Michigan Preview: Ohio State

Posted on April 12, 2015 by Tim

The Buckeyes started the year very poorly, but have rounded into form over its course (with a 9-0 hiccup here or there). This should be a test for the Wolverines, but one they can pass with a strong game.

Ohio State

Ohio State Buckeyes Lacrosse

A nut with a body. And a lacrosse stick.

April 12, 2015, 2 p.m. EST
Michigan Stadium
ESPNU/ESPN3
Live stats.
@UmichLacrosse.
Michigan preview.
Ohio State preview. .pdf notes.

Tempo-Free Profile

The TempoFreeLax.com numbers are out of date, thanks to the NCAA’s hilarious inability to be good at literally anything (well, litigation, I guess) shutting down the ability to pull the stats. The raw numbers are still here:

Ohio State 2015
Pace 56.33
Poss% 53.99
Off. Eff. 31.23
Def. Eff. 30.23

Inconsistency aside, Ohio State has been a very good team this year. They are strong on the possession game (and play few possessions, preventing opposing offenses from getting in a groove).

They also have a pretty good offense, and it’s not one that’s built up its numbers against bums: They’ve beaten Denver and Johns Hopkins by scoring 13 and 15 goals, respectively. They also got shut out against Notre Dame, so… inconsistency. Yeah.

On defense, the Buckeyes have really struggled. They lost to Detroit in a really slow game (a typically mediocre UDM offense reached .300 against them). They needed just about every goal against Denver and Hopkins to win.

OSU is Vulnerable, but they have certainly shown the potential to become an elite team. Opening loss to Detroit and the shutout against Notre Dame make the big picture seem a little uglier than it probably is.

Offense

OSU’s offense was not super-good to start the year (and the Notre Dame hiccup was just a couple weeks ago, so they’re clearly prone to falling back into that rut – though nobody’s confusing Michigan’s defense with Notre Dame’s). However, they’ve picked things up in the grand scheme.

It should come as no surprise that Jesse King is the straw the stirs the drink. The Canadian senior midfielder leads OSU in both goals (29) and assists (17). If you can shut down King, the rest of the Ohio State offense has a hard time picking things up around him. It’s a potentially dangerous strategy with junior attack Carter Brown (24 goals, 13 assists) and senior midfielder David Planning (11 goals, 12 assists) also on the field, but it’s one that Detroit rode to success, and is probably worth the risk, at least for parts of the contest.

The other threats are junior attack Ryan Hunter – a finisher with 11 goals and three assists – senior midfielder Turner Evans (six and six), and freshman attack Connor Chell. I’m letting those guys try to beat me while getting King out of the game and trying to limit the damage of Brown and Planning.

The Buckeyes have shown struggles trying to compensate for a King that isn’t strongly in the game, and letting OSU try from the outside with Gerald Logan between the pipes is a viable strategy.

Defense

The Buckeyes have built their recent reputation on being a strong defense, but it’s just not the case this season. They’ve limited goals allowed by playing a few dogs and primarily keeping a slow pace of play, but they’re not the solid stopping unit they were in the recent past.

Redshirt sophomore Tom Carey has been the main man between the pipes, and he actually has a pretty good save percentage at .555. He’s not lighting the world on fire, but it’s been enough to get the wins.

Junior Robbie Haus has been the only every-game starter on close D, and he’s the defensive side of the ball’s GB leader with 20. He’s also caused eight turnovers on the season, not a huge number for a Buckeye defense that is more prone to letting the opponents get off bad shots that putting their goalie in a vulnerable position. Senior Evan Mulchrone is more of a dangerman, with 13 CTs on the year. He’s played in all 12 games as an LSM, starting seven.

Junior Chris Mahoney has started all nine games in which he’s played, missing the first two contests and the close win against Bellarmine completely. The Buckeyes are clearly a much better defense with him. Freshman Brandon Barger has also gotten into the mix.

The Michigan offense is better with sophomore attack Ian King in the lineup, and the Cincinnati native might play with an additional chip on his shoulder against his home-state team. The U-M offense will need to be well-rounded to see success, but there will be opportunities. Beating the Buckeyes’ season average of 1.1 shots against per possession will be a key.

Special Teams

Senior Chris May has been outstanding on facoffs, winning .647 on the season. He’s Patrick McEwen’s No. 7 specialist in the nation. With Michigan’s struggles on the draw this year, look for mixing of personnel to find the right combination. The changes to the faceoff rules seem to have worked against Brad Lott’s style of play, but Michael McDonnell has been able to spell him adequately, and LSM Chase Brown is capable of getting in to muck things up. If U-M can keep this phase of the game to a 60/40 loss, they’ll be within striking distance. Whether they can… is a little more questionable.

Ohio State is a pretty good clearing team, gaining the offensive box on .883 of attempts. That’s No. 14 nationally, albeit against some teams that aren’t very good (Robert Morris) or are good but don’t emphasize the ride (Denver). Michigan’s ability to bring that percentage down can help them make up some ground in the possession game that they’re likely to cede at the dot.

Coming the other way, the Buckeyes are a decent riding team, but nothing special. Michigan has gone in fits and starts of being a very good clearing team and having some struggles. Whichever Michigan team shows up in that regard will tell a big part of the story of this game. U-M must make the most of its possessions.

Ohio State doesn’t commit many penalties, but opponents have committed a ton against them. They’re also decent at converting, finishing 12 of 43 EMO opportunities this season. The man-down D is also good. Playing 6v6 and not putting the defense in bad positions is another key for Michigan. Fortunately, the Wolverines are in the fourth year of being a very clean team (one game against Jacksonville with hilariously poor officiating notwithstanding), so it should be a break-even there.

Big Picture

It’s Michigan’s goal to make it to the Big Ten Tournament this year, and currently sitting fourth in the standings at 1-1 (the Buckeyes are tied at the top at 2-0), they need every win they can get. One against a team that’s likely to be somewhere in the 2-4 range also provide tiebreaker opportunities.

The Maize and Blue have played the best team in the league and the worst (Maryland and Rutgers, respectively, and neither with much competition for that mantle), and achieved the results expected of them in those situations. Going 2-1 against the remaining three teams – Ohio State, Johns Hopkins, and Penn State – might be a lot to ask, but it’s what will be necessary to guarantee entry to the tournament. 1-2 might be enough in certain situations.

If I had to guess today, I would say Michigan steals one of the next three and finishes as the No. 5 team in the league (narrowly missing the tournament), but a win today would go a long way toward surpassing that finish.

Predictions

Ohio State is a real enigma. They’ve shown that they can be really good against good teams (Denver), really bad against good teams (Notre Dame), and somewhere in between against a lot of others. A loss to Detroit is probably not in line with their hopes, either.

  • Michigan comes out with a plan to limit Jesse King, and they’re successful for a quarter or two. However, he breaks through after the break, and U-M just doesn’t have the manpower to keep him in check the whole contest.
  • Gerald Logan wins the battle of the goalkeepers, albeit facing significantly more opportunities to shine. He’ll face some rubber, and do the standard Gerald Logan thing to keep the back of his net clean.
  • Ohio State has a very good day in possession (and that’s probably enough to swing it on a day where the offensive efficiencies will be pretty even). They’re too good on faceoffs for this Michigan team, and they’ll do enough in the ride/clear phase to solidify that advantage.
  • Ian King has a very nice day – he changes the Michigan offense when he’s in the lineup, as we’ve seen in his absence – though some of it might not show up on the scoreboard against a strong Buckeyes D.

Michigan comes close in this one. The Buckeyes have top-end potential, but they’re also capable of laying clunkers. Michigan has never beaten them, and the rivalry factor makes that burn a little more. Things could go either way, but OSU escapes with a 10-9 win.

Share your predictions, discussion, etc. in the comments.

Posted in division 1, previews | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Detroit Preview: Monmouth

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Tim

Monmouth was bad last year. They are much better this year. On with the show.

Monmouth

Monmouth Hawks lacrosse logo

A rare photo of the Monmouth mascot mid-magic trick.

April 11, 2015, 11 a.m. EST
Titan Field (Red-out)
Live stats.
@DetroitTitans.
Detroit Preview. .pdf notes.

Tempo-Free Profile

The TempoFreeLax.com numbers are out of date, thanks to the NCAA’s hilarious inability to be good at literally anything (well, litigation, I guess) shutting down the ability to pull the stats. The raw numbers are still here:

Monmouth 2014
Pace 53.10
Poss% 47.08
Off. Eff. 22.80
Def. Eff. 25.98

Monmouth is a lot better than last year. The TFL stats would actually be fascinating (shakes fist at NCAA).

They’re extremely slow – which has prevented them from getting blown out, despite a possession deficit. Fortunately, that possession deficit is not quite the gulf it was last year.

They’re still utter garbage on the offensive side of the ball. That mark would have been good for a bottom five finish in last year’s overall numbers (improvement though it is over Monmouth’s own offense last year).

Where they’ve made huge strides is on defense. They’re a legitimately great unit on that side of the ball, especially for a new program from a bad league. The strength of schedule adjustments (hello Wagner, NJIT, and – surprisingly – Siena) would make the numbers look a lot less shiny, but they’re legitimately impressive nonetheless.

Offense

Bryce Wasserman, a freshman attack from Texas of all places (there’s good lacrosse in Texas, but to be the star for a team as a true freshman is impressive for a non-hotbed guy), is the main guy for Monmouth. Like, in a huge way. As in, he has almost as many points as the next three guys combined.

