A pair of scrimmages for a pair of Division-1 teams (other levels are a little tougher to find information – if you have some, share it in the comments).
Michigan – Nick Colleluori Classic (official preview), Folsom, Pa.
- 9 a.m. – Marist. GLS Preview.
- 10:30 a.m. – Mount St. Mary’s. GLS Preview.
Detroit – Playing for Peace Catholic Showcase (official preview), Chicago
- 8:30 a.m. CST – Bellarmine. GLS Preview.
- 11:30 a.m. CST – Notre Dame. GLS Preview.
Comment on the games on this post. The preview links above include coverage information, as well.
Great weekend for lacrosse in Chicago. Great venue, good competition and good results for UDM.
Game 1: They jumped on Bellarmine early and were up 5-1 at one point and still held on to win even though they emptied the bench playing all 4 goalies and all the freshmen. I think this is the best the offense has looked in a while w/ most of the goals coming off assists. Alex Maini was the man w/ 3 goals (all off the same move too). They’ll miss Matthews, but I think the attack might be better this year and more guys will step up.
Freshmen: A few guys looked really good including Freshman Mike Spuller that proved he can score at this level. He took a lot of crap and people said his production was a result of his competition. Not so. The kid an play. Other freshmen that looked good were Andy Hebden and Jack Slomsky who I’m pretty sure each notched at least 1 goal in the weekend and defensemen Jordon Yono and Chris Donohue. Yono didn’t look like a freshman out there. He’s got size, instinct and fit right in. At the faceoff X freshman Ryan Tarzia did really well.
FOGO: Tarzia and Davenport held their own and showed great improvement. The new volunteer admin/assistant Nick Zoroya’s impact is already obvious in the help he’s giving the FOGO’s. Corcoran wasn’t able to play because he was back home taking the LSAT, but talking to the coaches they seem to think that these 3 can really make strides this year as long as they get good wing play. They rotated a ton of guys on the wing so it was inconsistent, but expect them to settle on a rotation come spring.
ND: The ND game was a battle too, but I think ND’s depth was more on display here. UDM had a few freshmen that just looked like it on scoring plays for ND. Jamie Hebden was well…Jamie Hebden. Huge play on their top guy w/ a few great takeaway/GB/Clears that we’ve come to expect out of him. A HUGE hit on an ND player getting a shot off from 15 yards out. Kelly made the save and Hebden burried the shooter. Nice individual performances from Adams and Beuregard too. Nice gritty goal from Beaner and great power to finesse finish from X by Bo.
Goalie Play: Kelly probably played the best in the 1st quarter against ND w/ some huge saves. Damie had the 2nd and had a couple really nice acrobatic saves. 3rd quarter went to AJ and he let in some goals I don’t think he normally would, but he’s still the #1 guy and had some really young and inexperienced guys playing in front of him in the 3rd. Flynn played cleanup and get some good D1 action for the first time. He’s raw, but very talented. I hope he redshirts this year as he’ll be challenging for the starting job in a year of 2.
Things they need to work on: clears, wing play of faceoffs, getting used to the new rules. The game is fast. Much quicker w/ no horns, quicker restarts and the bigger sub box. There were some brain fart moments w/ the new rules and new coach running the box, but I think Graham Adams and Karl Zimmerman are upgrades and this is the best coaching staff they’ve had in 5 years at UDM. Speaking of coaches, good to see Matt Karweck back and joking around w/ his former players as they did service projects together.
Other odds and ends: Good to see Tim Robertson healthy and playing again. He’ll be a difference maker to step up and replace Janner as the SSDM that runs w/ Garippa. No rust on him as he looked great. Birney is bigger and understands the offense better. I expect to see him make a leap this year. Scotty Drummond and Troy Dennis will get a lot of PT w/ him and Nemmes on offense. Now we just need to see which freshmen take the lead in the spring.
Anyone have the (informal) results for Michigan?
They lost to Mount St. Mary’s 19-10. I believe the Marist score was 16-9, also a loss.
Pretty close to what you predicted I think Tim. This team is so young, and it sounds like pretty banged up right now too, that I would have been shocked to see them winning in the fall. They are probably still two or three years away from being really competitive. I expect them to be much improved this spring, but like most young teams they will be very inconsistent. This will be the kind of team that could pull off an upset, but will also have a couple of really bad losses.
Both UDM as well as UofM’s performances in Fall Ball scrimmages bode well for their respective programs.
UDM beating a comparable team, while making a respectable showing against a Top 10 team, shows that the Titans are back on track after last year’s setback…and coming into form as a program.
UofM had 20 freshmen (half of the team) step into their first D1 competition, and make a respectable showing. Look for bigger and better things from this class (and their returning teammates) in the Spring…and more importantly, in the next few years.
Generally agree, but you can only take so much from fall scrimmages. So many questions you don’t have answers to. Is team young? How is leadership developing? Injuries? Scrimmage strategy (play a lot of guys or just a few)? Has team changed tactics dramatically or trying new things? Has team been focused on skills or strategy in the short time they’ve been practicing? Witness Princeton’s drubbing of Virginia this weekend. Princeton can compete with UVA, but what are the odds of them beating the Hoos, much less smoking them, in the regular season?
Reg- you said some great things about the u of d boys but, about 60% of what you said was completely wrong.