bloomfield Hills
Midland Dow @ Flint Carman-Ainsworth
Lansing Waverly @ East Lansing
Okemos @ Grand Ledge
Williamston-Haslett @ Holt
Grosse Pointe South @ Grosse Pointe University Liggett
Northville @ Ann Arbor Skyline

Corrections, omissions, etc. always appreciated in the comments. Also use the comments for discussion of today’s action.

Posted in high school | Tagged | Comments Off on Scores and Schedule: April 29, 2014

Detroit 11, Monmouth 6

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Tim

This may just be a lopsided win against one of the country’s worst teams (which will close its inaugural campaign without a single win), but the Titans only needed a win and they got it. They also got the help they needed to extend the season.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Monmouth 2014
Monmouth Detroit
Faceoff Wins 10 Faceoff Wins 11
Clearing 12-13 Clearing 17-19
Possessions 25 Possessions 31
Goals 6 Goals 11
Offensive Efficiency .240 Offensive Efficiency .355

The slow pace of the game (the Titans’ slowest of the season by a country mile) obscures that this was something of an offensive explosion for a team that really needed one. That allowed UDM’s good-not-great defensive performance against Monmouth to be more than enough.

Of course, there was also the possession advantage by Detroit, thanks to their ability to score goals rather than give up clearing attempts. Be more efficient while winning possession, and by definition you can’t lose.

Notes

Since the Detroit EMO has been lethal this year, it’s time for me to give it top billing in a postgame. 3/3 on the day, and while that was against one of the country’s worst teams (as most of the games have been against the second-easiest slate in the nation), you can’t fault that unit for the schedule. They get it done week-in and week-out.

If you ignore a quarter-long stretch from the end of the first quarter to the end of the second quarter, Shayne Adams didn’t have a very good game. A mere one-goal, one-assist outing is not what we’ve come to expect of him. Fortunately, he scored five straight during the aforementioned stretch, giving him a huge game after all. Six of 11 Titan goals (and an assist on one more) will certainly do.

With Adams hogging all the production, only… uh… five other Titans had multi-point days. Not only was this a quietly excellent offensive performance, UDM also managed to spread the wealth. Mike Birney had two goals and two assists (and he wasn’t volume shooting , either, launching only five shots). Alex Maini and Tom Masterson each had two assists, while Scott Drummond and Brandon Beauregard had a goal and an assist apiece.

The one thing that went really poorly for Detroit was turnovers. They had 27 on the day. And 11 goals. In a game where they only had 31 possessions. There’s always a bit of room for statistical noise in the boxscore, but I can confidently state that Monmouth’s Sports Info team needs to be, like, taught how to keep stats before next season starts. They’re doing it wrong now. Coincidentally, Monmouth also had 16 caused turnovers (so probably it’s an integrity lesson, not rule interpretation lesson, that needs to be taught). Alex Maini and Mike Birney are credited with seven and six turnovers, respectively, and while they probably has a couple apiece, I’m not holding it against them when there’s simply no way the stats are right.

Defensively, Jason Weber had another excellent day – if he’s not the first-team goalie on the all-freshman team, I’ll eat my hat – and while a bit of that could be inflation of Monmouth’s shot statistics, I’m more apt to believe it. .750 (six goals allowed, 18 saves) will win you some games. He good.

In front of Weber, Chris Shevins had a very nice day with five ground balls, but UDM was only credited with two caused turnovers all day (one by Adams, one by Joe Gifford). That statistical profile – combined with Weber’s day and what I assume to be a really low talent level on Monmouth – seems to imply there was heavy implementation of zone by UDM, but since I didn’t see the game and haven’t yet bothered to ask, I can’t say for certain.

Tyler Corcoran took every faceoff, just clearing the 50% mark at 11/21. He picked up seven ground balls himself, so it was a nice day that was self-created, not endowed upon him by his wing players. With a bit of junk time (two goals were scored by the time the game was clearly decided instead of just functionally decided), I would have liked to see Damien Hicks in there to stay fresh in case he’s needed in the MAAC Tournament, but that one’s not a big deal.

