Detroit is living on the edge, winning seemingly every game by a single goal. At the very least, the MAAC standings see a win as a win, nothing more or less (though the advanced metrics probably wouldn’t look too kindly on the resume).
Tempo Free
From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:
| Siena 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | Siena | ||
| Faceoff Wins | 15 | Faceoff Wins | 14 |
| Clearing | 17-19 | Clearing | 16-17 |
| Possessions | 35 | Possessions | 33 |
| Goals | 14 | Goals | 13 |
| Offensive Efficiency | .400 | Offensive Efficiency | .394 |
The teams were about dead even in every way. Detroit won an extra faceoff, had an extra couple clearing opportunities, and scored an extra goal. Therefore, they won. Of course, delving deeper into it, things hardly played out evenly.
Notes
Lacrosse is a game of runs, yes, but this was an even more extreme example. We’ve routinely seen UDM fall behind early in games, only to claw back for the late win (I even wrote about it last week). They’re sustaining it, but… it’s unsustainable. Detroit needs to show up ready to play from the beginning of the game to reach the NCAA Tournament. They aren’t going to give up the first five goals of the game twice in the MAAC Championships and still win. It’s really that simple.
So anyway, they did just that Saturday, and managed once again to pull their feet from the fire. Siena played a big part in helping out: four of 14 Titan goals came with the man advantage (and they had two more EMO chances without capitalizing, at the very least wearing down the Saints’ D). If you have a four-goal lead late in the third quarter and give up three straight extra-man goals, you deserve to lose.
Greg Marzec started the game on faceoffs, and really struggled, going 2/8. Damien Hicks entered and had a pretty dominant 13/21 outing. Hicks picked up three ground balls, as well.
This game seems like it was ludicrously fast – and even looking at the stats, I’m like “yeah, that’s a fast game” – but just 68 possessions really isn’t that impressive from a sheer volume standpoint. Still, the pace going faster (though most of that pace was in the first half) aids a comeback attempt.
Plenty of offensive heroes in a high-scoring game. Mark Anstead scored two goals and added three assists for a five-point game. Scott Drummond scored four goals on seven shots. Shayne Adams had two goals and an assist, and Brandon Beauregard notched three total assists. UDM assisted on nine of 14 goals.
Not the greatest game for goalie Jason Weber, who let in 13 goals while saving just ten shots. Not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, but not really up to his typical standards. He did face a ton of action early in the contest (five goals against and four saves in the first quarter, with four goals and two saves in each of the following two), and once the rate of shooting slowed down, he was a bit more dialed in. He shut out Siena in the fourth quarter with two saves, and Detroit needed both of them to secure the win in regulation.
Chris Shevins earned a start and got Detroit its best longpole performance, causing two turnovers and picking up two ground ball (though he committed one turnover as well).
Elsewhere
Boxscore. Detroit recap. Highlights. Mark Anstead continued his MAAC weekly honors train. Siena recap.
Up Next
The Titans close the season at home against Canisius Saturday. I’d have to break down every tiebreaker scenario, but I believe they’re in the MAAC Tournament, win or lose. It would take a convoluted path (they have tiebreakers over two of the teams right behind them in the standings, and only Canisius would alter that).
Regardless, Canisius is a back-of-the-pack team in the league this year, so a home game should be very winnable for UDM, locking up the No. 3 seed (and a first-round game against Quinnipiac) in the league tourney.
Game takes place at 2 p.m. at Titan Field.