Wasserman has 19 goals and seven assists, so he’s a bit of a do-everything guy (unsurprisingly, Monmouth doesn’t assist on even half their goals, so he accounts for a fairly impressive portion of their scoring). He’s had a hand in 26 of 57 Hawk goals.

Sophomore midfielder Tyler Keen is a true finisher type, with seven goals and no assists. Sophomore attack Chris Daly and senior midfielder Zach Johannes are ahead of him with seven goals and five assists and six goals and two assists, respectively.

Defense

Senior goalie Garrett Conaway is having a great year, saving .623 of shots faced. He’s allowing just 7.11 goals per game (remember that Monmouth is one of the slowest teams in the country and adjust the level you’re impressed accordingly).

Senior Ryan Horsch and sophomores Andrew Grajewski and Ryan Atkinson have started all 10 games in front of him.  Horsch and Grajewski are caused-turnover machines. Clearly, the defense as a whole is also keeping Conaway from having to make too many tough saves – or maybe just good enough that a really good goalie can make those.

Special Teams

Sophomore Marco Mosleh has missed two games on faceoffs, but even when he’s around, he’s winning at a .438 clip. His replacement, freshman Keegan Teluk (.333) is way worse. That is not a strength for the Hawks in the least.

Monmouth is really bad on the clear, but they do make up for it to an extent by emphasizing the ride.

They’re pretty even in the penalty department in both facets. They commit about the same number of penalties as opponents (slightly fewer), and are as bad on the man-up offense as they are good on man-down D.

Big Picture

Doesn’t matter if this Monmouth team is much improved over last year’s outfit. You want to play big boy lacrosse? Win the game.

In fact, if the Titans lose this one, there’s a strong likelihood that they don’t make the MAAC Tournament, which is basically the only way this season could be considered an abject failure.

Predictions

No strong details necessary. Slow game, defensive battle, Detroit wins 9-7.

Share your predictions, discussion, etc. in the comments.

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The Next Level: April 7, 2015

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Tim

Our weekly look at Michigan natives who are playing college lacrosse at division-1 institutions this spring.

Bellarmine 8, Air Force 11

  • Sophomore attack/midfield Graham Macko (Brother Rice) – Started, scored a Goal on two Shots, and picked up one ground ball. Also committed two turnovers.

Binghamton 14, UMass-Lowell 6

  • Freshman midfielder Liam Reaume (Brother Rice) – Played, but only made the scoresheet by committing one turnover.

Canisius 7, Monmouth 10

  • Freshman midfielder Keith Pravato (Novi) – Did not see game action
  • Sophomore midfielder Steve Wizniuk (De La Salle) – Did not see game action.

Delaware 7, Towson 12

  • Senior defenseman Bennett Packer (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.

Detroit 7, Marist 8

  • Senior midfield/attack Brandon Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) Started, scored a Goal on five Shots (three on goal), added an Assist, and picked up one ground ball. Also committed three turnovers and one penalty for 0:30.
  • Sophomore attack Kyle Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep)- Started, scored a Goal on three Shots (one on goal), and caused one turnover. Also committed four turnovers.
  • Senior midfielder Mike Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started and scored a Goal on nine Shots (five on goal). Also committed one turnover.
  • Freshman midfielder Sean Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Took one shot. Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior midfielder Scott Drummond (Birmingham Seaholm) – Started, scored three Goals on seven Shots (five on goal), and picked up two ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Sophomore goalie Connor Flynn (Rockford) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior defenseman Joe Gifford (Notre Dame Prep) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Redshirt freshman attack Alex Gilhooly (Detroit Catholic Central) – Played, but only made the scoresheet by committing one turnover.
  • Sophomore midfielder Ben Gjokaj (Walled Lake Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Brad Harris (Saline) – Played, but only made the scoresheet by committing one turnover.
  • Freshman midfielder Charlie Hayes (Utica Eisenhower) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Junior midfielder Andy Hebden (Brother Rice) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Sophomore LSM JD Hess (Birmingham Seaholm) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Sophomore attack/midifeld Connor Maks (UD-Jesuit) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Greg Marzec (Brother Rice)- Did not see game action.
  • Redshirt freshman defenseman Bryan Matney (Ann Arbor Pioneer)- Did not see game action.
  • Freshman midfielder Chris Perry (Utica Eisenhower) – Did not see game action.
  • Freshman LSM Austin Ross (Warren Mott) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior midfielder Thomas Sible (Forest Hills Central) – Took one Shot on goal.
  • Freshman midfielder Brett Spanski (Traverse City Central)- Did not see game action.
  • Freshman defenseman Travis Sparling (Novi)- Did not see game action.
  • Junior midfielder Mike Spuller (Dexter) – Picked up two ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Redshirt freshman attack Adam Susalla (Birmingham Seaholm) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Junior defenseman Jordan Yono (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started, caused one turnover, and picked up two ground balls. Also committed one turnover.

Duke 10, Notre Dame 15

  • Freshman midfielder Matthew Giampetroni (Cranbrook) – Did not see game action.

Marquette 14, St. John’s 12

  • Junior midfielder K.C. Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Won 16/29 faceoffs, picking up eight ground balls, and took one Shot on goal. Also committed one turnover.
  • Junior attack Henry Nelson (Brother Rice) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.

Michigan 10, Rutgers 8

  • Sophomore faceoff specialist Brian Archer (Brighton) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior defenseman Mack Gembis (Cranbrook) – Started and picked up one ground ball.
  • Junior midfielder Riley Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Scored a Goal on four Shots (two on goal).
  • Senior attack Will Meter (Brother Rice) – Started, recorded an Assist, and took four Shots. Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior midfielder Thomas Orr (Detroit Catholic Central) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Junior defenseman Chris Walker (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.

Notre Dame 15, Duke 10

  • Sophomore midfielder Sergio Perkovic (Brother Rice) – Started and took seven Shots (three on goal). Also committed a turnover and one penalty for 0:30.

Penn 14, Brown 11

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

Providence 6, Georgetown 9

  • Freshman midfielder Joshua Keller (East Grand Rapids) – Scored a Goal on three Shots and picked up one ground ball.

Richmond 8, Furman 2

  • Sophomore attack JP Forester (Brother Rice) – Started, scored two Goals on four Shots (three on goal), added an Assist, caused one turnover, and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.

Robert Morris 11, St. Joseph’s 18

  • Sophomore attack Kento Nakano (Rockford) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.

Rutgers 8, Michigan 10

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

VMI 4, Mercer 17

  • Senior midfielder Andrew Erber (Dexter) – Did not see game action.

Yale 10, Dartmouth 4

  • Freshman midfielder/attack Jason Alessi (Brother Rice) – Took four Shots (one on goal). Also committed two turnovers.
  • Sophomore midfielder John Lazarsfeld (Ann Arbor Greenhills) – Did not see game action.

As always, feel free to use the comments section for questions, comments, discussion, and scorelines from other division.

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Michigan 10, Rutgers 8

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Tim

Michigan won because it got really good goalie play and took care of the ball. Don’t believe me? Just watch…

Tempo Free

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

Rutgers 2015
Rutgers Michigan
Faceoff Wins 16 Faceoff Wins 6
Clearing 11-13 Clearing 17-20
Possessions 32 Possessions 28
Goals 7 Goals 10
Offensive Efficiency .219 Offensive Efficiency .357

Michigan got bombed on faceoffs, but managed to keep possessions within striking distance. Then, just being better in the half-field and making the most of those opportunities was enough to get a relatively comfortable win.

Notes

We shall start on those faceoffs, though they didn’t end up being the story in this game. Michigan went with three different specialists (including LSM Chase Brown, who usually goes in to try to create a 50/50 GB, but ends up doing a decent job winning some), but couldn’t solve Joseph Nardella. That’s hardly an embarrassment: he’s one of the top 15 specialists in the country. It’s still a disappointment, after U-M had a couple years of improving results, they just aren’t coming together this year. I think the rules changes play a role (they don’t work toward U-M’s strengths), but being above-average should still be doable.

Fortunately, Michigan managed to have many more clearing attempts than Rutgers (and converted at an ever-so-slightly better rate) to even out the attempts to a degree. The biggest part of that goes hand-in-hand with the offensive efficiency: Michigan possessions ended in faceoffs. Rutgers possessions ended in turnovers or saves.

Speaking of that offensive efficiency, hello and welcome back Ian King. It’s hard to give one player the credit for a strong offensive day – even when he scores four of the ten goals – but King’s presence makes the U-M offense so much more dangerous. It’s a shame to think how different the result of the Drexel game (at the very least) could have been with the biggest offensive weapon available.

Elsewhere on the offense, Kyle Jackson scored three goals of his own, to eclipse Thomas Paras as the program’s all-time leading scorer. Seven other Wolverines notched a single point, though U-M only tallied assists on four of the ten goals.

The efficiency number on offense is what draws eyeballs, but the defense was very solid in its own right. Logan saved 13 of the Scarlet Knights’ 21 shots, and U-M caused four turnovers (while letting RU commit 10 more on its own). The nature of defense is sometimes such that it’s hard to point out great individual performances other than the goalie, but rest assured that the Maize and Blue did very well there.