Detroit didn’t ride Monmouth hard, even though the Hawks have one of the country’s worst clears. I don’t have a complaint there, because Detroit simply hasn’t been a hard-riding team this year. You do what you’ve been doing and let them mess it up for themselves, or simply allow them to stagnate when they do get to the settled offense.

Elsewhere

Detroit recap. Boxscore. Monmouth recap. Photo gallery. Weber and Adams earn weekly honors.

Up Next

The big result for Detroit was less about their own victory – basically a foregone conclusion from the outset – but more about the help they needed in order for this section to not say “crap, season’s over.” They got that help with Marist winning, creating a five-way tie(!) for second place in the conference. After many tiebreaking procedures, the Titans earned the third seed in the MAAC Tournament.

That earns them a date with Marist, the team that earned UDM a bid, and the one that the Titans beat 12-11 on the road just a couple weekends ago. The tournament is held in Poughkeepsie, so Detroit will have to beat the Red Foxes twice on their own field this season to have any hopes of extending for one more game – and a shot at the MAAC automatic bid.

Posted in division 1 | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Michigan 19, Robert Morris 10

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Tim

It feels good to be on the other side of one of these, yeah? Michigan dominated pretty much wire-to-wire, and the Wolverines end the regular season on a strong note.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Robert Morris 2014
Robert Morris Michigan
Faceoff Wins 12 Faceoff Wins 20
Clearing 15-18 Clearing 20-22
Possessions 32 Possessions 45
Goals 10 Goals 19
Offensive Efficiency .313 Offensive Efficiency .422

Michigan dominated possession with a strong effort on faceoffs and many more clearing attempts than Robert Morris (since U-M possessions ended in Wolverine goals rather than Bobby Mo clearing attempts). They also rode better.

Despite that, they still managed to win this game primarily by dominating in efficiency. As we’ll see in a moment, things could have been even uglier if they didn’t call off the dogs…

Notes

You set a single-game program record, you lead the notes section. Kyle Jackson scored five goals for the Wolverines, including four in the first half. Thomas Paras and Ian King each scored a hat trick (marking the first time that three Wolverines have done so in the first game), and Paras added a pair of assists. It was a good offensive day. David McCormack (1G, 3A) and Mikie Schlosser (2G) closed out the multi-point scorers.

For a game with 29 combined goals, it’s interesting to see seven total assists – all of them from Michigan. The Wolverines’ defense has generally been regarded as a good on-ball one with poor off-ball coverage (which would theoretically lead to a lot of assisted goals), but that wasn’t the case in this one. Neither defense was spectacular in forcing much of anything, and Michigan ate Robert Morris’s unit for lunch.

Defensively, it’s important to continue noting the season-long improvement of Robbie Zonino. The goals allowed number looks good-not-great for the pace of the game, but three RMU tallies came after the starter was taken out. The walk-on goalies combined for three saves and three goals allowed, all in the final ten minutes of the game. Zonino saw seven shots and saved seven. Given that few were assisted, you’d like to see a bit higher save percentage, but I’m not assigning blame since I missed the game.

In front of Zonino, Chris Walker (2 caused turnovers, five ground balls) and freshman Will Weichert (two caused turnovers) put up the good statlines. Mack Gembis added a caused turnover of his own, and both he and short-stick d-middie Thomas Orr picked up three ground balls.

U-M did very well on faceoffs, but the one thing that I really liked was micing up the specialists early in the game. Brad Lott started and rode out the first quarter, then after he lost the first one in the following frame, Will Biagi got a chance to perform (and after losing his first three, he won five in a row). Mixing him in before Lott starts to struggle gives both guys the confidence that they can step up in a big spot, and takes a lot of the pressure off Lott to be perfect every time out. Easing some of that pressure should help him perform in big spots. Walk-on Kevin Wylie also got some action, winning 2/3.

