Scores and Schedule: May 7, 2013

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Tim

So, nothing happened this weekend, right? Good.

Yesterday’s Results

High School Boys

Ann Arbor Greenhills 12, Plymouth 7
Bay City Western 8, Lapeer East-West 0
Brighton 15, Grand Blanc 3
Tecumseh 16, Chelsea 6
Lansing Waverly 5, DeWitt 4
East Grand Rapids 11, Forest Hills Eastern 6
Salem 15, Farmington 5
Grosse Pointe University Liggett 8, Grosse Ile 3
Huron Valley-Lakeland 12, Canton 6
Hartland 10, Howell 9
Holland West Ottawa 11, Rockford 6
Mattawan 19, Battle Creek Lakeview 7
Rochester Adams 20, Waterford 1
Grosse Pointe North 11, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 10 (OT)
Walled Lake Northern 9, Royal Oak 6
Haslett-Williamston 8, Grand Ledge 3
Swartz Creek @ Bay City Central
Dexter @ Brother Rice Orange
L’Anse Creuse @ Rochester

High School Girls

Saline 20, Temperance Bedford 2
Grand Rapids Catholic Central 13, Forest Hills United 11
Bloomfield Hills Marian 17, Grosse Pointe North 7
Grand Rapids Christian 18, Portage Northern 15
Hartland 16, Brighton 4
Haslett-Williamston 18, DeWitt 7
Plymouth 9, Northville 8
Canton 11, Novi 7
Oxford 18, West Bloomfield 16
South Lyon United 16, Salem 6
Lansing Waverly 8, Holt 5
Northview @ Holland West Ottawa
Clarkston @ Birmingham United
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard @ Dexter
White Lake Lakeland @ Grand Blanc
Lowell @ Grand Haven
Flint Powers @ Livonia Ladywood
Grosse Pointe South @ Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
Swartz Creek @ Saginaw Heritage
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek @ Troy
Walled Lake United @ Waterford United

Today’s Schedule

High School Boys

Holt @ Ann Arbor Pioneer
Utica Stevenson @ Anchor Bay
Battle Creek Harper @ Battle Creek Lakeview
Troy Athens @ Birmingham Seaholm
Lake Orion @ Bloomfield Hills
Monroe St. Mary-Catholic Central @ Belleville
Clarkston @ Cranbrook
Detroit Catholic Central @ UD-Jesuit
Farmington @ Dearborn Divine Child
Okemos @ East Lansing
Novi @ Farmington North-Harrison
Bay City Central @ Davison
Grosse Pointe North @ Grosse Pointe South
Romeo @ L’Anse Creuse North
Oxford @ Lapeer West-East
Grand Rapids Catholic Central @ Lowell
Saginaw Heritage @ Midland
Portage Northern @ Mattawan
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s @ Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
Troy @ Northville
Caledonia @ Northview
Kalamazoo United @ Vicksburg
Warren Cousino @ Warren Mott-Sterling Heights

High School Girls

Mattawan United @ Battle Creek Harper Creek
Birmingham United @ Cranbrook Kingswood
Okemos @ Detroit Country Day
Bloomfield Hills Lahser @ Grosse Pointe South
Rochester @ Grosse Pointe University Liggett

Corrections, omissions, etc. always appreciated in the comments.

Posted in high school | Comments Off on Scores and Schedule: May 7, 2013

Detroit 11, Siena 10 (OT)

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Tim

Fifth year, first NCAA tournament.

Tempo Free

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

Siena MAAC Tournament 2013
Detroit Siena
Faceoff Wins 10 Faceoff Wins 15
Clearing 18-20 Clearing 11-14
Possessions 33 Possessions 31
Goals 11 Goals 10
Offensive Efficiency .333 Offensive Efficiency .323

In a lot of ways, this was sort of the opposite of the semifinal game. In this one, Detroit was outdrawn on faceoffs, but made up for it was a great day clearing the ball, and decent work on the ride. Whereas the other was more of a defensive struggle, this contest saw more success from the offense.

Notes

I guess I’ll have to lead this one off with an offensive player, no? Mike Birney scored five goals, including the winner in overtime. He takes a lot of shots to get what he does, but it’s easy to see why when most of those that he puts on cage find their way into the back of the net. He has a big shot, and has become a larger and larger part of the offense in recent weeks, which has seen that unit go from pretty bad to… well, not very consistent still, but much improved.

It was a good offensive day, so it’s not surprising to see other offensive stars, as well. Alex Maini had two goals and an assist, and Tom Masterson, like Birney, has become a bigger part of the offense to positive effect in recent weeks. He had a goal and three assists. Scott Drummond (2G) and defensive midfielder Thomas Sible (1G) were the other Titans to register points.

The huge positive offensively – very few turnovers. That’s the exception to what has been the norm for Detroit, and since it came two days after a game in which they were similarly clean with the ball… maybe they can pick things up at the end of the season here? I’ll believe it when I see it against a strong defensive team in the NCAA tournament (not that Notre Dame thrives on causing turnovers but I’m getting ahead of myself here).

The Titans had 48 shots to Siena’s 27, so the defense certainly did its part in preventing what is, from all accounts, a more talented and more successful Siena offense from getting its opportunities. The Saints turned it over 18 times, 11 of them caused by the Titans. Jon Dwyer caused three while – surprise! – Jamie Hebden and Jordan Houtby had two apiece.

