Today’s Fall Ball Schedule

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Tim

A pair of scrimmages for a pair of Division-1 teams (other levels are a little tougher to find information – if you have some, share it in the comments).

Michigan – Nick Colleluori Classic (official preview), Folsom, Pa.

Detroit – Playing for Peace Catholic Showcase (official preview), Chicago

Comment on the games on this post. The preview links above include coverage information, as well.

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Detroit Fall Ball Preview: Notre Dame

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Tim

Detroit should continue to improve in its fifth year as a program, but, uh, Notre Dame is really good at the lacrosse. THey’ll be a tough opponent in the Catholic Lacrosse Showcase.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Lacrosse Logo

Classic stick design

11:30 a.m. CST Oct. 6, 2012
Franciscan Hale High School, Chicago
@NDlacrosse, @playing4peace

2012
13-3 (6-0 Big East). #8 Laxpower, #6 Tempo-Free.

Tempo-Free Profile

Raw numbers from last year and the strength-of-schedule adjusted numbers come from the Tempo-Free database.

Notre Dame 2012
Notre Dame Opponents
Faceoff Wins 148 Faceoff Wins 148
Clearing 271-305 Clearing 261-296
Possessions 488 Possessions 478
Goals 138 Goals 101
Offensive Efficiency .283 Offensive Efficiency .211

It should come as no surprise to people who follow college lacrosse: the Irish boasted the best defense in the country last year. On the other side of the ball, however, they were actually below-average. That’s not simply a product of playing slowly (which they very much did), but also because they weren’t finishing many opportunities.

They weren’t great in the possession game – after losing Detroit Catholic Central alum Jake Marmul on faceoffs from the 2011 team, they were just 50% on draws in 2012 – but they were above average.

With the defense they had, simply being “good enough” will win them all but the toughest games. Their three losses in 2012 were low-scoring, low-possession games, even though two of their three losses (St. John’s and Penn State) weren’t particularly good teams. Not bad, but not that good. Their style of play, while it will win a lot of games, can clearly be a liability at times.

The full profile, via TempoFreeLax.com:

Offense

Though the Notre Dame offense was mediocre or worse last year, there is a lot of room for upside. Their five leading scorers a season ago were attack Sean Rogers (now a senior), midfielder Jim Marlatt (now a junior), attack Westy Hopkins (now a junior), attack Conor Doyle (now a sophomore), and midfielder Ryan Foley (now a senior). It takes until you get to No. 6 – midfielder Max Pfeifer – that a player from last year’s leading scorers doesn’t return.

Based on the statistics from last year, the midfield was heavily feed-oriented, and the attack was made up of a ruthless bunch of finishers. The likely replacement for Pfeifer in the starting lineup, 6-3, 205-pound senior Pat Cotter, seems to be more of a shooting type, which could, if anything, help balance the scoring between the two positions a bit more.

Of course, with the offense’s mediocrity last year, it’s likely that the scheme isn’t quite the same. That’s especially true given that the Irish have a new offensive coordinator in Matt Karweck, who held the same position at UDM two years ago, prior to the one-year Bill Tully disaster. Was Karweck that good for UDM, or was Tully that bad? If it’s the former, Notre Dame could be fielding an elite offense this year to go along with their standard suffocating defense.

Defense

Half of the starting defensive unit returns. Senior Matt Miller led the team in caused turnovers last year with 18, a pretty impressive number in the Irish’s slow-paced, zone-heavy scheme. Junior Stephen O’Hara also returns.

The losses are Kevin Randall and LSM Bobby Smith, who also drew into the starting lineup at close defense when Randall sat out a game. Senior LSM Kevin Andersen got pretty good run last year, and should step into that role, with significant playing time for freshman Matt Landis (IL‘s No. 18 incoming defenseman).

None of the other returning defenseman had more than very limited duty in blowouts last year, so either a junior (all three are juniors) will have to step up, or there’s an opportunity for other freshmen from the Irish’s impressive recruiting class. Edwin Glazener is the most touted of those, ranked in the top 39 incomers at the position.

