Michigan played Mount St. Mary’s during the regular season last year – a pretty disappointing loss – so I’ve already previewed them before.
Mount St. Mary’s
I hope they have an anthropomorphized mountain roaming the sidelines.
10:30 a.m. EST Oct. 6, 2012
Ridley High School, Folsom, Pa.
Live Stream. @UmichLacrosse.
2012
6-9 (2-3 Northeast). #40 Laxpower, #42 Tempo-Free.
Tempo-Free Profile
Raw numbers from last year and the strength-of-schedule adjusted numbers come from the Tempo-Free database.
| Mount St. Mary’s | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount St Mary’s | Opponents | ||
| Faceoff Wins | 183 | Faceoff Wins | 190 |
| Clearing | 160-209 | Clearing | 166-205 |
| Possessions | 431 | Possessions | 444 |
| Goals | 155 | Goals | 167 |
| Offensive Efficiency | .360 | Offensive Efficiency | .376 |
The Mount was slooooow last year: slowest in the country, in fact. They were about even in terms of possession (finishing just slightly behind).
Their offense was quite good – odd, given their horrifically bad clear – but their defense was awful, ahead of just Mercer and Wagner. That’s not company you want to be keeping.
The full profile, via TempoFreeLax.com:
Offense
The Mount’s offense was good last season, and a few stars helped them reach that level of success. Attacks Andrew Scalley (29G, 24A) and Brett Schmidt (29G, 19A) were both high-scoring both through goals of their own and setting things up for teammates. They’re seniors this fall (Schmidt a fifth-year), and were first- and second-team All-NEC last spring.
Schmidt’s twin brother Bryant, also a fifth-year senior this spring, also finished with 29 goals, but the midfielder didn’t have nearly as many assists as his attackman teammates. That didn’t prevent him from earning first-team all-conference honors along with Scalley.
After departed No. 4 scorer Christian Kellett (an attackman who was more finisher than feeder), the No. 5 and 6 scorers both return. Midfielder Anthony Stranix is a physically imposing 6-4, 205-pound midfielder who is a senior this fall after putting up 16 goals and nine assists in the spring. Attack/midfielder Anthony Golden – yet another fifth-year senior – will probably draw into the starting attack as Detroit-Jesuit alum Connor Carey moves into the starting midfield.
That’s three seniors and three fifth-year seniors in the potential starting lineup for the Mount. They should be a well-oiled machine offensively, and reach their peak potential this year before they really fall off in 2014.
Defense
The losses on defense are a little more pronounced, which is to say “existent.” This defense was not predicated on causing turnovers last year, and the leading player in that category – Detroit-Jesuit alum Brendan Rooney – departs. However, unlike Rooney, returning long-poles Kevin Downs (now a senior) and Kyle O’Brien (a sophomore) were named all-conference, with a second-team and a third-team nod, respectively.
O’Brien earned that nod despite only starting three games, and will move into Rooney’s spot in the lineup. That’s as good as a returning starter in my mind, and Downs (who actually started) and Shane Pierce, who was second on the team in caused turnovers, also returns to the starting lineup. Starting LSM Jon Anderson is now a senior, as well.
In goal, now-junior Chris Klaiber played all but about one entire game for The Mount over the course of the season, allowing a poor 11.57 goals per game – well outside the top 40 in the country – and only saved .449 of shots faced. That’s really bad, and probably the biggest weakness for what otherwise appears to be a really strong MSM team.
Special Teams
Detroit-Jesuit alum Jon Marselese was The Guy on faceoffs for Mount St. Mary’s last year, and was in the top 35 in the country. That’s impressive and he’ll have one more chance as a senior to continue improving on those numbers.
The Mount’s clear was really bad and ride quite good. Lots of transition at play in their games, and with the new substitution rules, that could be amplified (alternatively, it could mean that their pace no longer stands out in a faster game across the country).
Big Picture
If Mount St. Mary’s hadn’t been such a bad team last year – No. 42 in the nation according to the tempo-free numbers – I would predict them to be among the country’s top squads this year. Six seniors starting on offense, two returning all-conference defenders, and a pretty good performance in the possession game (also assuming a slightly better clear with more experience).
However, they were pretty bad last year, and there are still some question marks, particularly between the pipes. If Klaiber can improve going into his third year in the program, or if freshman Will Rego can be a more consistent performer, there’s pretty good potential out of this squad.
Of course, next year should be awful, with pretty much the entire roster departing.
Predictions
A bad Mount St. Mary’s team pasted Michigan in The Big House last fall. Although Michigan should be better, I think the upperclassman experience of this Mount team gives them potential to improve almost as much.
They’ll be better on faceoffs, and able to control things in their own offensive end. Michigan will see multiple keepers as The Mount tries to fill the last remaining question mark in their starting lineup. Expect MSM to build an early lead, and roll through their depth.
Michigan goes down in their live-streamed game, 17-7.