Michigan’s big run came in the second quarter, with a 7-1 scoring margin in that frame. U-M lost the first four faceoffs in that period, but recovered to win five straight. What helped even more was forcing two failed clears out of the Colonials on the rare occasion that Michigan didn’t score on a given possession once that run started. Though the 15/18 clearing mark for Robert Morris wasn’t bad, the timing of those fails – when Michigan was starting to dominate a stretch of faceoffs, as well – helped put this one away early.

Michigan really emptied the bench, playing 41 different guys in the game. I suspect that’s everyone who was healthy to play. That included the first career action for Andrew Simor and Charlie McPeters according to the postgame notes (why you don’t preserve the redshirt for a freshman who hasn’t made it onto the field yet is beyond me), and several depth guys seeing the field.

Elsewhere

Michigan recap. Postgame notes. Boxcscore. Photo gallery. Maize n Brew recap. Michigan Daily gamer. Robert Morris recap.

Up Next

Michigan finally knows who the opponent will be in Columbus Thursday – and it’s probably not the one they were expecting going into the weekend. Thanks to Fairfield’s two-goal win over Ohio State Saturday and a tiebreaker process between the Stags, Buckeyes, and Air Force Falcons, Michigan will face the ECAC squad it came closest to beating in a defeat.

This is the 1/4 game (and for a reason, Fairfield earned that top seed), but color me relieved to not see Ohio State – on its home field – in the first round. I do think Fairfield will come out looking to prove that the one-goal win in Michigan Stadium April 5 was an anomaly, but U-M knows these guys are beatable. If certain things (such as faceoffs) had tilted Michigan’s way, it could have been a win.

Look for a full preview later this week.

Posted in division 1 | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Scores and Schedule: April 28, 2014

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Tim

Another weekend with no time to write about lacrosse. That means a big update today…

Wednesday’s Scores

Division-3 Men

Hope 23, Calvin 3
Albion 22, Alma 4

High School Boys

Ann Arbor Huron 12, Chelsea 6
Ann Arbor Pioneer 13, Ypsilanti Lincoln 6
Ann Arbor Skyline 17, Dexter 6
Troy 14, Auburn Hills Avondale 0
Detroit Country Day 21, Cranbrook 14
Warren De La Salle 11, UD-Jesuit 9
Holt 13, Grand Ledge 4
Howell 13, Grand Blanc 5
Okemos 17, Columbus (Ohio) St. Charles 9
Spring Lake 9, Lowell 4
Saline 13, Novi 6
Swartz Creek 10, Bay City Central 1
Flint Powers 9, Tecumseh 8
Utica Stevenson 15, Warren Cousino 7
Huron Valley-Lakeland 12, Walled Lake Central 6
Brighton 11, Walled Lake Northern 4
Hartland 15, Waterford 3

High School Girls

Ann Arbor Pioneer 13, Bloomfield Hills 12
Dexter 12, West Bloomfield 8
East Grand Rapids 19, Forest Hills United 6
Troy 20, Farmington 7
Grand Rapids Christian 21, Grand Haven 8
Hartland 15, Brighton 14
Grand Blanc 13, Huron Valley United 12
Mattawan United 11, Battle Creek Harper Creek 7
Flint Powers 16, Oxford 6
Rockford 16, Caledonia 15 (2OT)
Troy Athens 15, Lake Orion 7
Waterford United 12, Walled Lake United 10
Lowell 13, Holland West Ottawa 9
Grandville @ Northview
Harrison @ Novi