In goal, it was the John Kemp show last year, and expect to see more of the same in his senior campaign. Kemp was one of the nation’s best last year, with far and away the best save percentage in Division-1 at .637. Part of that is attributable to defense and scheme, but he did a lot of it himself, too. Though the D in front of him might take a small step back, it shouldn’t hurt Kemp too much. Neither of his backups this season have played yet.

Special Teams

As mentioned above, the faceoff game was uncharacteristically unimpressive for the Fighting Irish last year. Liam O’Connor took a step back in his sophomore year, and finished just below .500 (as demonstrated in the past, all but the biggest changes in FO percentage for an individual can be chalked up to chance). Freshman Nick Ossello came on during the course of the year though, and performed very well. Now that he’s a sophomore, expect about a 50/50 split.

Notre Dame’s clear was very good last year – no surprise, given the amount of skill the Irish have recruited in reent years – and the ride was very poor – again, no surprise, since their defensive style isn’t predicated on forcing turnovers. Expect more of the same this year. With an inexperienced defense, there’s a chance they either step up the ride (protect the young D) or even scale it back (let them concentrate on their No. 1 job in the half-field).

The penalties between Notre Dame and opponents were dead even last year. though the Irish didn’t do a great job capitalizing on opportunities, opponents did even worse, hardly scoring at all. That’s no surprise given Notre Dame’s defensive quality and zone scheme (which allows them to make only minor changes going into the man-down, instead of switching from a base man).

Big Picture

Notre Dame is really, really good. I think the defense should take only a small step back (if at all) while the offense leaps forward. That’s a scary proposition for the rest of the Big East in what should be one of its final couple years of existence as a power conference.

This contest is not about trying to win for UDM – just like it won’t be for the Irish, who are bound to run sub-heavy – and it’s more about working skills against top competition, getting some depth in, and simply getting the chance to practice against the best, in hopes that it makes the MAAC slate easier by comparison.

Predictions

As mentioned above, both teams will treat this scrimmage as little more than that. Still, I’m willing to wager that there are more than a couple Notre Dame backups who could see a whole lot of playing time for UDM, and this one could get ugly. Just keep telling yourself “they’re here to play better, not to win.” That’s most important because win they won’t. Notre Dame takes this one, 13-4.

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Nick Colleluori Classic: Mount St. Mary’s Preview

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Tim

Michigan played Mount St. Mary’s during the regular season last year – a pretty disappointing loss – so I’ve already previewed them before.

Mount St. Mary’s

Mount St. Mary's Lacrosse

I hope they have an anthropomorphized mountain roaming the sidelines.

10:30 a.m. EST Oct. 6, 2012
Ridley High School, Folsom, Pa.
Live Stream. @UmichLacrosse.

2012
6-9 (2-3 Northeast). #40 Laxpower, #42 Tempo-Free.

Tempo-Free Profile

Raw numbers from last year and the strength-of-schedule adjusted numbers come from the Tempo-Free database.

Mount St. Mary’s
Mount St Mary’s Opponents
Faceoff Wins 183 Faceoff Wins 190
Clearing 160-209 Clearing 166-205
Possessions 431 Possessions 444
Goals 155 Goals 167
Offensive Efficiency .360 Offensive Efficiency .376

The Mount was slooooow last year: slowest in the country, in fact. They were about even in terms of possession (finishing just slightly behind).

Their offense was quite good – odd, given their horrifically bad clear – but their defense was awful, ahead of just Mercer and Wagner. That’s not company you want to be keeping.

The full profile, via TempoFreeLax.com:

Offense

The Mount’s offense was good last season, and a few stars helped them reach that level of success. Attacks Andrew Scalley (29G, 24A) and Brett Schmidt (29G, 19A) were both high-scoring both through goals of their own and setting things up for teammates. They’re seniors this fall (Schmidt a fifth-year), and were first- and second-team All-NEC last spring.

Schmidt’s twin brother Bryant, also a fifth-year senior this spring, also finished with 29 goals, but the midfielder didn’t have nearly as many assists as his attackman teammates. That didn’t prevent him from earning first-team all-conference honors along with Scalley.

After departed No. 4 scorer Christian Kellett (an attackman who was more finisher than feeder), the No. 5 and 6 scorers both return. Midfielder Anthony Stranix is a physically imposing 6-4, 205-pound midfielder who is a senior this fall after putting up 16 goals and nine assists in the spring. Attack/midfielder Anthony Golden – yet another fifth-year senior – will probably draw into the starting attack as Detroit-Jesuit alum Connor Carey moves into the starting midfield.