This was a serious game of runs, though many of them weren’t long enough to draw an overall trend. For big stretches, Michigan looked unstoppable (first three goals of the game, six out of seven in the third quarter), and even when Rutgers took a lead, it seemed to be delaying the inevitable, rather than a serious threat to win at times. For a program that’s gone through what Michigan has in Years 1-4, that’s a big step in the right direction.

Elsewhere

Michigan recap. Boxscore. Game photos. Rutgers recap.

Up Next

Michigan hosts Ohio State at 2 p.m. Sunday in a game that looks a whole heck of a lot tougher now than it might have been at the beginning of the year. Both teams are trying for a Big Ten Tournament shot, with the Buckeyes having a leg up for now. U-M has played the best and worst teams in the conference, and taking one from a team in the middle of the pack will go a long way.

Posted in division 1 | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Detroit 7, Marist 8

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Tim

Trying to get back in the groove here. Recapping this weekend’s games before (hopefully) running through the backlog… and previews will be effective again when the NCAA site stops breaking TFL.

Tempo Free

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

Marist 2015
Detroit Marist
Faceoff Wins 9 Faceoff Wins 10
Clearing 14-17 Clearing 13-16
Possessions 29 Possessions 29
Goals 7 Goals 8
Offensive Efficiency .241 Offensive Efficiency .276

As tends to be the case, a one-goal game was a close one down the margins. The Titans were able to stay dead-even in possession, but fell one goal short of Marist’s output. That means they’re less efficient, but the efficiency margin was really as slim as it could get in a low-scoring game.

Notes

It’s unfair to say the final score is misleading, since Detroit scored to draw within a goal with nearly half the fourth quarter left, but it is fair to say that Marist dominated the run of play for most of the first half. The Titans took their only lead with 8:32 in the first quarter, then the Red Foxes took control, built a lead slowly while only letting UDM chip at it, until the Titans mounted a comeback starting in the late third. Of course, with such a low-scoring game, the comeback hardly needed to be the furious variety.

Despite taking the loss, Jason Weber had a very nice game. He struggled a bit in the first (four goals, two saves), but was his usual self in quarters 2-4, giving his team a chance to get the win. He faced a ton of rubber before the break, but his defense locked down in front of him to help out after halftime.

In a slow game, you see that Marist committed 14 turnovers and think “that’s pretty good,” until you scroll down a little further and see that a) UDM caused only six of them – still not bad, but b) the Titans committed 20 turnovers of their own. That’s one area I was looking for them to improve this season, and they haven’t been as loose with the ball all year, but that’s one of the stories of the game right there.

Another story – and another that’s been consistent with the Titans – is the shots on goal disparity. Marist put 21 of 30 on the cage, with Weber saving 13 of them. UDM had more shots (33) but put fewer (18) on the net. That’s obviously not a death knell, with backup rules meaning you can maintain possession on a missed shot, but the Titans have long struggled to make the keeper work for certain attempts, and this is one time where putting just one more of them on the net could have changed the game’s outcome.

Offensive standouts for the Titans were Scott Drummond (three goals on seven shots, five on goal), along with Shayne Adams and Brandon Beauregard (a goal and an assist each, though Beauregard did commit three turnovers as well). UDM’s offense seems to be more shared this year – no relying on just Adams to make plays (or Maini at times in the past) – but only three assists on their seven goals probably helped Marist keeper Dave Scarcello. On the other end, the Red Foxes assisted on seven of their eight tallies, making life a little tougher on Weber.

The faceoff game was about even, perhaps a pleasant surprise against a pretty good specialist in Domi Montemurro for Marist. Ride/clear was even as well. The difference came in efficiency in the settled offense. Even extra-man opportunity was in favor of the Titans (2/4, Marist was 2/3), but UDM needed a bit more.

So, about the tale of two halves: At the break, Marist led 7-3, with a 17-14 possession advantage. They had 24 shots in those 17 possessions, 17 of them on goal. Detroit had just 10 shots, seven of them on goal. Detroit shot a lot more after halftime in a comeback effort, so the shooting accuracy taking a dip isn’t a surprise, and is probably even fine. The bigger frustration is probably the lack of assists (two of the three came before halftime, with one on the man-up and the second-half assist man-up as well). The Titans probably needed to work the offense patiently a bit more in the second half to be more effective.

Elsewhere

Detroit recap. Boxscore. Marist recap.

Up Next

Detroit hosts Monmouth Saturday morning at 11 am. The Hawks are a surprise in their second season, putting together a 2-1 conference record so far, and also picking up a win against Rutgers. It’s a must-win for the Titans to keep pace for making the MAAC Tournament. They currently sit in fifth place in the league, and need a top-4 finish.

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The Next Level – April 1, 2015 (in-state programs)

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Tim

Detroit 6, Marquette 12

  • Senior midfield/attack Brandon Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Started and scored a Goal on five Shots (two on goal), added an Assist, and picked up two ground balls. Also committed three turnovers.
  • Sophomore attack Kyle Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Started and took on Shot on goal. Also committed two turnovers.
  • Senior midfielder Mike Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started, scored a Goal on five Shots (one on goal), and picked up one ground ball. Also committed three turnovers.
  • Freshman midfielder Sean Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Took one Shot on goal and picked up three ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior midfielder Scott Drummond (Birmingham Seaholm) – Started and scored a Goal on his only Shot.
  • Sophomore goalie Connor Flynn (Rockford) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior defenseman Joe Gifford (Notre Dame Prep) – Did not see game action.
  • Redshirt freshman attack Alex Gilhooly (Detroit Catholic Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Ben Gjokaj (Walled Lake Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Brad Harris (Saline) – Did not see game action.
  • Freshman midfielder Charlie Hayes (Utica Eisenhower) – Played, but only made the scoresheet by committing one turnover.
  • Junior midfielder Andy Hebden (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore LSM JD Hess (Birmingham Seaholm) – Caused one turnover and picked up one ground ball.
  • Sophomore attack/midifeld Connor Maks (UD-Jesuit) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Greg Marzec (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.
  • Redshirt freshman defenseman Bryan Matney (Ann Arbor Pioneer) – Did not see game action.
  • Freshman midfielder Chris Perry (Utica Eisenhower) – Caused one turnover. Also committed one penalty for 1:00.
  • Freshman LSM Austin Ross (Warren Mott) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior midfielder Thomas Sible (Forest Hills Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Freshman midfielder Brett Spanski (Traverse City Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Freshman defenseman Travis Sparling (Novi) – Did not see game action.
  • Junior midfielder Mike Spuller (Dexter) – Picked up two ground balls.
  • Redshirt freshman attack Adam Susalla (Birmingham Seaholm) – Did not see game action.
  • Junior defenseman Jordan Yono (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started and picked up two ground balls.

Detroit 14, Bellarmine 11

  • Senior midfield/attack Brandon Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Started, scored two Goals on three Shots (two on goal), recorded three assists, caused two turnovers and picked up two ground balls. Also committed two turnovers.
  • Sophomore attack Kyle Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Started, scored a Goal on two Shots (both on goal) and picked up three ground balls.
  • Senior midfielder Mike Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started, took 14(!) shots, five on goal, recorded an assist, caused one turnovers and picked up three ground balls. Also committed two turnovers.
  • Freshman midfielder Sean Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Scored a Goal on his only Shot, added an Assist, and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior midfielder Scott Drummond (Birmingham Seaholm) – Started, scored two Goals on eight Shots (five on goal), added an assist and picked up one ground ball.
  • Sophomore goalie Connor Flynn (Rockford) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior defenseman Joe Gifford (Notre Dame Prep) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Redshirt freshman attack Alex Gilhooly (Detroit Catholic Central) -Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Sophomore midfielder Ben Gjokaj (Walled Lake Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Brad Harris (Saline) – Scored a Goal on his only Shot and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.
  • Freshman midfielder Charlie Hayes (Utica Eisenhower) – Caused one turnover and picked up one ground ball.
  • Junior midfielder Andy Hebden (Brother Rice) – Picked up two ground balls.
  • Sophomore LSM JD Hess (Birmingham Seaholm) – Caused one turnover and picked up three ground balls, and took one Shot on goal.
  • Sophomore attack/midifeld Connor Maks (UD-Jesuit) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Sophomore midfielder Greg Marzec (Brother Rice) – Won 8/14 faceoffs, picking up two ground balls.
  • Redshirt freshman defenseman Bryan Matney (Ann Arbor Pioneer) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Freshman midfielder Chris Perry (Utica Eisenhower) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Freshman LSM Austin Ross (Warren Mott) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior midfielder Thomas Sible (Forest Hills Central) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Freshman midfielder Brett Spanski (Traverse City Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Freshman defenseman Travis Sparling (Novi) – Did not see game action.
  • Junior midfielder Mike Spuller (Dexter) – Scored a Goal on his only Shot and picked up one ground ball. Also committed two penalties for 1:30.
  • Redshirt freshman attack Adam Susalla (Birmingham Seaholm) – Picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.
  • Junior defenseman Jordan Yono (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started, caused two turnovers, and picked up one ground ball.

