The Next Level: April 8, 2014

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Tim

Our weekly look at Michigan natives’ performances in the world of Division-1 lacrosse…

Air Force 19, Mercer 6

  • Senior attack Tommy McKee (Holt) – Did not see game action (ending a 30-game goal streak).

Bellarmine 10, Marquette 7
Bellarmine 10, High Point 9 (OT)

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

Boston University 7, Army 8

  • Freshman midfielder Greg Marzec (Brother Rice) – Won his only faceoff attempt, picking up one ground ball. Also committed one penalty for 1:00.

Canisius 9, Manhattan 4

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

Delaware 10, Manhattan 5
Delaware 9, Ohio State 15

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

Detroit 12, Marist 11

  • Junior attack Brandon Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Started, scored two Goals on two Shots, and added two assists.
  • Freshman attack Kyle Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Junior midfielder Mike Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Took six Shots (three on goal) and picked up one ground ball. Also committed four turnovers.
  • Junior defenseman Matt Burnett (Clarkston) – Did not see game action.
  • Redshirt senior midfielder Tyler Corcoran (South Lyon) – Went 0/2 on faceoffs.
  • Sophomore LSM Nick Demattia (Clarkston) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Junior midfielder Scott Drummond (Birmingham Seaholm) – Started recorded an Assist, and twoo two Shots (one on goal). Also committed three turnovers.
  • Redshirt freshman goalie Connor Flynn (Rockford) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior midfielder Nick Garippa (Notre Dame Prep) – Played, but only made the scoresheet by committing one turnover and two penalties for 1:00.
  • Junior defenseman Joe Gifford (Notre Dame Prep) – Started and picked up one ground ball.
  • Freshman attack Alec Gilhooly (Detroit Catholic Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Freshman midfielder Ben Gjokaj (Walled Lake Central) – Did not see game action.
  • Redshirt freshman midfielder Brad Harris (Saline) – Took one Shot on goal.
  • Sophomore midfielder Andy Hebden (Brother Rice) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Redshirt freshman midfielder JD Hess (Birmingham Seaholm) – Picked up two ground balls.
  • Senior midfielder Joe MacLean (Detroit Country Day) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Freshman defenseman Bryan Matney (Ann Arbor Pioneer) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore attack Nick Melucci (Northville) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Senior LSM Tim Robertson (Notre Same Prep) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior midfielder Drew Schupbach (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) – Did not see game action.
  • Junior midfielder Thomas Sible (Forest Hills Central) – Caused one turnover and picked up two ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Sophomore midfielder Mike Spuller (Dexter) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior attack Tyler Staruch (Brighton) – Did not see game action.
  • Freshman attack Adam Susalla (Birmingham Seaholm) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior D/LSM Mike Wenderski (UD-Jesuit) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore defenseman Jordan Yono (Detroit Catholic Central) – Went 0/1 on faceoffs and picked up one ground ball. Also committed two turnovers.

Georgetown 10, Providence 8

  • Senior midfielder Grant Fisher (Brother Rice) – Started, scored two Goals on six Shots, recorded one Assist, and caused one turnover. Also committed one turnover and one penalty for 1:00.

Hartford 11, Albany 15

  • Freshman defenseman Bennett Dipzinski (Forest Hills Northern) – Did not see game action (will redshirt 2014).

Marquette 7, Bellarmine 10

  • Redshirt sophomore midfielder K.C. Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Won nine of 16 faceoffs, picking up six ground balls, and took one Shot.
  • Sophomore attack Henry Nelson (Brother Rice) – Scored a Goal on three Shots.

Marquette 11, St. John’s 10

  • Redshirt sophomore midfielder K.C. Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.
  • Sophomore attack Henry Nelson (Brother Rice) – Played, but only made the scoresheet by committing one turnover.

Michigan 8, Fairfield 9

  • Freshman midfielder Brian Archer (Brighton) – Did not see game action.
  • Junior defenseman Mack Gembis (Cranbrook) – Started caused four turnovers, and picked up two ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Sophomore attack Riley Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Did not see game action.
  • Junior attack Will Meter (Brother Rice) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Junior midfielder Thomas Orr (Detroit Catholic Central) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Senior midfielder Tom Sardelli (Notre Dame Prep) – Did not see game action.
  • Senior LSM Dakota Sherman (Cranbrook) – Caused one turnover.
  • Sophomore defenseman Chris Walker (Brother Rice) – Started, caused two turnovers, and picked up two ground balls. Also committed one penalty for 1:00.
  • Redshirt junior defenseman Max Zwolan (Ann Arbor Pioneer) – Did not see game action.