Faceoffs were a problem, and that came against a Siena team that has been good-not-great at them all year. Damien Hicks went 10/24 (the other loss is credited to Houtby). At this point in the season, Hicks is clearly your best option, and he’s going to win and lose his share of draws. You hope the wing play makes that much stronger to the positive than the negative.

A.J. Levell wasn’t asked to do nearly as much as he had been against Marist. He didn’t have a great day, making eight saves and allowing ten goals, but whatever scoreboard. He didn’t have to make a save in overtime and his team won.

Conor Prunty was the star for Siena, scoring two goals himself and assisting on four others. The Saints didn’t spread the offense around that much: only five other players registered any points, and only Kevin Cousin (1A) scored a single point in the game. Matt Sharp actually had a very good day between the pipes, saving 11 of Detroit’s 25 shots.

Elsewhere

The official boxscore. Detroit official site recap. Highlights both free and for-pay. You can re-watch the whole darn thing on ESPN3. Photo gallery. Siena recap.

Up Next

The tournament is upon us. Detroit will take on No. 2 Notre Dame… and boy, based on the numbers there’s no way the Irish are deserving of that seed. That doesn’t mean Detroit gets the win (the Titans are unseeded for a reason), but Notre Dame is vulnerable.

These two teams already played once this spring, a 15-7 scrimmage loss for the Titans. More preview material later this week.

Posted in division 1 | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Detroit 7, Marist 6

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Tim

Detroit opened the 2013 conference season with a reasonably close loss – on the road – to Marist. UDM earned revenge Friday afternoon by knocking off the Red Foxes to earn their berth into the MAAC Championship Game.

Tempo Free

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

Marist MAAC Tournament 2013
Detroit Marist
Faceoff Wins 11 Faceoff Wins 6
Clearing 16-21 Clearing 21-23
Possessions 34 Possessions 34
Goals 7 Goals 6
Offensive Efficiency .206 Offensive Efficiency .176

The Titans had a great day facing off, which allowed them to neutralize some trouble clearing on route to an even day in possession. The offense continued to struggle to a degree, but the defense came to play…

Notes

Specifically, A.J. Levell came to play. The senior did not want to end his career in the red white and blue with another loss to Marist, and stood on his head throughout the day. He let in an easy goal or two (the Red Foxes’ fifth was on the soft side), but more than made up for that with acrobatic saves across the cage, saves from his rear end on what should have been empty-net rebound goals, and much more. He had as good a game as I’ve seen out of him in four years for the Titans, and was honestly responsible on his own for the win.

That’s not to say the defense in front of him was terrible, either. The Titans caused 13 turnovers on 34 possessions (.382 of Marist possessions ended in a caused turnover on the day), led by three from Jordan Houtby, and two apiece from Jamie Hebden and Jon Dwyer. This was the defense’s day, no doubt.

That’s not to say their weren’t some major positives on offense, despite a poor offensive output (that’s a strong Marist D, mind you). Mike Birney has stepped up in a huge way over the home stretch of the season – three goals on 12 shots in this one – and Alex Maini limited his turnovers (which had been a chink in the armor of his status as a highly efficient offensive performer) while making plays his team needed. The best one doesn’t even register in the scorebook, with an unreal possession job on a dodge right in front of the net that resulted in a second assist (or hockey assist, given UDM’s Canadian flair) in the fourth quarter. This is the type of offensive performance than can be built on going into next year. The other top offensive performer was Scott Drummond, with three assists.

Some love for the longpoles… in addition to his defensive work, Jordan Houtby also notched a goal on the day.

Turnovers are still a bit of a problem for this Detroit team, and if they can limit those in future years (work those sticks in the offseason, boys), my early-year complaints about the offense are going to prove incorrect – and that’s something I’ll gladly be wrong about. Still, for the 2013 edition of the Titans, it’s the biggest weakness on offense.

Last time these teams played, a poor performance in the possession game doomed Detroit. They still had a rough go clearing against a strong Marist ride, but Damien Hicks absolutely turned it up on faceoffs to even things out. The redshirt freshman had some struggles during the year, but will be a big asset going forward.

Although Detroit is known as the physical (sometimes interpreted as dirty, to be fair) team, it was UDM who had five man-up opportunities to Marist’s two. The Titans cashed in once – you’d like to see it be better, especially with the finishers that have developed late in the season – while holding Marist off the board.

For Marist, only Connor Rice (2A) and Joseph Radin (2G) had multi-point days. Four of six Red Fox goals were assisted. Thank A.J. Levell once more next time you see him walking down the street.

Speaking of Marist, this has to be the most disappointing end imaginable for what had bee a pretty good team all year. They tore through the MAAC until the final game of the regular season, at which point they lost convincingly (despite the score) to one of the worst teams in the nation in Manhattan, then they were unceremoniously bounced from the conference tournament that they were expected to dominate. The No. 21 team in the country per TempoFreeLax.com will stay home for the NCAA Tournament.

Elsewhere

The official boxscore. Detroit official site recap. Highlights both free and for-pay. Good luck getting people to pay to watch a highlight video, MAAC Conference. #wisedecisions. You can re-watch the whole darn thing on ESPN3. Matt Holtz postgame interview. A.J. Levell postgame interview:

Photo gallery. Marist recap.