Thursday’s Scores

Division-3 Women

Adrian 20, Trine 0
Alma 16, Calvin 14
Albion 16, St. Mary’s (Ind.) 6

High School Boys

Battle Creek Harper Creek 12, Battle Creek Lakeview 11
Bay City Western 12, Bay City Central 3
Bloomfield Hills 9, Farmington 6
Grand Rapids Catholic Central 13, Caledonia 5
Comstock Park 14, Grand Rapids South Christian 3
DeWitt 6, Lansing Waverly 3
Okemos 17, East Lansing 4
Midland 15, Davison 6
Holland Christian 10, Forest Hill Eastern 6
Flint Powers 17, Saginaw Heritage 5
Grosse Pointe South 8, Romeo 4
Forest Hills Northern 19, Grand Haven 5
Hudsonville 6, Grandville 5
Holt 5, Columbus (Ohio) St. Charles 10
East Grand Rapids 10, Holland West Ottawa 7
L’Anse Creuse North 11, L’Anse Creuse 8
Mattawan 11, Battle Creek Pennfield 10
Grand Rapids Christian 5, Northview 3
Oxford 11, Auburn Hills Avondale 1
Portage Northern 8, Holland 2
Rochester 12, Farmington North-Harrison 2
Portage Central 10, Rockford 9
Royal Oak 10, Henry Ford II 5
Vicksburg 22, Kalamazoo United 7
Rochester Adams 17, West Bloomfield 5
Haslett-Williamston 10, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 8
Warren Mott-Sterling Heights 14, Anchor Bay Fairview 2
Zeeland 15, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 1
Utica @ Port Huron United

High School Girls

Flint Powers 13, Grand Blanc 9
Holt 12, Grand Ledge 2
Walled Lake United 14, Huron Valley United 4
Okemos 16, East Lansing 2
Williamston-Haslett 14, Ann Arbor Skyline 7
South Lyon United, Harrison 2
DeWitt 15, Lansing Waverly 9
Saline @ Ann Abor Huron
Flushing @ Midland Dow
Clarkston @ Rochester Hills Stoney Creek

Friday’s Scores

Division-2 Women

Grand Valley State 18, Urbana 0

High School Boys

Brother Rice 10, Hill Academy (Ont.) 14
Ann Arbor Skyline 8, Brighton 6
Chelsea 9, Kalamazoo United 3
Clarkston 18, St. Andrew’s College (Ont.) 11
Detroit Country Day 8, Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier 9
Detroit Catholic Central 8, Culver (Ind.) Academy 25
Portage Central 5, DeWitt 4 (OT)
Ann Arbor Greenhills 7, Dexter 6
Grand Blanc 13, Davison 12 (OT)
Grandville 6, Northview 5
Tecumseh 17, Ypsilanti Lincoln 0
West Bloomfield 10, Lapeer West-East 3
Midland 14, Lake Orion 3
Birgmingham 6, Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller 12
Novi 11, Ann Arbor Pioneer 4
Troy Athens 3, St. Michael’s College (Ont.) 9
Walled Lake Central 10, Walled Lake Western 6
Warren Mott-Sterling Heights 14, Port Huron United 8
Rochester Adams 18, Waterford 5
East Lansing @ Swartz Creek
L’Anse Creuse @ Utica

High School Girls

Rochester Adams 14, Rochester 10
Grand Rapids Christian 1, Comstock Park 0
East Grand Rapids 5, Wilmette (Ill.) New Trier 16
Dexter 17, Grosse Pointe University Liggett 9
Hudsonville 2, Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn 19
Hartland 19, Waterford United 7
Mattawan United 16, Waterford United 6

Saturday’s Scores

Division-1 Men

Michigan 19, Robert Morris 10
Detroit 11, Monmouth 6

Division-1 Women

Michigan 19, Fresno State 6
Detroit 17, Kennesaw State 7

Division-3 Men

Alma 8, Transylvania 13
Hope 14, Trine 11
Olivet 21, Calvin 7
Adrian 17, Albion 14

Division-3 Women

Adrian 25, Albion 5
Calvin 20, Kalamazoo 12
Alma 24, St. Mary’s (Ind.) 6

Collegiate Club Men

Michigan State 11, Pitt 7
Grand Valley State 19, Lourdes 5
Siena Heights 11, Lawrence Tech 10 (OT)
Aquinas 9, Dayton 17