Detroit 12, Mercer 7

  • Senior midfield/attack Brandon Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Started, scored a Goal on three Shots (two on goal), recorded an assists, and picked up one ground ball.
  • Sophomore attack Kyle Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Started, scored a Goal on two Shots (both on goal) and picked up three ground balls.
  • Senior midfielder Mike Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started, scored two Goals on five Shots (three on goal), and picked up one ground ball. Also committed three turnovers.
  • Freshman midfielder Sean Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Played, but only made the scoresheet by committing three turnovers.
  • Senior midfielder Scott Drummond (Birmingham Seaholm) – Started, scored a Goal on four Shots (two on goal), and caused one turnover. Also committed one turnover and one penalty for 0:30.
  • Sophomore goalie Connor Flynn (Rockford) – Saw 42 seconds between the pipes.
  • Senior defenseman Joe Gifford (Notre Dame Prep) – Played, but onlt made the scoresheet by committing one turnover.
  • Redshirt freshman attack Alex Gilhooly (Detroit Catholic Central) -Picked up one ground ball. Also committed one penalty for 0:30.
  • Sophomore midfielder Ben Gjokaj (Walled Lake Central) – Won 0/2 faceoffs.
  • Sophomore midfielder Brad Harris (Saline) – Took one Shot on goal. Also committed one turnover.
  • Freshman midfielder Charlie Hayes (Utica Eisenhower) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Junior midfielder Andy Hebden (Brother Rice) – Scored one Goal on three Shots (two on goal) and added an assist. Also committed one turnover.
  • Sophomore LSM JD Hess (Birmingham Seaholm) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Sophomore attack/midifeld Connor Maks (UD-Jesuit) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Greg Marzec (Brother Rice) – Won 4/11 faceoffs, picking up two ground balls, and took one Shot on goal. Also committed one turnover.
  • Redshirt freshman defenseman Bryan Matney (Ann Arbor Pioneer) – Did not see game action.
  • Freshman midfielder Chris Perry (Utica Eisenhower) – Took one Shot on goal and picked up one ground ball.
  • Freshman LSM Austin Ross (Warren Mott) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior midfielder Thomas Sible (Forest Hills Central) – Took one Shot on goal, caused one turnover, and picked up one ground ball.
  • Freshman midfielder Brett Spanski (Traverse City Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Freshman defenseman Travis Sparling (Novi) – Did not see game action.
  • Junior midfielder Mike Spuller (Dexter) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Redshirt freshman attack Adam Susalla (Birmingham Seaholm) – Picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.
  • Junior defenseman Jordan Yono (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started, won 1/2 faceoffs, and picked up one ground ball.

Detroit 6, Air Force 9

  • Senior midfield/attack Brandon Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Started, scored a Goal on two Shots (one on goal), and picked up one ground ball. Also committed two turnovers.
  • Sophomore attack Kyle Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Scored a Goal on three Shots (two on goal), recorded an Assist, and picked up four ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior midfielder Mike Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started, took three Shots (none on goal), and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.
  • Freshman midfielder Sean Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Recorded two Assists, took one Shot on goal, and picked up one ground ball.
  • Senior midfielder Scott Drummond (Birmingham Seaholm) – Started, scored a Goal on five Shots (two on goal), and picked up one ground ball. Also committed six(!) turnovers.
  • Sophomore goalie Connor Flynn (Rockford) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior defenseman Joe Gifford (Notre Dame Prep) – Caused one turnover.
  • Redshirt freshman attack Alex Gilhooly (Detroit Catholic Central) -Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Sophomore midfielder Ben Gjokaj (Walled Lake Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Brad Harris (Saline) – Caused one turnover.
  • Freshman midfielder Charlie Hayes (Utica Eisenhower) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Junior midfielder Andy Hebden (Brother Rice) – Started, took two Shots (one on goal), and picked up one ground ball.
  • Sophomore LSM JD Hess (Birmingham Seaholm) – Caused one turnover and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.
  • Sophomore attack/midifeld Connor Maks (UD-Jesuit) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Greg Marzec (Brother Rice) – Won 0/2 faceoffs.
  • Redshirt freshman defenseman Bryan Matney (Ann Arbor Pioneer) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Freshman midfielder Chris Perry (Utica Eisenhower) – Caused one turnover.
  • Freshman LSM Austin Ross (Warren Mott) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior midfielder Thomas Sible (Forest Hills Central) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Freshman midfielder Brett Spanski (Traverse City Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Freshman defenseman Travis Sparling (Novi) – Did not see game action.
  • Junior midfielder Mike Spuller (Dexter) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Redshirt freshman attack Adam Susalla (Birmingham Seaholm) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Junior defenseman Jordan Yono (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started, but did not accrue any statistics.

Detroit 12, Quinnipiac 13

  • Senior midfield/attack Brandon Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Started, scored four Goals on six Shots (five on goal), and recorded one assist. Also commited one turnover.
  • Sophomore attack Kyle Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) -Took three Shots (one on goal) and picked up six ground balls.
  • Senior midfielder Mike Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started, recorded an Assist, took took three Shots (two on goal), and picked up one ground ball. Also committed five turnovers and one penalty for 0:30.
  • Freshman midfielder Sean Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Took one Shot on goal.
  • Senior midfielder Scott Drummond (Birmingham Seaholm) – Started and scored three Goals on four Shots (three on goal).
  • Sophomore goalie Connor Flynn (Rockford) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior defenseman Joe Gifford (Notre Dame Prep) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Redshirt freshman attack Alex Gilhooly (Detroit Catholic Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Ben Gjokaj (Walled Lake Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Brad Harris (Saline) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Freshman midfielder Charlie Hayes (Utica Eisenhower) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Junior midfielder Andy Hebden (Brother Rice) – Started, but only made the scoresheet by committing two turnovers
  • Sophomore LSM JD Hess (Birmingham Seaholm) – Picked up one ground ball. Also committed four penalties for 5:00.
  • Sophomore attack/midifeld Connor Maks (UD-Jesuit) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Greg Marzec (Brother Rice) – Won 9/19 faceoffs, picking up two ground balls. Also committed one penalty for 1:00.
  • Redshirt freshman defenseman Bryan Matney (Ann Arbor Pioneer) -Did not see game action.
  • Freshman midfielder Chris Perry (Utica Eisenhower) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Freshman LSM Austin Ross (Warren Mott) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior midfielder Thomas Sible (Forest Hills Central) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Freshman midfielder Brett Spanski (Traverse City Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Freshman defenseman Travis Sparling (Novi) – Did not see game action.
  • Junior midfielder Mike Spuller (Dexter) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Redshirt freshman attack Adam Susalla (Birmingham Seaholm) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Junior defenseman Jordan Yono (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started, but did not accrue any statistics.

Detroit 13, Manhattan 7

  • Senior midfield/attack Brandon Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Started, scored three Goals on 11 Shots (six on goal), caused two turnovers, and picked up four ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Sophomore attack Kyle Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Started, took two Shots and picked up four ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior midfielder Mike Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started, scored three Goals on nine Shots (five on goal) and recorded one assist.
  • Freshman midfielder Sean Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Scored a Goal on eight Shots (two on goal), caused one turnover and picked up two ground balls. Also committed two turnovers.
  • Senior midfielder Scott Drummond (Birmingham Seaholm) – Started, recorded an assist, took four Shots (two on goal), and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one penalty for 0:30.
  • Sophomore goalie Connor Flynn (Rockford) – Played 15 minutes between the pipes, saving eight shots while allowing just two goals, and picked up two ground balls. Also committed two turnovers.
  • Senior defenseman Joe Gifford (Notre Dame Prep) – Started, caused two turnovers, and picked up one ground ball.
  • Redshirt freshman attack Alex Gilhooly (Detroit Catholic Central) -Took three Shots.
  • Sophomore midfielder Ben Gjokaj (Walled Lake Central) – Won 0/2 faceoffs.
  • Sophomore midfielder Brad Harris (Saline) – Took three shots and picked up two ground balls. Also committed two turnovers.
  • Freshman midfielder Charlie Hayes (Utica Eisenhower) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Junior midfielder Andy Hebden (Brother Rice) – Scored a Goal on his only Shot.
  • Sophomore LSM JD Hess (Birmingham Seaholm) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Sophomore attack/midifeld Connor Maks (UD-Jesuit) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Sophomore midfielder Greg Marzec (Brother Rice) – Won 2/5 faceoffs and took one shot.
  • Redshirt freshman defenseman Bryan Matney (Ann Arbor Pioneer) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Freshman midfielder Chris Perry (Utica Eisenhower) – Played, but only made the scoresheet by committing one turnovers.
  • Freshman LSM Austin Ross (Warren Mott) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior midfielder Thomas Sible (Forest Hills Central) – Caused one turnover and picked up one ground ball.
  • Freshman midfielder Brett Spanski (Traverse City Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Freshman defenseman Travis Sparling (Novi) – Did not see game action.
  • Junior midfielder Mike Spuller (Dexter) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Redshirt freshman attack Adam Susalla (Birmingham Seaholm) – Scored a Goal on his only Shot and recorded two Assists. Also committed one turnover.
  • Junior defenseman Jordan Yono (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started, caused one turnover, and picked up three ground balls. Also committed one penalty for 1:00.

Michigan 13, Canisius 5

  • Sophomore faceoff specialist Brian Archer (Brighton) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior defenseman Mack Gembis (Cranbrook) – Started, caused one turnover, and picked up two ground balls.
  • Junior midfielder Riley Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Senior attack Will Meter (Brother Rice) – Started and scored a Goal on six Shots (one on goal).
  • Senior midfielder Thomas Orr (Detroit Catholic Central) – Took one Shot and picked up three ground balls. Also committed one turnover and one penalty for 0:30.
  • Junior defenseman Chris Walker (Brother Rice) – Started and picked up two ground balls.