Up Next

So, an upset to not end the season on a sour note was nice, right? There was no way the Titans would shock the world and make the NCAA Tournament by knocking off Siena in a come-from-(way)-behind victory, right?

Stay tuned…

Posted in division 1 | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Detroit 7, Marist 6

Scores and Schedule: May 6, 2013

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Tim

So, nothing happened this weekend, right? Good.

Friday’s Results

Division-1 Men

Detroit 7, Marist 6

MCLA-1

Michigan State 19, Western Michigan 8
Davenport 10, Pittsburgh 14

MCLA-2

Siena Heights 5, Indiana Tech 11
Grand Valley State 13, Grove City 12 (OT)

High School Boys

Brother Rice 15, Worthington (Ohio) Kilbourne 11
Ypsilanti Lincoln 10, Chelsea 9
Tecumseh 17, Dexter 8
Farmington 13, Farmington North-Harrison 1
UD-Jesuit 11, Franklin (Ohio) Regional 10
Grand Rapids Christian 10, Holland Christian 9 (2OT)
Grosse Pointe South 15, L’Anse Creuse 4
Brighton 7, Holt 5
Bloomfield Hills 9, Lansing Waverly 3
Novi 8, Salem 7
Northville 13, Plymouth 5
South Lyon 14, Canton 2
Grosse Pointe University Liggett 16, Warren Cousino 5
Hartland 11, Walled Lake Northern 9
Detroit Country Day 16, Thomas Worthington (Ohio) 9
Birmingham Seaholm 3, Western Reserve Academy (Ohio) 14
Walled Lake Central 18, Waterford 6
Ypsilanti @ Battle Creek Lakeview
Dearborn Divine Child @ Belleville
Battle Creek Harper Creek @ Kalamazoo United

High School Girls

Grand Rapids Catholic Central 8, Loyola Academy (Ill.) 16
Clarkston 18, Troy Athens 10
Bloomfield Hills Lahser 15, Cranbrook Kingswood 5
Williamston-Haslett 14, Mattawan United 4
Okemos 9, New Albany (Ohio) 12
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 18, Rochester 4
Rochester Adams 15, West Bloomfield 2
Troy Athens @ Temperance Bedford
Grosse Pointe South @ Birmingham United
Grand Rapids Christian @ Grandville
Swartz Creek @ Midland Dow
Dexter @ Oxford
Grosse Pointe South @ Sacred Heart Academy
Warren Regina @ Salem

Saturday’s Results

Division-3 Men

Olivet 22, DePauw 7
Adrian 12, Albion 10

Division-3 Women

Adrian 17, Alma 6

MCLA-1

Michigan State 10, Pittsburgh 9

MCLA-2

Grand Valley State 13, Indiana Tech 12 (OT)

High School Boys

Traverse City Central 10, Ann Arbor Greenhills 4
Traverse City Central 9, Ann Arbor Huron 1
Temperance Bedford 4, Bowling Green (Ohio) 3
Monroe St. Mary-Catholic Central 5, Temperance Bedford 2
Madison Heights Bishop Foley 17, Warren Mott-Sterling Heights 7
Port Huron 20, Belleville 8
Detroit Catholic Central 10, Ann Arbor Pioneer 4
Detroit Country Day 16, Franklin Regional (Ohio) 4
Cranbrook 16, Rockford 8
UD-Jesuit 7, Sewickley Academy (Pa.) 2
Davison 8, Bay City Western 5
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 8, Forest Hills Eastern 7 (OT)
Grand Blanc 15, Auburn Hills Avondale 1
Grand Rapids Catholic Central 10, Grand Ledge 5
Zeeland 4, Grandville 1
Holland West Ottawa 9, Holland Christian 7
Mattawan 10, DeWitt 7
Forest Hills Central 10, Northville 2
Huron Valley-Lakeland 11, Oxford 5
Portage Central 8, Portage Northern 4
Lake Orion 15, Romeo 11
Royal Oak 9, Grosse Pointe North 5
Birmingham Seaholm 18, Dublin (Ohio) Scioto 6
Grand Haven 8, Spring Lake 3
South Lyon 12, Salem 9
Saline 12, Troy 10
Clarkston 6, St. Michael’s College (Ont.) 10
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 14, Traverse City 11
Saginaw Heritage 21, Swartz Creek 6
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 11, Traverse City West 6
Troy Athens 7, Warren De La Salle 6
Brother Rice 4, Upper Arlington (Ohio) 9
Utica Eisenhower 13, Grosse Pointe South 9
Walled Lake Central 17, Walled Lake Western 6
East Lansing @ Flint Powers
Comstock Park @ Rockford
Anchor Bay @ Utica Stevenson

High School Girls

Brighton 3, Loyola Academy (Ill.) 20
Bloomfield Hills Marian 11, Grosse Pointe South 9
Okemos 8, Medina (Ohio) 9
East Grand Rapids 13, New Albany (Ohio) 2
Portage Northern 8, Mattawan United 7
Rockford 3, Loyola Academy (Ill.) 20
Hudsonville @ Grandville
Bedford, MI @ Livonia Ladywood
Northville @ Livonia Ladywood
Troy Athens @ Livonia Ladywood
Lowell @ Tecumseh

Yesterday’s Results

Division-1 Men

Detroit 11, Siena 10 (OT)

High School Boys

Clarkston 8, Upper Canada College (Ont.) 6

High School Girls

East Grand Rapids 8, Medina (Ohio) 9
Farmington Hills Mercy @ Cranbrook Kingswood