Notre Dame 7, Duke 15

  • Freshman midfielder Sergio Perkovic (Brother Rice) – Started and scored a Goal on five Shots (four on goal). Also committed one turnover.

Ohio State 15, Delaware 9

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

Penn 10, Brown 8

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

Richmond 13, Furman 10

  • Freshman attack J.P. Forester (Brother Rice) – Started and scored three Goals on seven Shots (five on goal). Also committed one penalty and one turnover for 0:30.

Robert Morris 6, Maryland 9
Robert Morris 12, Wagner 7

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

Rutgers 16, St. John’s 13
Rutgers 11, Princeton 15

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

Sacred Heart 5, Bryant 14

  • Junior midfielder Joe Kemp (Troy Athens) – Started and won two of eight faceoffs, picking up one ground ball.

Sacred Heart 10, Hobart 9

  • Junior midfielder Joe Kemp (Troy Athens) – Did not see game action.

St. John’s 13, Rutgers 16
St. John’s 10, Marquette 11

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

VMI 5, Jacksonville 14

  • Junior midfielder Andrew Erber (Dexter) – Started, took one Shot, caused one turnover, and picked up five ground balls. Also committed one turnover.

Yale 8, Providence 5

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

Yale 16, Dartmouth 10

  • Freshman midfielder John Lazarsfeld (Ann Arbor Greenhills) – Picked up one ground ball.

Corrections, comments, discussion, and scorelines from other divisions can be left in the comments.

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Scores and Schedule: April 8, 2014

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Tim

Spring break for most high schools means a slowdown on games at that level, and Mondays are always light college days. Rough life.

Yesterday’s Results

Division-2 Women

Davenport 10, Indiana Tech 14
Aquinas 24, Lourdes 9

High School Boys

Temperance Bedford 4, Bowling Green (Ohio) 9
Hartland 16, Tecumseh 10

High School Girls

Livonia Ladywood 23, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 4
Canton 13, Northville 8
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep @ Warren Regina
Plymouth @ Salem

Today’s Schedule

Division-2 Women

Siena Heights @ Lawrence Tech

Division-3 Women

Kalamazoo @ Adrian
Hope v. St. Mary’s (Ind.)
Calvin @ Olivet
Alma @ Trine

High School Boys

Royal Oak Shrine @ Madison Heights Bishop Foley
Grosse Ile @ Bloomfield Hills
Cranbrook @ Brother Rice
UD-Jesuit @ Detroit Country Day
Orchard Lake St Mary’s @ Warren De La Salle
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep @ Dearborn Divine Child
Swartz Creek @ Saginaw Heritage
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard @ Howell
Belleville @ Monroe St. Mary-Catholic Central

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

Posted in division 2, division 3, high school | Tagged | Comments Off on Scores and Schedule: April 8, 2014

Michigan 8, Fairfield 9

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Tim

I’ve said it before about this Michigan team: while there shouldn’t be any moral victories in the world of sports, they’ve come about as close to that as possible. With a one-goal (overtime) loss to Cornell earlier this season, they outperformed expectations, and they did it once more Saturday by only falling by one goal to Fairfield. No matter the margin, however, a loss is a loss.

Tempo Free

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

Fairfield 2014
Fairfield Michigan
Faceoff Wins 13 Faceoff Wins 7
Clearing 14-16 Clearing 17-18
Possessions 30 Possessions 27
Goals 9 Goals 8
Offensive Efficiency .300 Offensive Efficiency .296

The efficiency margin was razor-thin here, such that one possession in either direction could have either sent this one to overtime (about which more later) or given the Stags a little more comfort in the win.

The difference then was the possession game. Michigan’s clear and ride were both good, but the faceoff game – supposedly the Wolverines’ biggest strength – really failed them in this one. It’s easy to say “it happens,” but there have been too many times this spring where it’s just happened.

Notes

So… what’s the deal with Brad Lott? He’s capable of dominating some of the game’s best faceoffs men, then goes against a mediocre group and gets dominated himself. That’s not the first time this season, and at this point it would be fair to describe him as “mercurial.” A 7/20 mark is out of character for him, and if he’d been .500 (or better yet, his season average of .563), Michigan would have had a real shot to prevent Fairfield’s early momentum and steal this game.