That’s three seniors and three fifth-year seniors in the potential starting lineup for the Mount. They should be a well-oiled machine offensively, and reach their peak potential this year before they really fall off in 2014.

Defense

The losses on defense are a little more pronounced, which is to say “existent.” This defense was not predicated on causing turnovers last year, and the leading player in that category – Detroit-Jesuit alum Brendan Rooney – departs. However, unlike Rooney, returning long-poles Kevin Downs (now a senior) and Kyle O’Brien (a sophomore) were named all-conference, with a second-team and a third-team nod, respectively.

O’Brien earned that nod despite only starting three games, and will move into Rooney’s spot in the lineup. That’s as good as a returning starter in my mind, and Downs (who actually started) and Shane Pierce, who was second on the team in caused turnovers, also returns to the starting lineup. Starting LSM Jon Anderson is now a senior, as well.

In goal, now-junior Chris Klaiber played all but about one entire game for The Mount over the course of the season, allowing a poor 11.57 goals per game – well outside the top 40 in the country – and only saved .449 of shots faced. That’s really bad, and probably the biggest weakness for what otherwise appears to be a really strong MSM team.

Special Teams

Detroit-Jesuit alum Jon Marselese was The Guy on faceoffs for Mount St. Mary’s last year, and was in the top 35 in the country. That’s impressive and he’ll have one more chance as a senior to continue improving on those numbers.

The Mount’s clear was really bad and ride quite good. Lots of transition at play in their games, and with the new substitution rules, that could be amplified (alternatively, it could mean that their pace no longer stands out in a faster game across the country).

Big Picture

If Mount St. Mary’s hadn’t been such a bad team last year – No. 42 in the nation according to the tempo-free numbers – I would predict them to be among the country’s top squads this year. Six seniors starting on offense, two returning all-conference defenders, and a pretty good performance in the possession game (also assuming a slightly better clear with more experience).

However, they were pretty bad last year, and there are still some question marks, particularly between the pipes. If Klaiber can improve going into his third year in the program, or if freshman Will Rego can be a more consistent performer, there’s pretty good potential out of this squad.

Of course, next year should be awful, with pretty much the entire roster departing.

Predictions

A bad Mount St. Mary’s team pasted Michigan in The Big House last fall. Although Michigan should be better, I think the upperclassman experience of this Mount team gives them potential to improve almost as much.

They’ll be better on faceoffs, and able to control things in their own offensive end. Michigan will see multiple keepers as The Mount tries to fill the last remaining question mark in their starting lineup. Expect MSM to build an early lead, and roll through their depth.

Michigan goes down in their live-streamed game, 17-7.

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Detroit Fall Ball Preview: Bellarmine

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Tim

Detroit will take part in two fall ball games Saturday, and also participate in some community service in the Chicago area. First up: Bellarmine at 8:30 a.m.

Bellarmine

Bellarmine Knights lacrosse

Fear the stylized Knights!

8:30 a.m. CST Oct. 6, 2012
Franciscan Hale High School, Chicago

2012
4-8 (0-6 MAAC). #39 Laxpower, #40 Tempo-Free.

Tempo-Free Profile

Raw numbers are from last year, and the strength-of-schedule adjusted numbers come from the Tempo-Free database.

Bellarmine 2012
Bellarmine Opponents
Faceoff Wins 128 Faceoff Wins 146
Clearing 187-226 Clearing 194-234
Possessions 394 Possessions 419
Goals 107 Goals 124
Offensive Efficiency .272 Offensive Efficiency .296

Bellarmine was poor on faceoffs, which led to a below-average performance in the possession game, despite being good at both clearing and riding. The Knights frequently ran a 10-man ride last year, but unlike Michigan (which was one of the best riding teams in the country despite a lack of talent), it didn’t give them exceptional numbers.

The offense and defense were both just below-average – coming in at No. 40 and No. 33 nationally, adjusted for schedule strength.