Today’s Schedule

High School Boys

Plymouth @ Ann Arbor Greenhills
Swartz Creek @ Bay City Central
Dexter @ Brother Rice Orange
Tecumseh @ Chelsea
Forest Hills Eastern @ East Grand Rapids
Salem @ Farmington
Brighton @ Grand Blanc
Grosse Pointe University Liggett @ Grosse Ile
Canton @ Huron Valley-Lakeland
Rockford @ Holland West Ottawa
Battle Creek Lakeview @ Mattawan
L’Anse Creuse North @ Rochester
L’Anse Creuse @ Rochester
Waterford @ Rochester Adams
Grosse Pointe North @ Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
L’Anse Creuse North @ Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
Royal Oak @ Walled Lake Northern
Grand Ledge @ Haslett-Williamston

High School Girls

Saline @ Temperance Bedford
Clarkston @ Birmingham United
Forest Hills United @ Grand Rapids Catholic Central
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard @ Dexter
Bloomfield Hills Marian @ Grosse Pointe North
White Lake Lakeland @ Grand Blanc
Portage Northern @ Grand Rapids Christian
Lowell @ Grand Haven
Brighton @ Hartland
Flint Powers @ Livonia Ladywood
Grosse Pointe South @ Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
Plymouth @ Northville
Canton @ Novi
West Bloomfield @ Oxford
Swartz Creek @ Saginaw Heritage
South Lyon United @ Salem
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek @ Troy
Walled Lake United @ Waterford United
Northview @ Holland West Ottawa

Corrections, omissions, etc. always appreciated in the comments.

Posted in division 1, division 3, high school, mcla | Comments Off on Scores and Schedule: May 6, 2013

Scores and Schedule: May 3, 2013

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Tim

Big day in Division-3 with MIAA Playoffs on the docket.

Yesterday’s Results

Division-3 Men

Adrian 24, Hope 12
Albion 14, Trine 4

Division-3 Women

Adrian 21, Albion 2
Alma 20, Hope 12

High School Boys

Lake Orion 16, Auburn Hills Avondale 1
Portage Northern 13, Battle Creek Lakeview 6
Northview 8, Caledonia 2
Detroit Catholic Central 14, Cranbrook 13 (OT)
East Grand Rapids 16, Holland West Ottawa 5
Forest Hills Eastern 10, Grand Haven 8
Flint Powers 10, Midland 9 (OT)
Grand Blanc 22, Swartz Creek 4
Holland 5, Vicksburg 2
Grandville 12, Hudsonville 5
Battle Creek Pennfield 17, Kalamazoo United 4
Lowell 15, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 10
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 9, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 4
Okemos 15, Grand Ledge 1
Bloomfield Hills 10, Rochester Adams 9 (OT)
Forest Hills Central 13, Rockford 8
Royal Oak 10, Rochester 9 (OT)
Comstock Park 11, Grand Rapids South Christian 3
Lapeer West-East 10, St. Clair United 4
Troy Athens 10, Novi 1
Troy 13, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 5
Oxford 11, West Bloomfield 2
Port Huron 18, Warren Cousino 7
Ann Arbor Skyline 8, Haslett-Williamston 5
Saginaw Heritage @ Bay City Central
Bay City Western @ Davison
Romeo @ Grosse Pointe North
L’Anse Creuse @ Rochester Adams
L’Anse Creuse North @ Utica Eisenhower
Anchor Bay @ Warren Mott-Sterling Heights

High School Girls

East Lansing 9, Ann Arbor Huron 7
Caledonia 16, Portage Northern 7
Williamston-Haslett 9, Lansing Waverly 4
Grosse Pointe University Liggett @ Grosse Pointe South
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek @ Lake Orion
Flushing @ Saginaw Heritage
Lansing Waverly @ Ann Arbor Skyline

Today’s Schedule

Division-1 Men

Detroit v. Marist (Buffalo, N.Y.) – Game Preview.

MCLA-1

Michigan State v. Western Michigan (Saline, Mich.) 4 p.m.
Davenport v. Pittsburgh (Saline, Mich.) 7 p.m.

High School Boys

503 Battle Creek Lakeview Ypsilanti . .
503 Belleville Divine Child . .
503 T Brother Rice Worthington Kilbourne . .
503 Chelsea Lincoln-Ypsilanti . .
503 Dexter Tecumseh . .
503 Farmington North-Harrison . .
503 T Franklin Regional Univ Detroit Jesuit . .
503 Grand Rapids Christian Holland Christian . .
503 Grosse Pointe South L’Anse Creuse . .
503 Grandville Zeeland . .
503 Holt Brighton . .
503 Kalamazoo United Battle Creek Harper . .
503 Lansing Waverly Bloomfield Hills . .
503 Novi Salem . .
503 Plymouth Northville . .
503 South Lyon Canton . .
503 University Liggett Warren Cousino . .
503 West Bloomfield Avondale . .
503 Walled Lake Northern Hartland . .
503 T Thomas Worthington Detroit Country Day . .
503 T Western Reserve Acad Birmingham-Seaholm . .
503 Waterford Walled Lake Central . .