Michigan 8, Jacksonville 14

  • Sophomore faceoff specialist Brian Archer (Brighton) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior defenseman Mack Gembis (Cranbrook) – Started, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Junior midfielder Riley Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior attack Will Meter (Brother Rice) – Started and scored a Goal on four Shots (three on goal).
  • Senior midfielder Thomas Orr (Detroit Catholic Central) – Picked up one ground ball. Also committed one penalty for 0:30.
  • Junior defenseman Chris Walker (Brother Rice) – Started and picked up two ground balls.

Michigan 12, Brown 22

  • Sophomore faceoff specialist Brian Archer (Brighton) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior defenseman Mack Gembis (Cranbrook) – Started, picked up one ground ball, and took one Shot. Also committed two turnovers.
  • Junior midfielder Riley Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Recorded two Assists and took two Shots (neither on goal). Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior attack Will Meter (Brother Rice) – Started, scored a Goal on two Shots (one on goal), and picked up two ground balls.
  • Senior midfielder Thomas Orr (Detroit Catholic Central) – Picked up two ground balls.
  • Junior defenseman Chris Walker (Brother Rice) – Started, caused three turnovers, and picked up three ground balls. Also committed two turnovers.

Michigan 9, St. Joseph’s 8 (4OT)

  • Sophomore faceoff specialist Brian Archer (Brighton) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior defenseman Mack Gembis (Cranbrook) – Started and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one penalty for 0:30.
  • Junior midfielder Riley Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Took two Shots (both on goal).
  • Senior attack Will Meter (Brother Rice) – Started, took two Shots (both on goal), and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior midfielder Thomas Orr (Detroit Catholic Central) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Junior defenseman Chris Walker (Brother Rice) – Started, caused one turnover, and picked up three ground balls. Also committed one turnover.

Michigan 7, Drexel 9

  • Sophomore faceoff specialist Brian Archer (Brighton) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior defenseman Mack Gembis (Cranbrook) – Started, caused one turnover, and picked up four ground balls.
  • Junior midfielder Riley Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Played, but only made the scoresheet by committing one turnover.
  • Senior attack Will Meter (Brother Rice) – Started, scored a Goal on four Shots (three on goal), and picked up two ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior midfielder Thomas Orr (Detroit Catholic Central) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Junior defenseman Chris Walker (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.

Michigan 4, Maryland 13

  • Sophomore faceoff specialist Brian Archer (Brighton) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior defenseman Mack Gembis (Cranbrook) – Started, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Junior midfielder Riley Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior attack Will Meter (Brother Rice) – Started, took four Shots (three on goal), and picked up three ground balls. Also committed two turnovers.
  • Senior midfielder Thomas Orr (Detroit Catholic Central) -Picked up one ground ball.
  • Junior defenseman Chris Walker (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.

As always, share corrections, comments, discussion, and statlines from other division in the comments.

Posted in division 1 | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Next Level – April 1, 2015 (in-state programs)

The Next Level: April 1, 2015 (Out of State)

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Tim

This is not an April Fool’s Day joke. I am attempting to get back into semi-regular writing. Lots to catch up on, I’ll separate the in-state programs into their own post:

Bellarmine 7, Ohio State 8
Bellarmine 11, Detroit 14
Bellarmine 7, Furman 9

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

Bellarmine 17, VMI 7

  • Sophomore attack/midfield Graham Macko (Brother Rice) – Started, scored two Goals on four Shots, and picked up one ground ball. Also committed two penalties for 1:00.

Bellarmine 6, Mercer 8

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

Bellarmine 9, Marquette 3

  • Sophomore attack/midfield Graham Macko (Brother Rice) – Took one Shot.

Binghamton 10, Hobart 11
Binghamton 11, Delaware 7

  • Freshman midfielder Liam Reaume (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.

Binghamton 13, UMBC 4

  • Freshman midfielder Liam Reaume (Brother Rice) – Played, but only made the scoresheet by committing one turnover.

Binghamton 8, Towson 9
Binghamton 5, Drexel 9

  • Freshman midfielder Liam Reaume (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.

Binghamton 12, Hartford 13

  • Freshman midfielder Liam Reaume (Brother Rice) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.

Canisius 5, Michigan 13
Canisius 4, Hobart 10
Canisius 8, Manhattan 4

  • Freshman midfielder Keith Pravato (Novi) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Steve Wizniuk (De La Salle) – Did not see game action.

Canisius 6, Albany 26

  • Freshman midfielder Keith Pravato (Novi) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Steve Wizniuk (De La Salle) – Won 1/5 faceoffs, picking up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.

Canisius 7, Marist 9
Canisius 10, Siena 9 (OT)

  • Freshman midfielder Keith Pravato (Novi) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore midfielder Steve Wizniuk (De La Salle) – Did not see game action.

Delaware 4, Villanova 10
Delaware 18, Holy Cross 6
Delaware 7, Binghamton 11
Delaware 12, Rutgers 17
Delaware 12, Manhattan 5
Delaware 6, St. Joseph’s 14
Delaware 5, Hofstra 9

  • Senior defenseman Bennett Packer (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.

Detroit – Coming soon

Duke 21, Harvard 14

  • Freshman midfielder Matthew Giampetroni (Cranbrook) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.

Duke 20, Providence 8

  • Freshman midfielder Matthew Giampetroni (Cranbrook) – Scored a Goal on his only Shot.

Duke 14, Loyola 8
Duke 15, Georgetown 13
Duke 7, Syracuse 19
Duke 14, North Carolina 15

  • Freshman midfielder Matthew Giampetroni (Cranbrook) – Did not see game action.

Marquette 12, Detroit 6

  • Junior midfielder K.C. Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Won 1/3 faceoffs.
  • Junior attack Henry Nelson (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.

Marquette 10, Ohio State 9

  • Junior midfielder K.C. Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Won 2/11 faceoffs.
  • Junior attack Henry Nelson (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.

Marquette 12, Jacksonville 10

  • Junior midfielder K.C. Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Won 15/25 faceoffs, picking up seven ground balls, and took one Shot.
  • Junior attack Henry Nelson (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.

Marquette 14, Mercer 6

  • Junior midfielder K.C. Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Won 9/15 faceoffs, picking up three ground balls.
  • Junior attack Henry Nelson (Brother Rice) – Scored a Goal on his only Shot. Also committed one turnover.

Marquette 9, Georgetown 10

  • Junior midfielder K.C. Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Won 0/6 faceoffs.
  • Junior attack Henry Nelson (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.

Marquette 9, Villanova 8

  • Junior midfielder K.C. Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Won 6/21 faceoffs, picking up three ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Junior attack Henry Nelson (Brother Rice) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.

Marquette 3, Bellarmine 9

  • Junior midfielder K.C. Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Won 2/9 faceoffs, picking up one ground ball.
  • Junior attack Henry Nelson (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.

Michigan – coming soon

NJIT 3, Quinnipiac 10
NJIT 10, Vermont 17
NJIT 7, UMass-Lowell 9

  • Freshman midfielder Brent Lubin (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) – Did not see game action.

NJIT 3, Montmouth 6

  • Freshman midfielder Brent Lubin (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.

NJIT 2, Rutgers 21

  • Freshman midfielder Brent Lubin (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.

NJIT 3, Richmond 21

  • Freshman midfielder Brent Lubin (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) – Caused one turnover and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.

NJIT 2, Wagner 7

  • Freshman midfielder Brent Lubin (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) – Caused one turnover.

NJIT 5, Manhattan 7

  • Freshman midfielder Brent Lubin (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) – Caused two turnovers and picked up three ground balls. Also committed three penalties for 3:00.

Notre Dame 20, Dartmouth 5

  • Sophomore midfielder Sergio Perkovic (Brother Rice) – Started, scored three Goals on eight Shots (six on goal), and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.

Notre Dame 10, Denver 11

  • Sophomore midfielder Sergio Perkovic (Brother Rice) – Started and scored two Goals on five Shots (two on goal).

Notre Dame 11, Virginia 9

  • Sophomore midfielder Sergio Perkovic (Brother Rice) – Started, scored a Goal on six Shots (three on goal), recorded two Assists, and picked up one ground ball.

Notre Dame 9, Ohio State 0

  • Sophomore midfielder Sergio Perkovic (Brother Rice) – Started, scored a Goal on five Shots (three on goal), caused two turnovers, and picked up two ground balls. Also committed one turnover.

Notre Dame 13, Syracuse 12 (2OT)

  • Sophomore midfielder Sergio Perkovic (Brother Rice) – Started and scored two Goals on nine Shots (six on goal). Also committed one penalty for 1:00.

Penn 11, Penn State 14
Penn 9, Lafayette 6
Penn 11, Villanova 17
Penn 11, Princeton 17
Penn 9, Cornell 10 (OT)
Penn 7, Yale 15

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

Providence 8, Duke 20

  • Freshman midfielder Joshua Keller (East Grand Rapids) – Scored a Goal on his only Shot.

Providence 11, Sacred Heart 8

  • Freshman midfielder Joshua Keller (East Grand Rapids) – Scored two Goals on two Shots.

Providence 11, UMass-Lowell 6

  • Freshman midfielder Joshua Keller (East Grand Rapids) – Scored two Goals on four Shots and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.

Providence 4, Hofstra 15

  • Freshman midfielder Joshua Keller (East Grand Rapids) – Scored a Goal on two Shots. Also committed one turnover.