The full profile, via TempoFreeLax.com:

Offense

Bellarmine had two scorers that stood above the rest last year in finishing specialist attackman Michael Ward and balanced midfielder Colton Clark. Ward is back (and now a senior), but Clark is gone. The team’s other leading finisher (13 goals) is also gone in the form of attack Austin Bright.

Midfielder Cameron Gardner – mostly a shooter last year – is now a junior, and could see an increased role in the offense at large with the losses at other spots. The only other double-digit scorers returning other than that are attack Lance Robinson and midfielder Will Cary. Both were mostly balanced last year, with an edge toward goals.

The offense on the whole last year assisted on less than half its scores, which was terrible. Feeder numero uno is gone, so Bellarmine will have to find some passers (they also turned it over on 46% of their possessions last year, a pretty bad mark) if they want to take another step offensively.

More likely, the offense isn’t quite as good this season.

Defense

Only two Knights caused double-digit turnovers last year (actually only three other guys notched more than five), so this was clearly not a high-pressure unit, designed to strip the ball away – they play an opposite style to Detroit, it seems. The really bad news for Bellarmine? Both of those guys – Arden Wipf and Ross Doan – are gone. Even worse, so is the third starter, Matt Silvia, also graduated, along with reserve Austin Powell.

That leaves… a lot of question marks. LSM Bobby Schmitt, who started most of last year as a freshman, is back. The other regularly used LSM, Michael Bender, is also back. With a dearth of close defenders, I bet one of them moves in this year. Collin Hart, who was also a freshman – it seems like just about everyone on this team last year was either a freshman or a senior – played in nearly every game last year, and is another good guess to start this season.

Last year’s starting goalkeeper returns in the form of 6-5 Dillon Ward. He saved a poor .510 of shots faced (No. 31 nationally, behind a defense with three seniors starting), and allowed 10.41 goals per game. Even if he improves this year – possible – the defense in front of him should be worse.

Special Teams

One player took nearly all of Bellarmine’s faceoffs last year: Troy Athens product Andrew Bulgarelli. He has graduated, and taken his .488 win rate with him. He was best on the team, and replacing him should not be easy, since it appears Bellarmine was bad in general.

Departed defenseman Austin Powell was the only other Knight to take double-digit draws, so it will be entirely starting from scratch for BU. The best guess in that instance is to assume a .500-ish mark, though slightly worse (to account for wing play and coaching – they’ve actually been well below average every year of the TFL database) is more likely.

As mentioned at the top, the ride/clear were both pretty good. It’s tough to know if that will continue with all the personnel losses, but the ride specifically is often attributable to schematic design, so that should be fine.

Bellarmine played a pretty clean brand of ball last year, with teams combining for fewer than seven penalties per game. BU actually finished almost twice as many of their chances as opponents, so they were strong in that respect.

Previously On…

These two teams met in the 2012 regular season, with Detroit missing a great opportunity to get a win (stumbling to an 8-9 loss at home). The Titans led by four goals with four minutes to play, and gve up five quick goals to lose in regulation.

Big Picture

There may be a bit of added motivation for UDM, even though it’s a new year – and just a fall ball scrimmage. The loss last year still has to sting, especially the way it happened.

That said, this Bellarmine team should be a good amount worse than last year’s, while the Titans should be better. There’s little to prove in a fall ball scrimmage for the team who is presumed the favorite, and UDM should be able to test some new strategies or personnel in the game.

Predictions

Detroit should be as good or better than last year, Bellarmine should take a big step back. With the typical caveats about fall ball, etc., I see that resulting in a 12-7 Titan win.

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Joel Matthews selected in NLL Draft

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Tim

Yesterday, Former Detroit Titan Joel Matthews was selected No. 31 overall in the National Lacrosse League Draft by the Buffalo Bandits. From the source. We live in a weird, weird world, and you can actually re-watch the draft on Youtube (cued to the relevant portion, but with an intervening irrelevant interview). Stick around until 1:56:30 or so to hear the breakdown of Matthews.

The UDM website has a story with full quotes. IL Indoor had actually expected Matthews to go as high as No. 16:

16. Buffalo (from Colorado via Toronto via Edmonton) Joel Matthews, LF/T The buzz was that Buffalo was going to take Matthews at 13, but it’s hard to imagine they could pass up Bender at that spot. So they’ll be pleased as punch that Matthews is still on the board for them here.