High School Boys

Ann Arbor Huron 9, Ann Arbor Greenhills 1
Cranbrook 12, St. Michael’s College (Ont.) 15
Comstock Park 9, Grand Ledge 8
Birmingham 4, Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier 21
Forest Hills Northern 10, UD-Jesuit 7
East Lansing 8, Saginaw Heritage 3
South Lyon 21, Farmington North-Harrison 4
Hartland 8, Flint Powers 6
Forest Hills Central 12, Wilmette (Ill.) New Trier 6
Zeeland 14, Grand Rapids Christian 8
Grosse Pointe South 16, Grosse Pointe University Liggett 5
Grand Haven 8, Spring Lake 5
Holland West Ottawa 10, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 5
Caledonia 15, Holland 5
Bay City Western 8, Houghton Lake 2
Portage Northern 12, Hudsonville 5
Howell 13, Lansing Waverly 7
Detroit Country Day 8, Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller 9
Mattawan 15, Vicksburg 4
Northville 10, Rockford 7
Oxford 10, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 9 (2OT)
Midland 11, Petoskey 9
Troy 14, Rochester 2
L’Anse Creuse North 12, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 4
Farmington 10, Salem 9 (3OT)
St. Clair United 11, Anchor Bay Fairview 6
Detroit Catholic Central 19, South Bend (Ind.) St. Joseph 8
Bay City Western 7, Traverse City West 0
Tecumseh 13, Battle Creek Pennfield 7
Troy Athens 12, St. Andrew’s College (Ont.) 6
Utica Eisenhower 10, Warren De La Salle 9 (OT)
Walled Lake Northern 5, Walled Lake Central 4
Haslett-Williamston 7, Columbus (Ohio) St. Charles 6

High School Girls

Ann Arbor Pioneer 13, Nichols School 8
Forest Hills United 7, Hartland (Wisc.) Arrowhead 8
Grand Rapids Catholic Central 8, Hartland (Wisc.) Arrowhead 5
Birmingham 11, Nichols School 8
Bloomfield Hills Lahser 9, Indianapolis (Ind.) Brebeuf 4
Brighton 2, Wilmette (Ill.) New Trier 20
Grand Rapids Catholic Central 8, Flint Powers 3
Grand Rapids Catholic Central 8, South Lyon United 4
Cranbrook-Kingswood 13, Barrington (Ill.) 12
Cranbrook-Kingswood 12, Culver (Ind.) Academy 11
Saginaw Heritage 11, Grand Ledge 9
Caledonia 9, Hinsdale (Ill.) Central 20
Okemos 6, Hinsdale (Ill.) Central 16
Lake Orion 10, Grosse Pointe University Liggett 8
Forest Hills United 13, Mattawan United 7
Okemos 9, Caledonia 7
Holt 9, Portage Northern 8
Flint Powers 12, South Lyon United 6
Rockford 8, Wilmette (Ill.) New Trier 8
Rockford 22, Brighton 11
East Lansing 13, Ann Arbor Skyline 9
Bloomfield Hills 15, Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius 11
Troy Athens 17, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 9

Yesterday’s Scores

Division-2 Women

Grand Valley State 17, Wheeling Jesuit 5

Division-3 Women

Olivet 15, Kalamazoo 10

Collegiate Club Men

Michigan State 15, Connecticut 9
Western Michigan 12, Toledo 9

High School Boys

Clarkston 12, St. Michael’s College (Ont.) 11 (OT)
Petoskey 16, Bay City Western 2

High School Girls

Bloomfield Hills 10, Cranbrook-Kingswood 9

Today’s Schedule

High School Boys

Temperance Bedford @ Ann Arbor Huron
Vicksburg @ Battle Creek Harper Creek
Detroit Southeastern @ Madison Heights Bishop Foley
Hartland @ Brighton
Monroe St. Mary-Catholic Central @ Dexter
Ann Arbor Greenhills @ East Lansing
Swartz Creek @ Davison
Waterford @ Grand Blanc
Zeeland @ Grandville
Howell @ Huron Valley-Lakeland
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard @ Northville
Rochester Adams @ Oxford
Novi @ Plymouth
Walled Lake Western @ Salem
Saline @ South Lyon
Warren Mott-Sterling Heights @ Utica