The ebb and flow of this game was an interesting one. Fairfield scored the first two goals of the game, then Michigan evened things up before the Stags’ 6-2 run to end the first half let things get out of control. Michigan came back with the #clamps in the second half though, shutting down the Fairfield offense (a single goal in 12 possessions). Michigan made a few mistakes to turn the ball over late in the game though, and couldn’t close the gap all the way.

Fairfield also benefitted from scoring two goals late in a quarter. They found net with under :30 left in the first quarter and with just a few seconds left in the first half (both coming out of timeouts), and those two doomed Michigan, preventing U-M from stymieing any momentum.

Robbie Zonino deserves a bit of credit for this game. He ended with eight saves and nine goals allowed (meaning that the team defense deserves even more credit for allowing only 17 shots on goal). However, a couple goals in the first half were pretty soft – particularly a slow-moving bounce shot – and with one or two more saves, especially on those easy ones, the end result of this game could have been different.

Mack Gembis hulked up to cause four turnovers and pick up two ground balls (how much did Michigan miss him in the three contests he was either out or limited with injury), while fellow pole Chris Walker caused two turnovers of his own while also snagging two ground balls.

David Joseph (the day after turning 22) was your offensive leader, with three goals on ten shots (six on goal). On the downside, he also committed six turnovers, including the one that sealed the game for Fairfield coming out of a Michigan timeout late in the fourth quarter. Freshman Mikie Schlosser scored on both of his shots, while midfielders Thomas Paras and Kyle Jackson each had a goal and an assist.

Michigan was on the wrong end of all four of the game’s penalties (at least one, a trip against Walker, looked like a pretty bad call live and without the benefit of a replay). However, the man-down managed to keep the Stags from converting on any of those.

It was a pretty even scoring output for the starting Fairfield offense, with Colin McLinden leading the way by notching two goals and three assists. Four other Stags had two points, and two more recorded a single point on the day. Faceoff specialist Michael Roe was the star for the team, winning 11 of 16 draws, including four ground balls.

Elsewhere

Michigan recap. Boxscore. Fairfield recap. Maize n Brew covers the game. Fairfield is on the fringe of the top ten, so a one-goal margin is no embarrassment.

Up Next

Michigan has a tough task, heading to Columbus to play in front of probably the largest crowd they’ve ever encountered, and certainly the largest hostile crowd. Ohio State’s athletic department is wise enough to put their lacrosse game (“Showdown at the Shoe”) before the spring football game, not an hour-plus after.

Ohio State’s record is not shiny this year at 4-6, but the Buckeyes have suffered most of their losses to really, really tough opposition, and they’re probably looking forward to an easier opponent to get back on the right side of the ledger. It’s unclear just how easy Michigan will be, but certainly the Buckeyes are the favored squad.

Michigan’s no stranger to the underdog role, of course, but this would be the biggest win (by a wide margin) in program history, from an upset standpoint.

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Detroit 12, Marist 11

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Tim

The Titans put together a strong performance when they needed it, something that they’ve been able to do in conference play to date, but have struggled with in the non-conference. That’s a step toward doing what UDM seems to do each year: finish strong.

Tempo Free

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

Marist 2014
Marist Detroit
Faceoff Wins 20 Faceoff Wins 7
Clearing 13-15 Clearing 17-23
Possessions 41 Possessions 32
Goals 11 Goals 12
Offensive Efficiency .268 Offensive Efficiency .375

Detroit was very poor in two areas that we’ve come to expect: faceoffs and clearing. Those two alone got them destroyed in the possession game, even though an OK ride helped keep things from getting too out of control.

The possession game didn’t matter too much in this one, though. The Titans’ offense was humming at full power, and good goalkeeping prevented the Red Foxes from achieving to the same level. Game, set, match.

Notes

There are two notable areas to discuss. Since the offense was outstanding, I’ll look to Shayne Adams first. He broke loose for one of the first times this season, putting up six goals (on just seven shots) and adding an assist. While it’s clearly too soon to say any and all knee injuries are fully in the rearview mirror, this was the first time in a while that that Shayne Adams has been seen at Titan Field.

Tom Masterson was the No. 2 scorer with three goals and two assists. Alex Maini (a goal and three assists) and Brandon Beauregard (two goals and two assists) had four points apiece. Between that trio of high scorers, there were only three total turnovers – one from Adams and two from Maini – so the valuing of the ball from offensive players was likely the difference in the game.

It wasn’t all great, though. Mike Birney had four turnovers, and put only three of six shots on the cage (scoring on none of them). Scott Drummond had two turnovers of his own, but contributed an assist.