Providence 5, Bryant 7

  • Freshman midfielder Joshua Keller (East Grand Rapids) – Took five Shots and picked up three ground balls. Also committed one turnover.

Providence 7, St. John’s 17

  • Freshman midfielder Joshua Keller (East Grand Rapids) – Scored a Goal on four Shots, added an Assist, and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover and one penalty for 1:00.

Richmond 5, UMBC 9

  • Sophomore attack JP Forester (Brother Rice) – Started, took five Shots, and picked up two ground balls. Also committed three turnovers.

Richmond 20, VMI 1

  • Sophomore attack JP Forester (Brother Rice) – Started, scored three Goals on seven Shots (six on goal), added four assists, and picked up one ground ball.

Richmond 8, Mount St. Mary’s 7

  • Sophomore attack JP Forester (Brother Rice) – Started, scored three Goals on eight Shots (six on goal), added an assist, and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover and one penalty for 0:30.

Richmond 11, North Carolina 16

  • Sophomore attack JP Forester (Brother Rice) – Started and scored a Goal on four Shots (two on goal). Also committed three turnovers.

Richmond 17, Jacksonville 8

  • Sophomore attack JP Forester (Brother Rice) – Started, scored two Goals on six Shots (four on goal), and picked up one ground ball.

Richmond 21, NJIT 3

  • Sophomore attack JP Forester (Brother Rice) – Started, scored two Goals on four Shots (all four on goal), added three assists, and picked up two ground balls.

Richmond 7, Virginia 14

  • Sophomore attack JP Forester (Brother Rice) – Started and scored two Goals on three Shots (all on goal).

Robert Morris 10, High Point 13
Robert Morris 12, Siena 10
Robert Morris 13, Jacksonville 18
Robert Morris 10, Sacred Heart 12

  • Sophomore attack Kento Nakano (Rockford) – Did not see game action.

Robert Morris 4, Maryland 13

  • Sophomore attack Kento Nakano (Rockford) – Played, but only made the statsheet by committing one turnover.

Robert Morris 6, Hobart 7

  • Sophomore attack Kento Nakano (Rockford) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.

Rutgers 9, Monmouth 10

  • Junior midfielder Jacob Coretti (East Grand Rapids) – Played, but only made the scoresheet by committing one turnover.

Rutgers 7, Army 9
Rutgers 9, Stony Brook 13
Rutgers 17, Delaware 12
Rutgers 11, Princeton 12

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

Rutgers 21, NJIT 2

  • Junior midfielder Jacob Coretti (East Grand Rapids) – Scored a Goal on his only Shot.

Rutgers 7, Johns Hopkins 9

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

VMI 1, Richmond 20
VMI 8, Air Force 12
VMI 3, Jacksonville 8
VMI 4, Wagner 12
VMI 7, Bellarmine 17
VMI 3, Virginia 17

  • Senior midfielder Andrew Erber (Dexter) – Did not see game action.

Yale 16, Bryant 9

  • Freshman midfielder/attack Jason Alessi (Brother Rice) – Scored two Goals on three Shots (two on goal) and added an Assist.
  • Sophomore midfielder John Lazarsfeld (Ann Arbor Greenhills) – Did not see game action.

Yale 11, St. John’s 10 (OT)

  • Freshman midfielder/attack Jason Alessi (Brother Rice) – Scored a Goal on two Shots (both on goal). Also committed one turnover.
  • Sophomore midfielder John Lazarsfeld (Ann Arbor Greenhills) – Did not see game action.

Yale 9, Fairfield 8 (OT)

  • Freshman midfielder/attack Jason Alessi (Brother Rice) – Took one Shot and picked up one ground ball.
  • Sophomore midfielder John Lazarsfeld (Ann Arbor Greenhills) – Did not see game action.

Yale 7, Cornell 14

  • Freshman midfielder/attack Jason Alessi (Brother Rice) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Sophomore midfielder John Lazarsfeld (Ann Arbor Greenhills) – Did not see game action.

Yale 10, Princeton 11

  • Freshman midfielder/attack Jason Alessi (Brother Rice) -Took one Shot.
  • Sophomore midfielder John Lazarsfeld (Ann Arbor Greenhills) – Did not see game action.

Yale 15, Penn 10

  • Freshman midfielder/attack Jason Alessi (Brother Rice) – Recorded one Assist, and took one Shot on goal. Also committed one turnover.
  • Sophomore midfielder John Lazarsfeld (Ann Arbor Greenhills) – Did not see game action.

Yale 13, Sacred Heart 3

  • Freshman midfielder/attack Jason Alessi (Brother Rice) – Scored a Goal on two Shots (one on goal), recorded an Assist, and picked up one ground ball.
  • Sophomore midfielder John Lazarsfeld (Ann Arbor Greenhills) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.

As always, anything I missed, corrections, and statlines from other divisions can be shared in the comments. Detroit and Michigan’s heavy in-state rosters profiled a bit later.

Posted in division 1 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Next Level: April 1, 2015 (Out of State)

Michigan Preview: Brown

Posted on March 8, 2015 by Tim

A really poor midweek result against Jacksonville, and a tough test this weekend. It could be a rough week for the Maize and Blue, or a chance for redemption.

Brown

Brown University Bears lacrosse

Is it just me or is the Bear red? This seems… wrong

March 8, 2015. 3 p.m. EST
Oosterbaan Fieldhouse
Live stats.
@UMichLacrosse.
Michigan Preview.
Brown Preview.

Tempo-Free Profile

The TempoFreeLax.com numbers displayed here are last year’s. Brown has only played three games so far, and impressive though they’ve been in that time, there’s not enough data quite yet. The Bears appear to be quite a bit better than last year’s team, so be forewarned.

Brown 2014
Pace 70.21 (6)
Poss% 50.56 (32)
Off. Eff. 28.77 (47)
Def. Eff. 30.30 (29)
Pyth% 47.72 (34)

Last year’s Brown team played very fast, but barely had more than half of those possessions. This year’s team, on the other hand, is much faster (thanks in part to a more potent offense), and is way better at dominating the ball. They’re above 80 possessions per game, and are at nearly 60% in their own sticks.

The offense and defense are both a degree better than last year’s marks (the O far more so), but the majority of the team’s improvement has been due to the blistering pace and the possession game. More possessions = wider possession margin – big wins.

There is one caveat: strength of schedule. Last year’s Brown team played the No. 31 slate nationally, and to date, this year’s is just No. 44. Especially with the numbers as volatile as they are this early in the year, that’s fairly meaningful. The Bears will see tougher competition this season than they have thus far, potentially starting with this weekend’s Michigan game.

Offense

Brown has played three games. Sophomore attack Dylan Molloy has 18 goals. Is that good? I think it’s good. Molloy has added a pair of assists to lap the field in terms of point output. He’s the dangerman on this offense, no doubt.

A pair of juniors, attack Henry Blynn and midfielder Brendan Caputo, have nine points apiece, with a slight skew toward goals, rather than assists (this will be a theme: it’s surprising to see an offense as prolific as the Bears’ with barely more than half the goals assisted). Another couple juniors, attack Kyle Bellistri (5G, 2A) and midfielder Matt Graham (2G, 0A) have started a pair of games each, with seniors Tim Jacob and Tyler Landis filling in once each in the starting lineup.

Brown, for all its 17- and 18-point games, has been good-not-great on offense. If you can shut down a piece or two – the hope would be Molloy, though that’s likely unrealistic – you can really limit their efficiency. They’re still certain to get theirs by sheer volume of possessions, but they’d have to do just that to run up a big score.

Defense

The defense has been pretty good, a touch behind the offense. There are two sides to not facing a ton of possessions: the unit gets to rest, but they can get just a bit rusty (and each individual goal has more impact on the efficiency mark than each offensive goal).

Junior goalie Jack Kelly has been the man between the pipes, though a range of blowouts in the first three contests has allowed sophomore Peter Scott and freshman Brad Peters to see a half combined between then. Kelly will play while the game is competitive, and he’s saving .660 of shots faced. He’s only had to make 31 saves to reach that mark through the Bears’ torrid start.

Sophomore Alec Tulett slots into a starting lineup with seniors Stephen Loudon and Will Swindell at close defense. Surprisingly given the possession disparity (and, we’ll see shortly, no huge advantage in most of the special teams), this isn’t much of a takeaway team. Swindell leads the squad with seven total, and LSM Larken Kemp – who also leads the team in ground balls despite missing a game (hello, excellent faceoff wing play) – has five.

Freshman defenseman Jake Miller is one of the key backups as well, making appearances in all three games and figuring near the top of the GB chart. It’s tough to say who the true short-stick defensive midfielders are from the stats at this point. Either they are given carte blanche to go forward, or they simply don’t factor in much in the defensive stats.

Special Teams

Brown was absolutely outstanding on faceoffs through two games, with Will Gural winning 34/49 draws, Ted Ottens 3/6, and Jodan Schochet 2/3. Things weren’t so great against Hartford’s only-decent faceoff unit, with Gural struggling to 5/14 before Otten and Schochet came in to calm things down and get it back to a .500 mark. That’s one killer aspect of this team: if one really talented faceoff guy struggles, others can come in to stem the tide and get wins.