High School Girls

503 Bedford, MI Troy Athens . .
503 Birmingham United, MI Grosse Pointe South . .
503 Catholic Central Loyola Academy, IL . .
503 Clarkston Troy Athens . .
503 Cranbrook Kingswood Bloomfield Hills Lahser . .
503 Grandville Grand Rapids Christian . .
503 Mattawan United Williamston-Haslett . .
503 Midland-HH Dow, MI Swartz Creek . .
503 New Albany Okemos . .
503 Oxford, MI Dexter . .
503 Rochester HS, MI Notre Dame Prep, MI . .
503 Sacred Heart Acad, MI Grosse Pointe South . .
503 Salem, MI Warren Regina . .
503 West Bloomfield Rochester Adams . .

Corrections, omissions, etc. always appreciated in the comments.

Posted in division 1, high school, mcla | Comments Off on Scores and Schedule: May 3, 2013

MAAC Tournament Preview: Marist

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Tim

Marist ripped through the conference schedule all season… before getting beatedn up by a Manhattan team whose most recent outing was a pasting by VMI. Even if the Red Foxes aren’t as bad as a loss to the Jaspers would have you believe, that game certainly shows they’re not invincible.

Marist

Marist Red Foxes Lacrosse

RAWR!

4:15 p.m. EST
May 3, 2013
Buffalo, N.Y.
Ticket info.
Live Stats. Live on ESPN3.
@DetroitTitans
.pdf game notes.

Previously on…

Marist Preview.
Detroit 8, Marist 11.

Tempo-Free Profile

The TempoFreeLax.com numbers displayed here are adjusted for strength of schedule. Marist has played the third-easiest schedule in the country, with only Mercer and Wagner facing easier slates in the country (despite not being able to play themselves. Impressive).

Marist 2013
Pace 69.38 (16)
Poss% 52.88 (8)
Off. Eff. 31.23 (26)
Def. Eff. 30.14 (28)
Pyth% 61.49 (20)

This is a team that was obviously pretty good when the Titans headed to Poughkeepsie to play them in mid-March, but they’ve even improved most of their numbers since that time.

The offensive and defensive efficiancies were in the mid-30s before and both have now climbed into the mid-20s. That’s against a host of pretty bad teams (and Duke), so they were mostly dominant in order to overcome the strength of schedule adjustment.

The area they’ve made the biggest improvement is possession. They’re now dominating that metric, and since they play a pretty fast brand of ball, that gives them a lot of opportunities to score. If you can keep the ball away from Marist, you can beat them. They’ve shown, however, that it’s pretty tough to do.

The Team

I won’t spend too much time recapping the main personnel – if you’re interested, you can check out the previous preview post I wrote. More interesting to me is what’s changed since last time.

The faceoffs have gotten a lot better. Matt Dugan’s number have pretty much remained the same, but he’s developed into the clear top option for the Marist coaching staff. That alone has seen the Red Foxes improve by leaps and bounds in the past few games.

What We Learned Last Time

Don’t get killed in possession, and you’ll stay close enough to win. Marist is a really good possession team, and taking that advantage away from them is the way to even things up. The Titans aren’t going to excel on faceoffs, but mucking things up and preventing Marist from dominating possession will be big.

The Titans also had a terrible day clearing last time out (albeit against a pretty good ride), another area in which you can kill yourself in possession. The Titans need to chop the self-inflicted damage out of their game in order to steal the win.

The UDM offense had a poor performance in the first game without Shayne Adams. Since that time – albeit against poor competition – the Titans have really figured out how to adjust to the loss of Adams, share the wealth, and score the ball. Doing it against a pretty good Marist team is a whole new deal.

Big Picture

Simple: Survive and advance. The Titans are looking to extend their season one more day – and get one game closer to the program’s first NCAA Tournament.

Predictions

I have a bit of confidence for the Titans in this one. That’s mostly been the kiss of death this year.

  • Detroit clears much better than the 20/29 performance last time out, but the faceoff advantage for Marist still skews overall possession in a big time way.
  • The Titans actually won’t press out and play aggressively as we’ve seen in some games, since Marist has pretty good sticks. The turnovers will still come – you can’t just deny your identity, as UDM did too many times early this year – but it won’t be a fiesta of them.
  • The Detroit offense will share the ball, no player notching more than four total points.

Despite an improved Detroit team and a Marist team coming off an embarrassing loss, I think the difference in quality is just too great for the Titans. Marist will be pissed off coming out of that Manhattan debacle, and try to make the Titans pay. That could mean some sloppiness, but it won’t be enough to give away the game. Detroit comes excruciatingly close, but falls 13-12.

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

Posted in division 1, previews | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Scores and Schedule: May 2, 2013

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Tim

Big day in Division-3 with MIAA Playoffs on the docket.