The other excellent player (besides Adams) for the Titans Saturday was goalie Jason Weber. He’s been rounding into form since the first couple games of the season, and has been playing at a very high level for a few weeks now. He made 23 saves on 34 shots on goal, potentially his best game to date. Marist’s offense has been pretty good, so it’s not like he was doing this against Monmouth, either. Simply an outstanding performance.

That Marist got 34 shots on the cage (and 50 total!) is something of an indictment of the defense, however. Compare that to 27 shots and 20 on goal for the Titans. It’s clear whose goalie – and shooting accuracy – made the difference in the game. D-mid Troy Dennis led the way with two caused turnovers, and only faceoff specialist Damien Hicks and goalie Weber reached four ground balls to tie for the team lead.

Speaking of Hicks… not his day. As I’ve mentioned in recent weeks, wing play for the Titans is not good, so only so much of the struggle falls on Hicks’ shoulders. He won the GB on three of his seven wins (in 24 attempts), and caused a turnover on one other. If he’s not getting the win to himself, Detroit has a very, very limited likelihood of helping him out.

The clear game was terrible (no surprise) against a team that has hardly used its ride all year. The Titans managed to escape with a win despite it, but they won’t be able to get away with that level of clearing through the remainder of the MAAC schedule if they’re hoping to put themselves in position to return to the NCAA Tournament.

Three different starters for Marist put up three points, but nobody exceeded that. Given the usual high scorers’ shots taken – Drew Nesmith and Mike Begley combined for 26 shots, 15 on goal, scoring only four total goals – it’s clear that Weber won this game for UDM.

Elsewhere

Detroit recap. Box score. Photo gallery. Only semi-relevant, but Troy Dennis is up for an award. Vote for him. Postgame video interviews with Matt Holtz and Shayne Adams/Jason Weber:

Marist recap.

Up Next

Detroit’s home stand (and season) has one more game left, with the Siena Saints coming to Detroit Saturday. As per tradition, Siena is atop the MAAC standings at this point in the year. Detroit currently sits No. 3, and a win would be huge for the Titans’ conference tournament seeding.

That said, the Saints’ high ranking also implies the obvious: they’re a tough out for UDM, regardless of whether the game is at Titan Field or not. While this isn’t the same team it was a couple years ago, it should be good enough to stay atop one of the country’s weakest conferences.

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Scores and Schedule: April 7, 2014

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Tim

Spring break for most high schools means a slowdown on games at that level, and Mondays are always light college days. Rough life.

Yesterday’s Results

Division-1 Women

Detroit 5, Jacksonville 18

Division-2 Women

Aquinas 16, Siena Heights 9
Grand Valley State 19, Lake Erie 8

Division-3 Women

Albion 14, Southwestern 17

Collegiate Club Men

Northwood 0, Lourdes 22
Michigan State 9, Minnesota-Duluth 5
Siena Heights 12, Michigan-Dearborn 8
Western Michigan 13, Oakland 10
Aquinas 13, Central Michigan 10

Collegiate Club Women

Oakland 5, Loyola Club 12

High School Boys

Bloomfield Hills 8, Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep 12
UD-Jesuit 9, Cleveland (Ohio) St. Ignatius 17

Today’s Schedule

Division-2 Women

Davenport @ Indiana Tech
Aquinas @ Lourdes

High School Boys

Temperance Bedford v. Bowling Green (Ohio)
Tecumseh @ Hartland

High School Girls

Livonia Ladywood @ Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep @ Warren Regina
Canton @ Northville
Plymouth @ Salem

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

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Scores and schedule: April 6, 2014

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Tim

Poor weather yesterday canceled or delayed some games, but the season marches on.

Yesterday’s Results

Division-1 Men

Detroit 12, Marist 11
Michigan 8, Fairfield 9

Division-1 Women

Michigan 9, Navy 12

Division-3 Men

Albion 27, Olivet 4
Calvin 9, Baldwin Wallace 17
Alma 5, Trine 8
Adrian 5, Denison 15

Division-3 Women

Olivet 13, Trine 6
Adrian 17, Calvin 6
Alma 12, Kalamazoo 8
Albion 15, Hope 7

Collegiate Club Men

Grand Valley State 25, Taylor 2
Western Michigan 11, Ohio 16

Collegiate Club Women

Michigan 11, Pitt 20
Michigan State 6, Ohio State Club 17
Michigan State 11, Pitt 13
Michigan 10, Ohio State Club 15
Oakland 8, Duke Club 11
Wayne State 9, John Carroll Club 19
Saginaw Valley @ Western Michigan