Lacrosse Magazine sheds some lightonto what went down there:

“We were able to get some guys later on that we had rated a lot higher. Some guys slid to us that we were real happy with. We wanted to get some guys who could come in and compete for spots right away, and I think we did that.

Of course, “professional” leagues that can’t pay full-time salaries have a bit different drafting strategy, so I’m not sure if any franchise other than Buffalo – the closest to his home in St. Catharines, Ontario – would have had an excellent chance of signing him.

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Nick Colleluori Classic: Marist Preview

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Tim

It’s time to shake off the rust (albeit somewhat temporarily) on the preview machine. This weekend, Michigan’s Team Two faces its first live action in a fall ball scrimmage against Marist. Who are the Red Foxes?

Marist

Marist Red Foxes Lacrosse

This is more cute than frightening.

9 a.m. EST Oct. 6, 2012
Ridley High School, Folsom, Pa.
@UmichLacrosse.

2012
6-8 (3-3 MAAC). #44 Laxpower, #44 Tempo-Free.

Tempo-Free Profile

Raw numbers from last year and the strength-of-schedule adjusted numbers come from the Tempo-Free database.

Marist 2012
Marist Opponents
Faceoff Wins 141 Faceoff Wins 189
Clearing 227-266 Clearing 221-255
Possessions 441 Possessions 483
Goals 130 Goals 149
Offensive Efficiency .295 Offensive Efficiency .308

Marist was poor in the possession game last year (No. 53 nationally) thanks to bad faceoffs and a well below-average ride. They were quite good on the clear, however, leading me to believe they played a style of game that was settled end-to-end (their pace was about dead-center nationally at No. 30).

Their offense really wasn’t that bad – No. 36 nationally, adjusted for strength of schedule – but their defense was slightly worse, and when you’re not good in either area (or in the possession game), it’s going to be hard to put together a strong team.

The full profile, via TempoFreeLax.com:

Offense

Two players accounted for nearly half of Marist’s scoring output last year, and they both return. Attackmen Jack Doherty and Connor Rice seems like opposites in just about every way except their ability to put up points: Doherty is big (6-3, 185) and gets most of his production through goals, while Rice is small (5-7, 150) and is primarily an assist man. They have pretty clearly defined roles – which seems like it would be slightly easier to defend than versatility all over the field. The Red Foxes’ third-leading scorer last year was a freshman, 6-1, 175-pound Drew Nesmith (who was twice named the conference rookie of the week), though his production was half of the big two, and nearly all through finishing on his own.

You have to drop to the fourth-leading scorer to find a Red Fox who won’t be back this year, in the form of departed midfielder Evan Guarini. Still, Nos. 5 and 6 (attack Colin Joka and midfielder Mike Begley) are both back, and both just sophomores this fall. Marist was a young, young offense last year, and should continue to improve this season. Senior Jim Marks played in just nine games last spring, but was still the other double-digit scorer on the roster with 5 and 5.

Doherty, Rice, and Nesmith were all second-team All-MAAC last season.

Defense

The big loss for Marist comes on defense, with the graduation of their only first-team All-MAAC performer from last season, Zach Badalucco. He was a part-time faceoff specialist, too, and was second on the team in GBs. Despite missing two games, he was also third on the team with 10 caused turnovers.  LSM Kevin DiFranco has also departed, and will have to be replaced in the lineup. Without seeing any action yet this year, I’m not sure how much the new substitution rules will affect the use of LSMs (and short-stick defensive midfielders) in favor of two-way guys, but we’ll have to see.

That leaves senior Ethan Fox – who was a second-team All-MAAC performer a year ago – and classmate Kevin DiFranco from the back three. That’s not a bad group to leave behind, especially given that they were 1-2 on the team in caused turnovers last year.

Senior Brendan Brunelle earned only one start last year, but made 11 appearances and could be among the players stepping up to replace the departed starters. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine. Not a lot of press out there regarding the Marist defense.

In goal, rising junior Craig Goodermote was The Man for almost the entirety of last year. The total time he wasn’t between the pipes for the Red Foxes was barely more than a game. He saved .526 of shots faced, and allowed just 9.79 goals per game (playing behind a mediocre defense). Both other goalies who saw time in 2012 return, as well.