The majority of Brown’s possession advantage has been built up through that .612 faceoff mark, because they’re above-average, but not exceptional in both phases of the transition game. With this contest shifting indoors to Oosterbaan (after being initially scheduled for the Big House), this could play a bit of a role. Expect some failed clears in both directions, because Brown is talented enough to force them in one direction, and because they’ll be a bit disoriented in Oosterbaan (as is often the case for visitors).

Brown has played in some really physical games this year, with double-digit combined EMOs in two of the three contests. Michigan is traditionally a clean team (whereas through three games, Brown is not), so the Wolverines should have the chance to play some with the man advantage. Unfortunately, Brown’s man-down defense has been fantastic thus far in 2015, so converting will be a tall task.

Big Picture

Before Tuesday’s clunker against Jacksonville, this would have been viewed as an opportunity to put the Maize and Blue firmly in the national discussion for the 2015 season. Instead, it’s a chance to continue building a solid (though less solid than it had the potential to be) non-conference record, and prepare to win enough games in Big Ten play to make the conference tournament.

Springing the upset would be big here, but make no mistake that it would indeed be an upset. U-M is a year away from avoiding the types of letdown games that Jacksonville was, and cementing itself as a top-20 team, rather than one that can compete to be on the fringe of that.

Predictions

Brown is really good, Michigan should come out angry in a comfortable home venue…

  • U-M will struggle offensively. I don’t believe they’ll be at full strength when it comes to their personnel in that phase of the game, and they’d need to be in order to do enough scoring to make up for a likely possession deficit while keeping pace with Brown.
  • That said, Michigan should be able to slow the game down to a degree. After a couple years trying to do that while under-manned, they’ve upped the pace. Against Brown, that’s not going to be the path to a win. Look for some zone defense (expecting Logan to – as he’s capable – carry the D) to bog things down on that end of the field, and while they won’t play stall-ball on the other side, some very patient offense.
  • In the possession game, look for Michigan’s ride to frustrate Brown a bit should the Wolverines try to implement it. Oosterbaan Fieldhouse has given them more opportunities to use a heavy ride than they might otherwise have, and if nothing else, forcing the Bears to use plenty of clock to clear will slow things down.
  • I have no idea what to expect on faceoffs. Michigan has a very good specialist, but one who is capable of struggling if things start to go poorly. Brown seems to be in a similar boat, but has more bullets in the chamber. Look for Michigan to go with LSM Chase Brown at times to slow things down on draws and try to get wins, but more importantly settle the defense.

I might have come close to picking the upset if not for Michigan’s egg laid against Jacksonville. Indoors, they’re a better team (when not playing Notre Dame, at least), and Brown’s gaudy scorelines have been accomplished through exploiting some advantages – namely possession – that Michigan would normally be able to limit. However, I have to go with the head on this one, and though they’ll be held t0 a season-low offensive output, Brown wins 15-9.

Share your predictions, discussion, etc. in the comments.

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Michigan Preview: Jacksonville

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Tim

No rest for the SPRING BREAKers, Michigan right back in action for a mid-week game against Jacksonville, the first roadie of the year for the Maize and Blue.

Jacksonville

Jacksonville University Dolphins Lacrosse

Fear Flipper!

March 3, 2015. 7 p.m. EST
Jacksonville, Fla.
Live stats. ESPN3.
@UMichLacrosse.
Michigan Preview.
Jacksonville preview. .pdf notes.

Tempo-Free Profile

The TempoFreeLax.com numbers displayed here are last year’s. We’re getting close to the point where I’ll flip to this year’s marks, but since JU has played just two games thus far, not ready quite yet. I’ll note the key differences from last year at the end of this section.

Jacksonville 2014
Pace 65.00 (28)
Poss% 46.39 (57)
Off. Eff. 31.24 (30)
Def. Eff. 35.44 (52)
Pyth% 30.16 (54)

Jacksonville played at a nice clip last year, just above the national average. Part of that was scoring goals at a nice clip while also having goals dumped on their face. Part of it was a ride/clear game that made tempo increase just a bit. Whatever it was, the Dolphins did not control much of the possession, and they were just outside of the bottom 10 nationally in that regard.

The offense was pretty good, albeit against some pretty poor teams (the numbers here are adjusted for the No. 54 strength of schedule nationally). They scored a lot of goals on bad teams – and their bad defenses – and hit double-digits in a six-goal loss to Duke. They also scored just a pair on Ohio State.

Defensively, the Dolphins were bad (and against bad competition) last season. Opponents scored on more than a third of their possessions, and the only teams JU held to single-digits – remember, at an average pace, where a 10-goal game is pretty nice for the national average – were VMI, Marquette, and in a pair of losses, High Point and Bellarmine.

Through two games this season, the Dolphins have turned things around in a big way on faceoffs, where they’re very good, but the offense has joined the defense in plummeting near the bottom of the national ranks. With two games of data (especially a blowout loss and a close win over poor competition), there’s not a ton to be gleaned from it.

Offense

Last year’s leading scorer by a wide margin was attack Tom Moore (27 goals, 12 assists), and he’s the second-leading point-getter through two games, with a pair of goals and three assists. Brother Rob, a a year older (senior) and fellow starting attackman, had 17 goals and 10 assists, and is at a goal and three assists thus far this season.

Last year’s second-leading scorer, Duncan Clancy, has departed, and with him went 12 goals and 17 assists to lead the team. In his stead, there’s an apparent sharing of the… uh… sharing duties, with both Moores assisting plenty so far this year.

One player without many assists? Sophomore attack Chase McIntyre, the team’s leading scorer with six goals so far this year. With nine goals to his name last year, he has 15 total points in his Jacksonville career, every one from finding the net himself, rather than dishing out a ball. He’s the pure finisher, and will get his share of opportunities to do that against Michigan.

Junior midfielder Dakota Rohlin has three goals and an assist himself, another primarily-finishing player with a little more diversity to his game (16 and 7 last year). Fellow midfielder Conor Igoe played in just one game last year, and is back as a fifth-year senior. He has two goals and two assists to his name thus far in 2015, and will be another player to watch.

Given Michigan’s talent on close defense (pretty good, not exceptional) and in net (very good in the form of Gerald Logan), the Wolverines should be able to limit good chances for the Dolphins, There will still be some opportunities, but I wouldn’t expect a scoring part to break out.

Defense

Defensively, the Dolphins look like they’ll struggle for the second year in a row. They gave up 20 goals in 35 possessions to Army (a mind-numbing .571 efficiency mark), and even St. Johns put up 11 in just 23 possessions. That’s bad, in personal e-pinion. The Johnnies’ second-best offensive output this season was .361 in a weird upset of Stony Brook.

Jacksonville’s decent keeper from last year, Pete DeLuca, has moved on, but the Dolphins are pretty settled on junior Bass Barfield between the pipes. He struggled mightily against Army, and has already faced 51 shots on goal through two games (saving .412 of them). It’s hard to know how much of it was his fault in an absolute offensive onslaught by the Black Knights, but it ain’t good no matter what.

The close defense isn’t exactly inexperienced, either, with senior Austin Curtis earning both starts alongside junior Ray Bannister, with senior Ben Carter and freshman Tucket Guyot splitting starts at the other spot. They just got it taken to them by a good offense in Army and a mediocre offense in St. John’s. It’s not a particularly aggressive defense either, with Curtis leading the squad in caused turnovers with two.

Joining Curtis atop the CT leaderboard is SSDM Jet Harding, also the team’s leader in GBs. He’s taken a couple faceoffs (losing both), but his primary duty has been to work the opponents’ midfielders in the settled D. It hasn’t actually been that much of a struggle, with Army doing most of its damage working through the attack.

Of course, Michigan has a balanced offense with strong attackmen and some good dodging midfielders, so a bad Jacksonville defense is really up against the ropes in this one.

Special Teams

Other than Harding (who really just came in to stop the bleeding against Army), the primary faceoff specialist duties have been split. Long-stick Pat Ryan is right around .500 (most of those attempts against the Black Knights), but sophomore Sam Rosengarden has been the primary specialist. He was around .500 against the Black Knights himself, but worked over St. John’s – actually a decent faceoff team otherwise – to the tune of 19/23. With Michigan’s talented-but-mercurial Brad Lott and a host of other specialists available, something better than .500 is a reasonable goal. Patrick McEwen’s faceoff ratings on IL had Rosengarden a couple spots behind Lott in the national rankings before the weekend’s domination of St. John’s.

Jacksonville’s clear has taken a big step back this year (again, just a couple games of evidence, so don’t put too much stock into it quite yet), while the Dolphins haven’t emphasized the ride yet in the first couple outings. Michigan’s clear is right around average nationally, and while the ride has been good, I don’t expect that to be quite as strong in the first game away from Oosterbaan Fieldhouse. There’s still something to exploit there.

Jacksonville has had a decent chance to shoot on the man-up – 10 opportunities through just two games – but has only converted a pair of them. This is not a killer EMO. They were 0/3 against Army and 2/7 against St. John’s. On the other end of the spectrum, the Red Storm converted 2/5 and Army converted 1/4. Not a huge disparity in penalties overall.

Big Picture

Jacksonville isn’t a very good team, and Michigan should be able to handle them easily, based on what we’ve seen from each team so far this year. There are some factors playing against the Maize and Blue – first game away from home, and in fact first game outside of Oosterbaan Fieldhouse – that could result in a slow start.