High School Boys

Auburn Hills Avondale 10, Anchor Bay Fairview 1
Brother Rice 16, Cleveland (Ohio) St Ignatius 3
Cranbrook 17, Warren De La Salle 10
Monroe St. Mary-Catholic Central 16, Lincoln-Ypsilanti 12
Grosse Pointe South 8, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 3
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 12, Plymouth 3
Grosse Pointe University Liggett @ Dearborn Divine Child

Today’s Schedule

Division-1 Women

Detroit v. Jacksonville, noon @ Titan Field

Division-2 Women

Siena Heights @ Aquinas
Grand Valley State @ Lake Erie

Division-3 Women

Albion v. Southwestern

Collegiate Club Men

Northwood @ Lourdes
Michigan State v. Minnesota-Duluth
Michigan-Dearborn @ Siena Heights
Oakland @ Western Michigan
Central Michigan @ Aquinas

Collegiate Club Women

Oakland v. Loyola Club

High School Boys

Bloomfield Hills @ Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep
UD-Jesuit v. Cleveland (Ohio) St. Ignatius

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

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Scores and Schedule: April 5, 2014

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Tim

Poor weather yesterday canceled or delayed some games, but the season marches on.

Yesterday’s Results

Division-2 Women

Aquinas 16, Davenport  6
Grand Valley State 19, Findlay 8
Siena Heights 9, Indiana Tech 15
Lawrence Tech 18, Lourdes 12

Division-3 Men

Hope 9, Illinoins Wesleyan 10

Division-3 Women

Olivet 9, Southwestern 14

Collegiate Club Men

Ferris State 4, Indiana Tech 22
Lawrence Tech 10, Siena Heights 9
Davenport 12, Minnesota-Duluth 11

Collegiate Club Women

Grand Valley v. Central Michigan (CMU forfeit)
Oakland 9, James Madison Club 16

High School Boys

Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 18, Madison Heights Bishop Foley 7
Monroe St. Mary-Catholic Central 9, Grosse Ile 2
Bloomfield Hills 6, Quaker Valley (Pa.) 13
Salem 14, Tecumseh 6
Chelsea @ Belleville

High School Girls

Grosse Pointe South @ Brighton
Livonia Ladywood @ Warren Regina
Bloomfield Hills Sacred Heart Academy @ Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
Northville @ Salem

Today’s Schedule

Division-1 Men

Detroit v. Marist, 11 a.m. @ Titan Field. Preview.
Michigan v. Fairfield, 5 p.m. @ Michigan Stadium. Preview.

Division-1 Women

Detroit @ Navy

Division-3 Men

Olivet @ Albion
Calvin v. Baldwin Wallace
Alma v. Trine
Adrian @ Denison

Division-3 Women

Olivet v. Trine
Adrian @ Calvin
Kalamazoo @ Alma
Hope @ Albion

Collegiate Club Men

Grand Valley State v. Taylor
Western Michigan @ Ohio

Collegiate Club Women

Michigan v. Pitt
Michigan State v. Ohio State Club
Michigan State v. Pitt
Michigan v. Ohio State Club
Saginaw Valley @ Western Michigan
Grand Valley State v. Taylor
Oakland v. Duke Club
Wayne State @ John Carroll Club

High School Boys

Auburn Hills Avondale @ Anchor Bay Fairview
Brother Rice v. Cleveland (Ohio) St Ignatius
Warren De La Salle @ Cranbrook
Grosse Pointe University Liggett @ Dearborn Divine Child
Monroe St. Mary-Catholic Central @ Lincoln-Ypsilanti
Grosse Pointe South @ POntiac Notre Dame Prep
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard @ Plymouth

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

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Michigan Preview: Fairfield

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Tim

Michigan has already done several unprecedented things this season: winning multiple games, qualifying for the conference tournament, playing a ranked opponent to overtime. They have an opportunity to beat a ranked opponent for the first time tomorrow.

Fairfield

fairfield stags lacrosse logo

#Stagswag

April 5, 2014. 5 p.m. EDT
Michigan Stadium. FREE.
Live stats. Live video ($).
@UMichLacrosse. @UofMLaxManagers.
@GreatLaxState. @SJUHawks_MLax.
Michigan preview. .pdf notes.
Fairfield preview. .pdf notes.