Special Teams

This is the area where Marist most obviously struggled last year. A handful of players took a few draws here and there, but the only guy to crack the .400 mark was the primary specialist, Matt Dugan. He’s back as a senior this year, but .483 at the dot isn’t exactly brag-worthy on its own. At least it would have been good for No. 41 nationally, instead of the team’s aggregate No. 52 ranking. Expect more of the same this year, with Dugan hovering close to .500, a few other players getting spot draws here and there, and some defensive players getting in there to not necessarily win the draw, but more importantly prevent a fast break.

As mentioned above, Marist was both good at clearing and bad at riding – not a lot of transition when the Red Foxes were in town last year. With a mostly intact lineup from last year, minus a couple key cogs, expect more of the same on the clear (primarily because there’s a lot more margin for going down than up in terms of performance). I don’t expect Marist to emphasize the ride – unless they use it in this game just to test what was a terrible Michigan clear last season.

Marist committed and received about the same number of penalties last year – just under four per game – so they weren’t a notably clean or sloppy team in that regard. They did, however, convert at a better clip than opponents, and I expect more of the same this season.

Big Picture

The 2012 season basically counts as a throwaway for Michigan, at least in terms of predictions going forward. It was a club roster with one or two players who had ever been on a Division-1 field. The chance for rapid improvement now that most of the team has a bit of experience (and those that don’t have the experience are Division-1 recruits) is there.

Unfortunately, Michigan’s improving from one of the worst marks in the country, and though Marist wasn’t that far ahead, they also have a lineup littered with veterans. That includes some of the MAAC’s best returning players, and a whole lot of guys who are in their third or fourth year of Division-1 lacrosse.

This is a good opportunity for Michigan to gauge itself as a program, though drawing any conclusions (good or bad) can be a bit foolish, as is always the case with fall scrimmages.

Predictions

It’s impossible to guess at each team’s strategy going into the game – play everyone to evaluate talent? Run through every scheme you have? Try to win the game? – so making any broad predictions is foolhardy. I do think Marist will show that they’re ahead of Michigan as a program, but how that manifests itself may or may not show on the scoreboard.

If Michigan is not only competitive, but the apparent stronger team in this contest, I think you can increment the expectations for Team Two up, but only very slightly. That said, I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen, either.

Simply making a wild guess here, look for both teams to get most of their game-ready players onto the field, and for Marist to emerge with a 15-9 win.

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Nick Colleluori Classic: 2012 Field Overview

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Tim

Part two of a look at Michigan’s participation in the Nick Colleluori Classic. Part one looked at their performance in the 2011 event. This will take a look at the 2012 event, Michigan’s second in Division-1 history. Part three will preview Michigan’s two opponents.

The Teams

Last year, based on the evidence we had going into the game, St. Joseph’s was the only team expected to be in Michigan’s league. Although we didn’t yet know the Wolverines were going to be pretty bad, they were the only new team in the field, and the other teams (with 2011 Tempo-Free rankings) were the following:

  • Lehigh University (27)
  • St. Joseph’s University (60)
  • Colgate University (21)
  • Mt. St. Mary’s University (26)
  • Cornell University (3)
  • Hofstra University (8)
  • Towson University (35)
  • University of Michigan (N/A)
  • Marist College (40)

That’s a couple top-flight programs, several middle-of-the-pack ones, a bad St. Joseph’s team and a brand new Michigan one.

This year, the field includes the following teams (with 2012 rankings in parentheses):

  • Colgate University (13)
  • High Point University (N/A)
  • Hofstra University (22)
  • Lehigh University (12)
  • Marist College (44)
  • Marquette University (N/A)
  • University of Michigan (59)
  • Mount St. Mary’s University (42)
  • Robert Morris University (25)
  • St. Joseph’s University (48)
  • Villanova University (27)

The overall field is a bit weaker, and obviously the presence of two new programs (High Point and Marquette) along with a second-year program in Michigan means it’s a bit more… developmental… a group this time around.

Michigan’s Opponents

The Wolverines will play in the two earliest time slots of the day, taking on Marist on Field 2 at 9 a.m. and Mount St. Mary’s on Field 1 at 10:30. Marist is a conference opponent of Detroit, Michigan’s in-state rival (they had other common opponents in Rutgers and Jacksonville, as well). The Wolverines themselves took on Mount St. Mary’s last year in an ugly 6-15 loss at the Big House.