Yesterday’s Results

High School Boys

Ann Arbor Greenhills 13, Belleville 5
Ann Arbor Skyline 6, Ann Arbor Pioneer 5
Midland 17, Bay City Central 3
Brother Rice 17, Birmingham Seaholm 6
Clarkston 20, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 5
Hartland 12, Huron Valley-Lakeland 5
Northville 14, Salem 6
Plymouth 12, Canton 6
Portage Central 11, Mattawan 9
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 12, Zeeland 11 (2OT)
Saline 20, Temperance Bedford 2
South Lyon 13, Royal Oak 2
Tecumseh 31, Ypsilanti 0
Troy 17, Madison Heights Bishop Foley 8
Portage Northern 5, Vicksburg 4
Novi 16, Walled Lake Western 5
Walled Lake Northern 21, Waterford 5
Lansing Waverly @ Ann Arbor Huron
Monroe St. Mary-Catholic Central @ Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard
Rochester @ Farmington North-Harrison
Bay City Western @ Flint Powers
Dearborn Divine Child @ Grosse Ile
Walled Lake Central @ Howell
Dexter @ Ypsilanti Lincoln

High School Girls

Ann Arbor Pioneer 15, Ann Arbor Skyline 5
Brighton 17, White Lake Lakeland 8
Canton 7, Plymouth 4
East Grand Rapids 17, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 8
Farmington 20, West Bloomfield 7
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 7, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 5
Bloomfield Hills Marian 13, Cranbrook-Kingswood 10
Farmington Hills Mercy 14, Sacred Heart Academy 8
Grand Haven 20, Northview 9
Okemos 13, Lansing Waverly 2
Rochester 11, Oxford 7
Rockford 16, Caledonia 9
South Lyon United 17, Northville 5
Hartland 19, Walled Lake United 2
Bloomfield Hills Lahser 19, Detroit Country Day 5
Dexter @ Temperance Bedford
Troy Athens @ Birmingham United
Waterford United @ Grand Blanc
Holland West Ottawa @ Grand Rapids Christian
Spring Lake @ Hudsonville
Warren Regina @ Livonia Ladywood
DeWitt @ Mattawan United
Rochester Adams @ Farmington Hills Harrison
Novi @ Salem

Today’s Schedule

Division-3 Men

Hope @ Adrian
Albion v. Trine

Division-3 Women

Albion @ Adrian
Hope @ Alma

High School Boys

Lake Orion @ Auburn Hills Avondale
Saginaw Heritage @ Bay City Central
Portage Northern @ Battle Creek Lakeview
Northview @ Caledonia
Detroit Catholic Central @ Cranbrook
Holland West Ottawa @ East Grand Rapids
Bay City Western @ Davison
Grand Haven @ Forest Hills Eastern
Midland @ Flint Powers
Romeo @ Grosse Pointe North
Swartz Creek @ Grand Blanc
Vicksburg @ Holland
Grandville @ Hudsonville
Battle Creek Pennfield @ Kalamazoo United
Grand Rapids Catholic Central @ Lowell
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s @ Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
Grand Ledge @ Okemos
Bloomfield Hills @ Rochester Adams
L’Anse Creuse @ Rochester Adams
Forest Hills Central @ Rockford
Rochester @ Royal Oak
Comstock Park @ Grand Rapids South Christian
Lapeer West-East @ St. Clair United
Novi @ Troy Athens
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek @ Troy
L’Anse Creuse North @ Utica Eisenhower
Oxford @ West Bloomfield
Port Huron @ Warren Cousino
Ann Arbor Skyline @ Haslett-Williamston
Anchor Bay @ Warren Mott-Sterling Heights

High School Girls

East Lansing @ Ann Arbor Huron
Grosse Pointe University Liggett @ Grosse Pointe South
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek @ Lake Orion
Caledonia @ Portage Northern
Flushing @ Saginaw Heritage
Lansing Waverly @ Ann Arbor Skyline

Corrections, omissions, etc. always appreciated in the comments.

Posted in division 3, high school | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Scores and Schedule: May 2, 2013

The Next Level: May 1, 2013

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Tim

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

Air Force 16, Hobart 12

  • Junior attack Tommy McKee (Holt) – Scored a Goal on his only Shot and picked up two ground balls. Also committed three turnovers.

Detroit 13, Canisius 7

  • Sophomore attack Brandon Beauregard (Notre Dame Prep) – Started, scored a Goal on two Shots (one on goal), added two assists, caused a turnover, and picked up five ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Sophomore midfielder Mike Birney (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started, scored two goals on 11 Shots (four on goal), added an assist and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior midfielder Brandon Davenport (Grosse Pointe North) – Won 0/6 faceoffs but picked up three ground balls.
  • Freshman LSM Nick Demattia (Clarkston) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Sophomore midfielder Scott Drummond (Birmingham Seaholm) – Started, scored two Goals on nine Shots (six on goal), and picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior defenseman John Dwyer (Detroit Catholic Central) – Started and caused one turnover. Also committed two turnovers.
  • Sophomore defenseman Joe Gifford (Notre Dame Prep) – Caused one turnover.
  • Freshman midfielder Andy Hebden (Brother Rice) – Started, scored a Goal on two Shots (both on goal), added an assist, caused one turnover, and picked up one ground ball.
  • Senior defenseman Jamie Hebden (Brother Rice) – Started, caused two turnovers, and picked up four ground balls.
  • Senior LSM/D Andrew Khalil (Warren De La Salle) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Junior midfielder Joe MacLean (Detroit Country Day) – Picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior midfielder Chris Nemes (Detroit Catholic Central) – Took one shot and picked up two ground balls.
  • Junior midfielder Tim Robertson (Notre Same Prep) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Senior midfield/attack Nick Schesnuk (Warren De La Salle) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Sophomore midfielder Tom Sible (Forest Hills Central) – Picked up two ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Freshman midfielder Mike Spuller (Dexter) – Caused two turnovers.
  • Freshman defenseman Jordan Yono (Detroit Catholic Central) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.

Georgetown 15, Rutgers 7

  • Junior midfielder Grant Fisher (Brother Rice) – Scored two Goals on his only two Shots.