Tempo-Free Profile

The TempoFreeLax.com numbers displayed here are up to date for this season, since there’s enough data nationally that the numbers are pretty meaningful. Fairfield is a good team, but they’ve played a pretty easy strengths of schedule this season, as well. They’re No. 45 nationally in that metric, worse than every program ranked ahead of them in the TFL ratings.

Fairfield 2014
Pace 61.60 (48)
Poss% 50.32 (34)
Off. Eff. 37.98 (10)
Def. Eff. 27.07 (13)
Pyth% 74.84 (11)

Fairfield plays a relatively slow pace, and they’re right in the middle of the country when it comes to possession percentage, barely a tick over 50%. Those two factors together mean few possessions for both teams, but in about even proportions.

It’s in the settled ends of the field that Fairfield is doing really well. The offense is a step ahead of the defense, with a top-10 unit nationally. That’s pretty good (with the caveats about schedule strength applying).

The defense isn’t so far behind, and would be considered an elite unit itself, even playing for a worse team. Fortunately for Fairfield, they have the well-rounded squad that allows both sides of the ball to help the common goal.

Offense

Fairfield’s offense is really good, so it isn’t surprising to see a lot of impressive statlines. Seven different Stags have double-digit points on the year, and those individuals step down in nice increments from 33 down to 13.

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

The third starting attack is a mystery only because three separate players in the top six scorers are listed as hybrid attack/midfielders – and their roles have rotated throughout the year. Both senior Eric Warden and junior Drew Federico are listed with several starts at attack (usually with the other starting on midfield, but in one game they were both listed as attack starters), freshman Dave Fleming has started twice, and junior Nick Guida once. If one thing is clear, it’s that Fairfield has a lot of guys who can play multiple roles – and they change interchange throughout a game. Michigan will likely pole the “midfielder” who is also an attackman the majority of the game.

It is Warden who is the leading scorer among that group, with 25 goals and just two assists. Fleming has 15 goals and four assists, and Federico has 10 and three. Guida has only played in two games this year, and I assume he’s out with injury.

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

Fairfield’s versatility on offense could be considered one of the Stags’ calling cards, and that’s something sure to give Michigan fits. While there are some good defensive players in the Wolverines’ arsenal, there are also weak points to exploit, and switching responsibilities on offense is a good way to get those weaknesses primed for attack.

Defense

As noted above, Fairfield’s defense is only slightly behind its offense in the realm of the elite. That effort is keyed by a pretty good (though only “pretty good”) ability to force turnovers. Senior Greg Perraut is the team’s leader with 10 on the year, though classmate Toby Armour, sophomore LSM Conor Barr, and even keeper(!) Jack Murphy have nine apiece. Junior Max Buchanan is the third longpole starter, though he has a pedestrian six turnovers on the year.

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

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

Special Teams

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

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

The Stags are pretty clean – committing only a few more penalties per game than their terrible opponents – so that aspect of the game might be even. Given Michigan’s three-year trend of being pretty clean (but dirty in the biggest games, much to blogger frustration), they might have a slight advantage there. Fairfield scores well and prevents the offense from scoring pretty well when there’s a man advantage either way. It’s pretty mush in line with their overall quality though, and not a significant factor.

Big Picture

Michigan has already qualified for the final ECAC tournament (thanks, Bellarmine!), and so their big-picture goals at this point are basically accomplished. Yeah, they want to win every game on the schedule, but each of them is a goal unto itself, not a means to a larger end. That’s not a negative, just the lay of the land at this point in the season.

That said, Fairfield looks to be far and away the best team in the league. That means Michigan might want to avoid facing the Stags in the conference tournament… which means beating them this time around. If Michigan has to win once in two meetings, the “don’t show your hand” dynamic is in play almost as much as the “screw it, we’re not that good in either meeting” one.

Preictions

Fairfield is pretty good, Michigan is middling-at-best. Let’s predict…

  • Brad Lott dominates faceoffs. I understand this is a risky prediction, given his epic streakiness, but he’s really good, and Fairfield is really not. He should be able to keep wing play from being relevant.
  • Fairfield has so many options on offense that it shouldn’t matter where Michigan is (and is not) weak. They can invert with two midfielders, they can throw it to the attack, they can do it all. With Michigan’s handful of obvious weaknesses, they will find a way.
  • Michigan will ride harder than anybody Fairfield’s seen yet, but it might not net them much. I think Fairfield won’t hit the season average on clear, but the success percentage won’t mean much.
  • U-M’s offense should find some openings, but it won’t be enough of them to really pull. Away. Fairfield’s close D strength and Michigan’s midfield emphasis should help the Wolverines find some goals, but not many.