As for those two teams’ other opponents on the weekend, both the Red Foxes and The Mount take on St. Joseph’s, so Michigan should get a decent idea where they stack up against those three programs (whether the scores indicate that is a different story altogether).

Another team to keep an eye on is Marquette. The Wolverines will play MU in a spring exhibition game to kick off the season, and it’ll be interesting to see how their first year as a program goes, not least of which because it stands in a marked contrast to Michigan’s immediate promotion of a club team.

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Michigan State update

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Tim

The Spartans are scrimmaging Ohio Valley and Albion this weekend, and after that, the coaching staff will make their final round of cuts. The scrimmages take place today in Albion, Mich.

  • MSU v. Albion University (D-3), 11:30 a.m.
  • MSU v. Ohio Valley University (D-2), appx. 1 p.m.

Following the final round of cuts, there is one more MSU scrimmage in fall ball. The Spartans will travel to Granville, Ohio to take on Denison University (D-3) Oct. 19.

That’s a pretty good mix of Fall Ball competition for an MCLA-1 team. Ohio Valley was far and away the worst team in the NCAA’s Division-2 last year, but as a relatively young program with a new head coach, they should be a bit better. Still, a good chance to evaluate the guys on the tail end of the Spartans’ roster and make those last few tough personnel decisions.

Denison is a top-10 D-3 team – about the same level of competition as top MCLA teams – and Albion is a middle-of-the-pack D-3 team that’s on the rise. Those will both be better tests than OVU, and a couple good chances to play competitive ball in the exhibition season.

There are a couple guys on the OVU roster with Michigan ties:

  • OVU Junior midfielder Stan Mackey, from “Heartland” High School in Howell
  • OVU freshman attack Donald “Hannibal” Roda from Warren L’Anse Creuse

JuCo defenseman Mike Dyjewski is also originally from L’Anse Creuse, but is listed only on the OVU recruit release, not the official roster. (By the way: my dream job is to be a D-2 sports information director. Attention to detail not required!).

Stay tuned for more from the Spartans at the conclusion of fall ball.

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Profile of Michigan Assistant Ryan Danehy

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Tim
Michigan Wolverines Lacrosse coach Ryan Danehy Dartmouth Big Green

Photo via UM media relations.

Unlike previous UM offensive coordinator Judd Lattimore, new hire Ryan Danehy has been a one-gig coach throughout his career. He’s been at Dartmouth for his entire six-year tenure, serving as a goalies coach and assistant offensive coordinator until last spring, when he was the full offensive coordinator. That coaching career began just a year after his final year suiting up for the Big Green (during which he played in the MLL).

Until now, Danehy had been a career Dartmouth Man.

His MGoBlue article and Dartmouth bio both state that Danehy scored 73 goals and 11 assists in his four-year playing career in Hanover, but a quick look at the stats seems to show that’s not correct. Though Dartmouth’s statistics archive only goes back to his sophomore year, in his final three seasons, Danehy scored 33 goals and 24 assists. Unless he scored 40 goals (possible) and -13 assists (not possible) as a freshman, the numbers are incorrect.

Anyway, on to his coaching career. After a year away from Hanover, he returned to become an assistant with the goalies and offense. To the stats!

I’ll start one year before he returned, to give a bit of context for where Dartmouth was, and how much changed with him on the staff. The year prior to his arrival is in italics, last year (his only as a coordinator) in bold.

Year Record Possessions Goals Efficiency
2007 5-10 530 139 .262
2008 7-7 520 150 .288
2009 4-11 530 121 .228
2010 5-8 465 113 .243
2011 5-9 503 131 .260
2012 5-9 459 123 .268

So, as we can see, the Dartmouth offense has never been awesome – it was No. 43 nationally last spring, the second-best mark in this stretch. The numbers also indicate that there hasn’t been a whole lot of significant improvement or regression during the course of Danehy’s tenure (save a big drop from 2008 to 2009).