High School Girls

Saline @ Ann Arbor Pioneer
Clarkston @ Birmingham United
Grand Rapids Catholic Central @ Caledonia
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep @ Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard
Hudsonville @ Grandville
Walled Lake United @ Grand Blanc
Comstock Park @ Grand Rapids Christian
Dexter @ Warren Regina
Hartland @ Huron Valley United
Portage Northern @ Kalamazoo Central
Salem @ Farmington Hills Harrison
Lowell @ Northview
Plymouth @ Novi
Sacred Heart Academy @ Flint Powers
Lake Orion @ Rochester
Forest Hills United @ Rockford
Canton @ South Lyon United
Farmington @ Troy Athens
Brighton @ Waterford United
Grand Haven @ Holland West Ottawa

Corrections, omissions, etc. always appreciated in the comments. Also use the comments for discussion of today’s action.

Posted in division 1, division 2, division 3, high school, mcla, wcla | Tagged | 1 Comment

Detroit 8, Siena 9 (OT)

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Tim

As I did with Michigan earlier, giving this just a brief look, since the game is nearly two weeks old. Unlike Michigan’s last two games, this one and the loss to Manhattan Saturday had pretty different characteristics.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Siena 2014
Siena Detroit
Faceoff Wins 12 Faceoff Wins 9
Clearing 15-18 Clearing 15-17
Possessions 32 Possessions 29
Goals 9 Goals 8
Offensive Efficiency .281 Offensive Efficiency .276

This game was very close in possession and efficiency, and that’s no surprise for a contest that was decided on literally the last possession (as all overtimes do, by definition). Detroit was a little worse on draws, but made it up with slightly more success riding.

The teams were about dead even until overtime, when Siena got the final faceoff and turned it into the game-winning goal.

Notes

UDM mixed things up on faceoffs, giving both Damien Hicks (8/15) and Tyler Corcoran (1/5) a go. They both have their share of success and failure, and this time was Hicks’ chance to outshine Corcoran. They’re approximately equal overall from the observer’s point of view (though the stats say Hicks is better), and I’d say the primary difference between them is explained away by randomness and the mediocre wing play that affects them both.

UDM was very clean in the turnover department in this one (serving to make the following game – against a much worse defense – even more frustrating), and they were a bit more accurate than usual in their shooting. Those two factors together can partially explain sticking with a team that probably matches up better across most positions on the field.

Another explanation for that? Jason Weber might be one of the country’s best goalies. Detroit’s defense is struggling a bit in front of him, but he’s putting together ridiculous performance after ridiculous performance. UDM is touting him for leading the NCAA in a couple key statistical areas (though “most saves per game” is not a good thing, in fact it’s sort of an indictment of the rest of your defense. Save percentage is) and it’s with good reason.

Every offensive starter for the Titans recorded exactly two points, which is a balance that we don’t usually see out of the UDM offense. Shayne Adams and Scott Drummond had two goals, Alex Maini had two assists (and only one turnover), and Tom Masterson, Brandon Beauregard, and Mike Birney all had one of each.

The flow of this game was very good. Detroit got the scoring started midway through the first quarter, and neither team ever led by more than two goals. It was back-and-forth action with ties at every score between 1 and 9 except six (Siena took that game’s only two-goal lead at 7-5 to start the fourth quarter, before three straight by the Titans).

Games like this show that UDM is right there with the best of the conference, and it’s unfortunate that they had to follow it with a clunker like the one against Manhattan Saturday. That takes their destiny for the MAAC Tournament out of their own hands… about which more tomorrow.