This is a must-win game in order to build up a solid non-conference resume, more so because it would be a killer loss than it’s a quality win. Other than Sunday’s Brown game, the non-conference schedule should be a sweep.

Predictions

Should-win, must-win.

  • I look for a break-even on faceoffs until we have more robust data on both Michigan and Jacksonville. Michigan has had great games and serious struggles at that spot, and while I’d expect success more often than not, you just don’t know.
  • Michigan should have a really efficient offensive day. Jacksonville’s defense is bad, and U-M – while they probably aren’t on Army’s level – might be more comparable to the Black Knights than St. John’s. JU hasn’t stopped anyone yet, and Michigan shouldn’t be an exception.
  • I’m less sure what to expect defensively from the Maize and Blue. JU hasn’t been good in either game thus far, but they clearly have a bit of talent – and many of the same players who were on OK offense last year. First road-game jitters for Michigan and the Dolphins jelling a bit could combine for a less-than stellar defensive performance.
  • All that said, on the basis of available evidence, there’s no reason to expect this one to be particularly close, unless everything goes really poorly. Just about everything would have to go wrong at once for it to result in a loss, however.

Good team v. bad team, even in the house of the bad team, usually goes good team’s way. If Michigan can dominate possession (possible, but not a guarantee), this should get out of hand extremely early. Either way, competitive past halftime would be a disappointment. Michigan wins it, 17-7.

Share your predictions, discussion, etc. in the comments.

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Detroit Preview: Bellarmine

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Tim

Heavily re-purposing the previous Bellarmine preview. Michigan took on the Knights a couple weeks back. Detroit does this afternoon. Hopefully the result – a convincing win – will be the same.

Bellarmine

Bellarmine Knights lacrosse

Fear the stylized Knights!

March 1, 2015. 3:30 p.m. EST
Louisville, Ky.
Live stats. Live video.
Detroit Preview. .pdf notes.
Bellarmine Preview.

Tempo-Free Profile

The TempoFreeLax.com numbers displayed here are last year’s, though this is probably the last time I’ll have to do that. The statistical library is growing robust enough (with many schools through about a third of their regular-season schedule (in February (SPRING SPORT)) we’ll clean up the data and have it fully presentable in short order), and after Tuesday’s Michigan-Jacksonville game, it’ll be full-go on 2015 stats..

Bellarmine 2014
Pace 62.67 (43)
Poss% 49.87 (40)
Off. Eff. 28.63 (48)
Def. Eff. 28.92 (21)
Pyth% 48.81 (31)

Bellarmine was not a fast team last year, nor did the Knights do a good job controlling the ball. that means not a whole lot of offensive possessions…

And they didn’t do a whole lot with those, either. Offensive efficiency was their worst aspect last season. They had solid games last year, but many of them against very poor defenses.

Fortunately, given that many of the (few) possessions in their games came in the sticks of the opposition, they had a very good defense. They held eight of 12 opponents to single digits, though thanks to that anemic offense, they still lost one such game and all four when the opposition cracked 10.

Offense

From the last time out:

Although Bellarmine was picked to win the conference in the inaugural year of the Southern, they are clearly not expected to do it with offense. Onetime Michigan attack commit, sophomore Austin Shanks is their only pre-season all-conference player on that side of the ball (oddly listed at midfielder, a position he is not expected to play for the Knights this year).

Shanks was the No. 3 scorer for the team last year, with fellow freshman Tucker Ciessau one of those beating him out. Now sophomores, they should be the deadly duo. Both were much more finishers than feeders last year, with a 4:1-ish ratio between goals and assists for each.

The Nos. 2 and 4 leading scorers both departed, leaving senior midfielder Ryan Scinta as the only other returning double-digit point scorer. The offense was very concentrated among five guys, with the attackmen finishing and the midfielders feeding. Scinta will have to have linemates step up, and the attackmen may need to be a little more versatile.

Jack Perkins, a sophomore A/M, has stepped up to be the clear second-leading scorer. Ciessau and Scinta aren’t far behind, but it’s clear that Shanks is the straw that stirs the drink here.

Defense

Again, from the earlier Bellarmine preview:

Bellarmine boasts two defensive players on the preseason all-conference list in close defender Colin Hart and LSM Bobby Schmitt (the latter of whom could be the best player in the conference this side of High Point keeper Austin Giesler, in personal e-pinion). Schmitt is also a threat offensively, with seven assists and 16 shots – though no goals – last year.

…

Top SSDM Reid Wesley is back, and another major contributor (when healthy last year, at least) Ben Plisco is just a junior, so he could take another step forward. Two losses and returning a conference player of the year candidate on that side of the ball probably isn’t bad.

Schmitt has been limited by injury, and hasn’t recorded a stat yet this year. The only game he saw any action was against Michigan. Hart has been leading the defense.

Goalie Drew Goethals has been pretty good thus far – .521 save% though with 11.41 goals against per game (so, uh, that defense without Schmitt? Good or nah?) – and Bellarmine will have to rely on him until Schmitt is back in the lineup, most likely.

Special Teams

Once more, with feeling:

Bellarmine was so bad on faceoffs last year, winning just 42.68% (No. 52 nationally), including a 3/24 performance against Louisville native Brad Lott last year – one that could be pretty comfortably blamed for losing the Knights the game, given the close score. The best of bad options (Stephen Soriano) has graduated, but little-used Grant Beczkalo put up slightly better numbers albeit with a smaller sample size, so there might not be too much of a step back (also because there isn’t a whole lot of room to move in that direction). GB play has been Michigan’s bigger faceoff issue in the past year-plus though, so Schmitt will have to be controlled in this phase of the game.

Tyler Nangle has taken over on faceoffs after Beczkalo was pretty bad to start the year. He’s been decent – .550 in a limited sample size – but almost all of the positives came against a bad Robert Morris team, with struggles in the other couple games.

The Knights cleared at an elite level last year – again, great to have an outstanding LSM – second-best in the nation. With most of the short-stick midfielders and Schmitt returning, that should continue. Bellarmine is also one of the few teams nationally that puts more than a token effort into riding nowadays, so that aggression let them harass opponents into fails on nearly 15% of attempts.

Schmitt out, clear suffers. They’re still riding relatively well, but (especially in the Michigan game – a totally different circumstance in Oosterbaan, etc.) they’ve occasionally had a rough time getting out of their own end.

Bellarmine committed barely more penalties than opponents last year, so their style of play (except in contrast to Michigan’s relatively clean brand) doesn’t put them at a disadvantage. They did not score very well on the EMO, and gave up some goals man-down, so when things are uneven, it could be a slight advantage Michigan.

That’s unchanged for the most part, though Bellarmine has been charged with a few more infractions this year than last (they’re bordering on “dirty team” territory early in the year, though most of the penalties have been technical violations).

Big Picture

This is a non-conference opponent UDM has a good chance to beat, so doing that would be nice. That’s a hot sports take if there’s ever been one.

As I’ve said, most of the non-conference is going to be irrelevant to the season-long goals of the team (make the NCAA Tournament, something only the MAAC’s autobid will be able to achieve for them), but piling up the wins when you can get them builds confidence and improves reputation for this year’s team and beyond.

Using this game to prepare for the conference schedule is the more important factor, but you’re crazy if you don’t think UDM is trying to win it. Winning two of the next three (Bellarmine, Mercer, Air Force) going into conference play would give a strong chance to end the year with a winning record, as along as the MAAC goes according to plan.

Predictions

Detroit has two one-goal victories at home and indoors. They have two blowout losses away from the friendly confines of Ultimate Soccer Arenas…

  • I think Bellarmine is able to control possession to a degree. They have a faceoff specialist who is above-average, and although I don’t think the majority of UDM’s faceoff issues fall on the FOGOs, there’s an ongoing difficulty in winning the GB, even if they win the clamp. With Ben Gjokaj missing the last few games, there are also limited bullets in the chamber if things don’t go well.
  • The Bellarmine defense has really struggled without Schmitt in the lineup (and probably for other reasons, but Schmitt’s absence is an important one of them). Detroit has some firepower on offense, with a variety of attackmen – ball-carriers, feeders, and finishers – and a few midfielders who can bomb from outside. They should have a chance to convert on the offensive opportunities they do get.
  • The key will be slowing down the Bellarmine offense. It’s outstripped expectations this year, thanks in large part to the output of Shanks and emergence of Perkins. Detroit has let attackmen get inside – the only way Jason Weber’s going to get consistently beaten – and they have to slow that down to slow down the Knights’ O.
  • The penalty game could play a key role in this one. Detroit’s NCAA-record conversion rate last year was certainly built on some smoke and mirrors (and “playing Mercer, VMI, and Wagner, along with a MAAC schedule”). However, it still has the talent, and if Bellarmine consistently puts itself in tough situations, the Titans should convert. The thing is, Detroit has traditionally been penalty-prone as well, so there’s no telling which trend will hold out.

I think it’s clear that three of the teams in Louisville this weekend – Detroit, Bellarmine, and Ohio State – are approximately equal in overall quality (UDM beat the Buckeyes by one, OSU beat Bellarmine by one – obviously the transitive property doesn’t exist, but  lose games are close games) with Marquette standing above the pack. However, Detroit’s advantage inside Ultimate Soccer is gone. If UDM played Ohio State five more times, I don’t think they’d win half those games – and maybe not any. Bellarmine, playing at home, takes the 12-9 win.

Share your predictions, discussion, etc. in the comments.

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