Michigan will be able to possess enough to keep the score from getting out of hand, but the Stags’ offense might be even better than it gets credit for. Given that Fairfield, not Michigan, wants to slow things down, the priorities are all out of whack. Stags win it, 11-8.

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

Posted in division 1, previews | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Michigan Preview: Fairfield

Detroit Preview: Marist

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Tim

Detroit is 1-1 in the league, and although the Titans are in a seat to likely make the MAAC Tournament, it would behoove them to not drop a contest against another one of those middle-tier teams. Marist is just that, and winning this one would all-but punch the Titans’ ticket, barring a total collapse.

Marist

Marist Red Foxes Lacrosse

RAWR!

April 4, 2014. 11a.m. EDT
Titan Field.
Gameday Central. Live stats.
@DetroitTitans. @GreatLaxState.
Detroit Preview. Game Notes.
Marist Preview.

Tempo-Free Profile

The TempoFreeLax.com numbers displayed here are up to date for this season, since there’s enough data nationally that the numbers are pretty meaningful. The figures are also adjusted for strength of schedule, and Marist is a bottom-15 program in that department. All numbers take that into account.

Marist 2014
Pace 59.89 (54)
Poss% 51.39 (29)
Off. Eff. 34.37 (22)
Def. Eff. 41.27 (64)
Pyth% 40.27 (46)

Marist plays pretty slowly, so the stylistic difference (Detroit is on the opposite end of the spectrum) should be an interesting thing to watch. As you’d expect for a team that tries to play slowly, they’re pretty good at possessing the ball. Combine those two, and it means very few possessions for opponents.

Unfortunately for Marist, whenever those opponents do get the ball, it has been pretty easy to find the back of the net. The Red Foxes have one of the five worst defenses in the country.

On the other side of things, Marist actually has a pretty good offense, albeit against some pretty poor defenses. Add those two factors up (with the possession advantage, and you have a team that’s a half-dozen spots ahead of UDM in the overall rankings.

Offense

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

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

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

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

The Red Foxes have assisted fewer than half their goals (as you’d expect with four scorers so heavy on goals and only one with plenty of assists), so hard slides to the crease won’t be punished as much as they might be against more pass-happy teams.

Defense

Rarely do I lead off this section with a short-stick D-middie, but since I talked about Patrick Eaker in the previous discussion, here we are. He’s the team’s non-FO leader in GBs, and a big part of gobbling up possessions for the Red Foxes. Senior Gannon Brown is a bit more of an offensive threat, but still a defensive specialist.

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

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

Despite a decent ability to take away the ball (spread across several players – there’s nobody to single out as the biggest threat there), Marist’s defense is poor. Opponents are assisting on well over half their goals, so Marist isn’t able to take away team play to a certain extent.

Special Teams

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

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

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

Big Picture

As mentioned at the top of the post, this game is all about jockeying for position in the league. A Titan loss drops them to the bottom three teams in the league (those that will miss the MAAC Tournament), and causes them to really nead a strong run through the final three conference games.

A win, on the other hand, would move UDM to (at worst) a tie for third in the league, with head-to-head wins over teams No. 5 and 6. That would all-but ensure entry to the MAAC Championships, assuming Monmouth isn’t able to pick them off down the stretch.

Detroit has gotten hot late in each of the past two seasons, and a home win over a fellow program jockeying for position in the league would be a big step toward making it three years in a row.

Predictions

Detroit should be able to put up some goals in this one – assuming they can get the ball – and might have trouble slowing down Marist. Could be a fun one.

  • Marist has plenty of success on draws. UDM’s Damien Hicks is a decent enough specialist, but given that most of the Titans’ struggles on draws have been on account of wing play, that’s trouble. Marist’s strength appears to come on the wings, and that should lead to a 60% or better mark for the Red Foxes.
  • Detroit’s offense should be able to see some success. The attackmen will be able to find openings to either dish or score, and if they can use their dodging and finishing ability to suck in the defense, midfielders like Scotty Drummond and Mike Birney will have room to bomb from outside. UDM generated much of its offense through the midfield against Quinnipiac, but it’s likely that things will swing back in the opposite direction for this one.
  • Detroit’s man-up offense is one of the nation’s best, and against a team like Marist, they should have plenty of opportunities. Making the most of them – no unforced turnovers, please – will be a key.
  • Jason Weber’s performance should determine the outcome of this game. He’s been outstanding in the past few weeks, and keeping up that form should slow down the Marist offense, and create some opportunities to quickly clear for transition opportunities.