Elsewhere

Boxscore. UDM recap. Photos. Postgame interview with coach Matt Holtz. Siena recap.

Posted in division 1 | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Detroit 8, Siena 9 (OT)

Michigan 6, Ohio State 15

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Tim

For the sake of completeness, recapping this game. A couple notes: since I’m writing this after another game, I’m going to keep the notes short and to the point – the color provided by the Yale outcome/gameplay might affect thoughts on the OSU game otherwise. I also didn’t watch this game in its entirety until after knowing the outcome (I was at the UDM/Siena game live), so the thoughts might be affected by that as well.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Ohio State 2014
Michigan Ohio State
Faceoff Wins 9 Faceoff Wins 16
Clearing 14-18 Clearing 13-15
Possessions 29 Possessions 35
Goals 6 Goals 15
Offensive Efficiency .207 Offensive Efficiency .429

Ohio State controlled possession by winning faceoffs and riding Michigan about as well as anyone has all year. The efficiency difference is stark, even despite Michigan’s possession deficit.

Both factors were part of a tale of two halves, however. Possession and efficiency were pretty even before the break, then the Buckeyes dominated the third and fourth quarters.

Notes

About that. The first half looked like this: Score (6-6). Possession (17-16 in favor of Ohio State). Efficiency (.375-.353 in favor of Michigan). After the break, Michigan clearly didn’t score once, meaning their efficiency for that half was a nice ol’ zero. Possession was part of that, with 13 Wolverine possessions (four of which resulted in nothing more than a failed clear) compared to 18 for the Buckeyes.

So, let’s look at the first half. Michigan took a 5-2 lead, and led 6-5 just before the half. That means Ohio State went on a 13-1 run to end the game, including the final ten in a row. Times were happier in those first two quarters. David Joseph had two Michigan goals, Ian King, Mikie Schlosser, Kyle Jackson, and Riley Kennedy all had a single score, and Mike Francia had an assist (the only for Michigan all game, on King’s game-opening goal).

Rewatching the game – possible because it was aired on BTN and will live in perpetuity (or until after I write this post) on my DVR – I think I’ve figured out part of Michigan’s struggle to score after the opening burst. They were shooting off-side low time and again early in the game, which clearly was their scout on Ohio State goalie Scott Spencer. He started cheating toward that, and Michigan didn’t adjust until too late, by which time the game was out of reach and the Buckeyes were cruising.

Ohio State has a lot of talent on offense, but Jesse King’s five goals and an assist – along with all three starting attackmen notching at least three points – speaks to something that John Paul said after the Yale game (here I go, breaking my on rule from the top of the post): this is still a Michigan team that is poor playing off-ball, particularly to take away the inside. Opponents, especially very talented ones, can find openings.

On that note, Robbie Zonino’s numbers were not great, but I didn’t think he had a poor day (aside from a soft goal or two, but he also robbed one or two that should have gone in). He made 15 saves in the contest despite Ohio State’s 15 goals – he was getting peppered all game.

Faceoffs were an adventure – as they have been through much of the back half of the season. There are certainly times that Michigan is playing to take away transition with winning the draw as its secondary goal, but not enough times that 9/23 looks anything but poor for Brad Lott. It does seem like he gets called for moving early at the beginning of a game, then tightens up. This leads to more possession for the opponent and a Michigan deficit, and the pressure to succeed there just becomes too much. More than anything, one good game should help him get back on track. It’s just a matter of waiting for that game to happen.

This game obviously turned out to have a poor final result, but in the big picture, it did show that Michigan is capable of competing with a team like Ohio State, if only for a half. How relevant that is when games are 60 whole minutes is up for debate, but clearly progress is being made.

Elsewhere

Michigan recap. Boxscore. Photo gallery. Ohio State recap. You can rewatch the whole dang thing if you subscribe to BTN2Go. Michigan Daily gamer. Maize n Brew recap.

Posted in division 1 | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Michigan 6, Ohio State 15