Hofstra 7, Penn State 16

  • Senior defenseman Michael Hamilton (Brother Rice) – Started and picked up one ground ball.

Marquette 9, Bellarmine 8 (OT)

  • Redshirt freshman midfielder K.C. Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Won seven of 14 faceoffs, picking up six ground balls.
  • Freshman attack Henry Nelson (Brother Rice) – Scored two Goals on four Shots.

Marquette 10, St. John’s 15

  • Redshirt freshman midfielder K.C. Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Won three of six faceoffs, picking up one ground ball.
  • Freshman attack Henry Nelson (Brother Rice) – Started, scored a Goal on four Shots, and picked up four ground balls. Also committed two turnovers.

Michigan 4, Denver 12

  • Senior midfielder Zach Dauch (Bloomfield Hills Lahser) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
  • Sophomore defenseman Mack Gembis (Cranbrook) – Started, caused one turnover, and picked up four ground balls. Also committed one turnover.
  • Senior defenseman Rob Healy (Notre Dame Prep) – Started, caused one turnover, and picked up two ground balls. Also committed one penalty for 2:00.
  • Freshman attack Riley Kennedy (Brother Rice) – Picked up one ground ball. Also committed one turnover.
  • Sophomore attack Will Meter (Brother Rice) – Started, took one Shot (on goal), and picked up two ground balls. Also committed three turnovers.
  • Junior midfielder Tom Sardelli (Notre Dame Prep) – Took two Shots.
  • Junior LSM Dakota Sherman (Cranbrook) – Caused one turnover.
  • Senior defenseman Austin Swaney (East Grand Rapids) – Picked up one ground ball.
  • Freshman defenseman Chris Walker (Brother Rice) – Played, but did not accrue any statistics.

Mount St. Mary’s 14, Wagner 7

  • Senior midfielder Conor Carey (University of Detroit Jesuit) – Started, scored a Goal on his only Shot, and picked up one ground ball.
  • Senior midfielder Jon Marsalese (University of Detroit Jesuit) – Won 15 of 19 faceoffs, picking up 11 ground balls. Also committed one turnover.

Penn State 16, Hofstra 7

  • Senior Attack Nick Dolik (Brother Rice) – Scored a Goal on three Shots and picked up one ground ball. Also committed two turnovers.
  • Senior midfielder Danny Henneghan (Brother Rice) – Started and won 14 of 21 faceoffs, picking up six ground balls.

Rutgers 7, Georgetown 15

  • Freshman midfielder Jacob Coretti (East Grand Rapids) – Started and took one shot. Also committed one turnover.

As always, feel free to share corrections, additions, or stats from other divisions in the comments.

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Scores and Schedule: May 1, 2013

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Tim

More high school action today.

Yesterday’s Results

High School Boys

Mattawan 21, Battle Creek Harper Creek 4
Midland 13, Bay City Western 1
Chelsea 7, Temperance Bedford 5
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 12, Madison Heights Bishop Foley 7
Detroit Catholic Central 18, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 2
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 10, Cranbrook 9
Grandville 9, Comstock Park 6
UD-Jesuit 16, Warren De La Salle 8
Haslett-Williamston 9, DeWitt 6
Holt 13, East Lansing 4
Flint Powers 24, Bay City Central 0
Forest Hills Central 12, Holland West Ottawa 9
Grosse Pointe North 8, L’Anse Creuse North 7 (2OT)
Utica Eisenhower 12, Grosse Pointe South 11 (OT)
Holland 10, Zeeland 7
Grand Haven 10, Holland Christian 8
Saginaw Heritage 7, Davison 2
Okemos 14, Lansing Waverly 4
Spring Lake 7, Northview 5
Portage Central 10, Vicksburg 3
Romeo 10, L’Anse Creuse 9
Troy Athens 11, Farmington 5
Warren Cousino @ Anchor Bay
Portage Northern @ Caledonia
Battle Creek Lakeview @ Battle Creek Pennfield
Utica Stevenson @ Port Huron
Lapeer West-East @ Swartz Creek

High School Girls

Ann Arbor Huron 15, Tecumseh 1
Grosse Pointe North 19, Grosse Pointe University Liggett 6
Williamston-Haslett 17, DeWitt 3
East Lansing 18, Holt 5
South Lyon United 14, Plymouth 1
Bloomfield Hills Lahser 12, Birmingham United 11
Flint Powers @ Flint Carman-Ainsworth
Saginaw Heritage @ Midland Dow
Grandville @ Northview

Today’s Schedule

High School Boys

Belleville @ Ann Arbor Greenhills
Lansing Waverly @ Ann Arbor Huron
Ann Arbor Pioneer @ Ann Arbor Skyline
Monroe St. Mary-Catholic Central @ Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard
Midland @ Bay City Central
Birmingham Seaholm @ Brother Rice
Rochester Stoney Creek @ Clarkston
Rochester @ Farmington North-Harrison
Bay City Western @ Flint Powers
Dearborn Divine Child @ Grosse Ile
Huron Valley-Lakeland @ Hartland
Walled Lake Central @ Howell
Dexter @ Ypsilanti Lincoln
Salem @ Northville
Canton @ Plymouth
Temperance Bedford @ Saline
Royal Oak @ South Lyon
Ypsilanti @ Tecumseh
Madison Heights Bishop Foley @ Troy
Portage Northern @ Vicksburg
Novi @ Walled Lake Western
Walled Lake Northern @ Waterford