I feel good about the Titans’ chances in this one. They’re coming off a major letdown against Quinnipiac, but this program’s identity is such that they’ll use that as a chip-on-shoulder motivational tool, rather than a reason to spiral downward. Behind hot goaltending, UDM wins a slog, 10-8.

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

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

Lax Links: April 4, 2014

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Tim

Caution: many of these links are going to be very old. Anyway, on with the show…

Division-1

Vote for Detroit’s Troy Dennis as the Senior CLASS Award recipient for Division-1 lacrosse.

Fluff on Rockford’s Connor Flynn and his dad Tom, who has followed son to UDM. Story’s a little less cool now that Flynn isn’t starting, but still a nice one.

Michigan’s Mack Gembis was ECAC defensive player of the week and Brad Lott specialist of the week in early March. Lott was also the Student-Athlete of the Month.

Detroit goalie Jason Weber was the MAAC rookie of the week after good games against Bellarmine and Wagner. Weber and attackman Shayne Adams picked up honors the following week.

Michigan’s Ian King was Inside Lacrosse’s No. 13 freshman in the nation.

Freshman faceoff specialist Brian Archer still bloggin’ for the Maize and Blue.

“Weapon of Choice” does not feature Christopher Walken dancing, but does break down Kyle Jackson’s equipment with Michigan SID Scott Kemps.

The Michigan Daily tells the story of Michigan’s relationship with Miles Root, an honorary member of the team who lost his battle with cancer in the days before the Wolverines’ win over Furman.

Details for tomorrow’s Battle at the Big House lacrosse game against Fairfield. Michigan and Fairfield will play in one of the weekend’s big ECAC games.

In some The Next Level-type news, Holt alum Tommy McKee holds the NCAA’s current goal streak, having netted in 30 straight games. The senior attackman is cruisin’ toward another All-GLS team OPOY honor.

Photo gallery from the Detroit women’s win over Delaware State.

Michigan freshman Sophie duPhily blogs from the road. Anna Schueler was Michigan’s first weekly award winner, taking home ALC rookie of the week.

Division-2

Davenport cleaning up conference honors. Gamer from Davenport’s win over Indiana Tech.

Division-3

Albion’s Cameron Clements was named MIAA defensive player of the week in early March for dominating on faceoffs.

Photos from Albion’s win over Augustana, and a video review with coach Jake DeCola.

This may have the appearance of your run-of-the-mill D-3 news notebook, but it was penned by Albion freshman midfielder Kit Maher. Very cool.

Albion’s Ashley Glenn was the MIAA Offensive Player of the Week.

Alma men’s video promo.

Gamer from the Calvin ladies’ win over Georgetown College.

MCLA

Grand Valley State coach Tim Murray was a guest on the IL podcast.

UM-Dearborn is getting plenty of pub from the Michigan Journal (the student paper). Gamer from a big win over Taylor University. Eric Rosteck was the MJ’s Player of the Week. Wolverines win a weekend double-dip.

High School

Brother Rice is No. 2 in the Midwest on the boys side of things, according to US Lacrosse. Rockford is No. 5 on the girls’ side. Rice is No. 5 on the StudentSports combined West/Midwest rankings.

Recruiting

Lots of commitments to catch up on…

2014 Brother Rice defenseman Patrick Cosgrove committed to the MCLA team at Indiana.

Rochester 2014 attack Drew Harm committed to Albion.

Birmingham 2014 LSM Bryce Shanaman committed to Otterbein.

Forest Hills Northern 2014 attack Christian Carlson committed to the MCLA team at Grand Valley State.

L’Anse Creuse North 2014 goalie Kyle Deriemacker committed to D-2 Lincoln Memorial University.

Ann Arbor Skyline 2014 defensemen David Lopez committed to Wheeling Jesuit.

2014 Bloomfield Hills goalie Hunter Stephens committed to Michigan State.

2014 Forest Hills Eastern defenseman Adam Zacha signed with Aquinas.

2014 Clarkston midfielder Connor Dziewit committed to Otterbein.

2016 Cranbrook defenseman Jack Staab committed to Bryant University.

Youth

Check out the Michigan Youth Lacrosse Association website.

#GearPosts

Go Blue Lacrosse helmets from Cascade and HeadWrapz.

Northville shooting shirts.

GVSU glovage.

Detroit Southeastern uniforms.

As always, feel free to share links, reports, news tips, etc. with the inbox on Twitter or via e-mail.

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