Survey says: doesn’t tell us much. Let’s take a look at how goalies have performed under Danehy:

Year Goals SOG Save% GAA
2007 166 316 .475 10.90
2008 153 317 .517 10.92
2009 178 335 .469 11.81
2010 139 304 .543 10.67
2011 154 328 .530 10.97

There’s so much noise here, since we aren’t looking at the team’s defensive quality (generally poor, for the record) in his tenure. However, other than one bad year in 2009, the numbers were generally OK.

As for his role as recruiting coordinator – a one-year deal that lasted only through his final season at Dartmouth – it’s even tougher to note what sort of impact he had. The Big Green hasn’t landed a top 20 recruiting class per Inside Lacrosse in any of the years of their archives.

Verdict

At this point, Danehy is mostly an unknown. He obviously has a personality that people are going to like, and that’s a positive. For all Judd Lattimore’s track record of success, there seemed to be a mismatch in that department over the past year.

Simply on account of better chemistry (and a year of Division-1 lacrosse under just about everyone’s belt), this season is going to be an improvement over 2012 from an offensive standpoint.

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Lax Links: Sept. 24, 2012

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Tim

Division-1

Fallball report with UDM coach Matt Holtz:

Detroit’s 2013 roster is now available.

Detroit has the official release on their fallball tournament with Notre Dame and Bellarmine. They’ll play both teams in Chicago Oct. 6, and that will be their only fallball action of the year.

We keep finding out tidbits about Detroit and Michigan’s respective schedules this fall from other programs releasing their own. The latest: Michigan will travel to High Point March 6, and make a second-consecutive trip to Denver April 27.

Michigan’s official site interviews freshman goalie Gerald Logan.

Michigan will be hosting coaching clinics again this winter. Great opportunity for high school and youth coaches around the state to learn a bit. As someone who has never played or coached the game at an organized level, I was able to learn a ton at the clinics last year.

On the women’s side, UDM has already gotten fall ball underway.  The Michigan women’s team talks a little bit about their process for starting varsity play in a year’s time.

MCLA

Under The Bucket shares the CCLA-2 coaches poll. Grand Valley takes the top spot, but with the departure of Davenport to CCLA-1, not so much other representation right near the top:

  • 1. Grand Valley
  • 6. Aquinas
  • 7. Siena Heights
  • 9. Ferris State
  • 10. Oakland
  • 13. UM-Dearborn
  • 14. Northwood
  • 15. Lawrence Tech.

Fall Ball gear for Central Michigan, and Aquinas swag isn’t so bad itself.

Recruiting

Michigan has picked up a 2014 commitment from Glen Ridge (N.J.) LSM Jackson Kinley. Of note, he plays SSDM for his high school, not longpole. More to come on him eventually, but for now, Denver was among the other schools he considered, so it’s a nice pickup.

Michigan also got a 2014 commitment out of California (an area they’re hitting pretty hard compared to some other teams from non-traditional areas) in Redwood LSM Liam Bourke. He’s a member of the Alcatraz Outlaws team that also has featured other U-M commits.

Youth, Etc.

Former Michigan assistant Mark Greaney has started a travel lacrosse team. Check out the link for more details on the Premier Lacrosse Group.

Beth Donovan growing the game by starting the Westwide Women’s Lacrosse Club in Northville.

Expansion/Realignment/Etc.

It’s official: Richmond is adding Division-1 lacrosse. The past couple years have seen a huge boom in new D-1 programs (obviously including Michigan), and Richmond is just the latest. Conference home is going to be an interesting decision to watch. Is a southern conference on the way?

Yet again, I’ll probably have to spend more time discussing this at a later date, but friend of the blog Matt over at College Crosse (Hoya Suxa no more) postulates that Albany and Stony Brook could be the next lacrosse programs to change leagues.

USC won’t stop rumbling about the potential for Division-1 men’s lacrosse.

The Northeast Conference’s expected NCAA Tournament autobid is in the books.

Etc.

You still have a few more days to vote for former Michigan defenseman Pat Stansik as the Lacrosse Personality of the Year in the Inside Lacrosse Laxies. Stansik is the creator of such gems as “I love you Denard” and the Pregaming with Pat series.

Lacrosse Magazine is taking nominations for Person of the Year. Michigan coach John Paul won last year, is anyone from the state worthy in 2012?

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