High School Girls

Ann Arbor Skyline @ Ann Arbor Pioneer
Dexter @ Temperance Bedford
Troy Athens @ Birmingham United
Detroit Country Day @ Bloomfield Hills Lahser
White Lake Lakeland @ Brighton
Plymouth @ Canton
Grand Rapids Catholic Central @ East Grand Rapids
West Bloomfield @ Farmington
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep @ Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard
Waterford United @ Grand Blanc
Holland West Ottawa @ Grand Rapids Christian
Spring Lake @ Hudsonville
Warren Regina @ Livonia Ladywood
Cranbrook-Kingswood @ Bloomfield Hills Marian
DeWitt @ Mattawan United
Sacred Heart Academy @ Farmington Hills Mercy
Rochester Adams @ Farmington Hills Harrison
Grand Haven @ Northview
Lansing Waverly @ Okemos
Rochester @ Oxford
Caledonia @ Rockford
Novi @ Salem
Northville @ South Lyon United
Hartland @ Walled Lake United

Corrections, omissions, etc. always appreciated in the comments.

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Michigan 4, Denver 12

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Tim

Realistic expectations for this contest did not include “Michigan wins” anywhere. The goal for the Wolverines, for better or worse, was to show some signs of life to take forward into next year, and to not get blown out. They came close enough to accomplishing that.

Tempo Free

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

Denver 2013
Michigan Denver
Faceoff Wins 4 Faceoff Wins 14
Clearing 16-19 Clearing 20-20
Possessions 23 Possessions 37
Goals 4 Goals 12
Offensive Efficiency .174 Offensive Efficiency .324

This was a pretty slow game – not out of the ordinary for either team. Denver absolutely dominated possession, and was more efficient with what they had. That’s a pretty simple recipe for reeling in wins.

Notes

Might as well start from the very beginning. Denver has been a decent faceoff team this year, but not an exceptional one. Michigan has had spurts of good play, but simply not enough chemistry (or GB ability) to get pulled up by the bootstraps. The Pioneers dominated in this one. Chase Carraro – the ECAC Specialist of the Week – was 12/16 and Chace Calkin 2/2. That’s a great afternoon at the dot. Brad Lott was 4/11 for the day before Michigan decided to throw a pole out there to lose the final seven draws and just try to play some defense.

Speaking of defense, it may seem unfair to reward a .324 performance, but taking a look at things, that’s an outstanding day from the Michigan D. Given that Denver has averaged a .426 mark – adjusted for schedule strength – the Wolverines’ 50th-ranked defense holding them more than .100 below the season average is really good. The Wolverines’ defensive unit spent a lot of time on the field getting tired, and had to (unsuccessfully) fight off four EMO opportunities… they played way above their heads.

I saw a tweet that implied – or may have outright stated, I don’t remember and I didn’t watch the game – that the Wolverines played a lot of zone defense against Denver’s high-powered offense. That certainly is going to slow the game down (something Michigan has tried to do when the likes of Hopkins and Ohio State weren’t pouring goals on them with reckless abandon), is going to cover some of the athletic/experience problems of a limited defense, and feature a strong goalie… that seems like a good plan when you have Gerald Logan between the pipes, no?

Speaking of Logan, he backstopped that zone defense to a .586 save percentage, which is pretty darn good. I don’t think the Michigan coaching staff’s long-term goals have anything to do with a zone defense, but it might have been a nice tool to have in the kit in some games this year. It’s easier to teach guys to be good communicators than it is to teach them to be better athletes.

Offensively, the usual suspects were MIA. Zero points for Mike Hernandez, Kyle Jackson, Thomas Paras, and Will Meter (who started at midfield…?). Among that group, only Paras took a bunch of shots with seven. They just didn’t have a chance to be very involved in the game. 12 turnovers on 23 possessions will do that to ya. Meter had three himself, but seven of the remaining nine were committed by seven different players (the last two were credited to team). Against a talented team like Denver, you expect an inexperienced team like Michigan to turn the ball over, but you’d certainly like to see the unforced stuff (five of the turnovers) go away by this point in the season, if at all possible.

Moving to the offensive players who did put up offense, the leader was clearly Mike Francia, the only multi-point scorer. He had one goal of his own and assisted on tallies to Willie Steenland and… himself? (methinks theres an error in the boxscore). Davids Joseph and McCormack also scored for Michigan.

Denver had assists on 11 of their 12 goals, which at least means Michigan was making the Pioneers earn it. Eric Law had five points on a goal and four assists, and three other Denver players had four total points. Those numbers sound scary, but again, Denver was well below the season-long adjusted efficiency, so how much fault can you find? Both DU goalies played a half, and neither saw a whole lot of action.

Elsewhere

The official boxscore. Michigan official site recap. Denver recap. Postgame interview with Bill Tierney. You can pay to rewatch the whole game. The highlights are free, but the buffering situation is terrrrrrible.

Up Next

That’s it for the Wolverines. It’s about thanking the outgoing players for their contributions to the early years of the program, and preparing for next year’s squad. This was effectively Michigan’s first year as a program (they announced a Division-1 team after Marquette and High Point, both of whom played this year for the first time), so the freshmen and incoming recruits should be able to make a much bigger leap from this year to next than we saw from 2012 to 2013.

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