February 25, 2004                                                                      

 

Site: Gainesville, Florida (McGuire Field)

Score: #5 Michigan 12, #6 Florida 5

Records: UM (2-0), UF (4-1)

Next U-M Game: Saturday, February 28 -- vs. #3 Brigham Young University (Winter Park High School), 7:00 p.m. EST

 

Second Half Surge Lifts Wolverines Past #6 Florida

Gainesville, Fla. – The University of Michigan men’s lacrosse team defeated the University of Florida Gators 12-5 Wednesday (Feb. 25) evening in Gainesville, Florida at McGuire Field in misty, damp, 40 degree weather.  It was the second of three games U-M will play this week in the state of Florida.  Both junior Ryan Clark (Summit, N.J./Summit) and senior captain Jeff Hanna (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manilus) tallied five points apiece with Hanna netting five goals, and Clark assisting on three of them. 

The Wolverines trailed by a goal after the first half of play before exploding for nine goals in the second half including two goals in the first three minutes of the third quarter.   Goals from senior captain Ray Lombardi (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and junior Mike O’Leary (St. Louis, Mo./Clayton) gave the Wolverines a 5-4 lead that U-M would never relinquish.  Lombardi finished with 2-1-3 totals.  The Wolverines were able to hold Florida scoreless in the fourth quarter. 

Michigan’s defense held Florida to only 23 shots in the game while the Wolverines were able to tally 52.  Michigan was also able win the ground ball battle 58-41 with forwards Jeff Hanna scooping up nine ground balls while Ray Lombardi was able to pick up eight of his own. 

Amongst midfielders, senior midfielder Justin Gal (Amherst, Mass./Milton Academy) tallied six ground balls and an assist while junior Bobby Groenke (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) notched four ground balls.  Junior long-stick midfielder Dave Silverman (Potomac, Md./Churchill) was also able to tally eight ground balls.  Freshman Matt Hudson (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) added two points with a goal and an assist.

Guarding the net, junior goaltender Dan Webber (Weston, Mass./Weston) made six saves and allowed five goals.  Amongst the defense, junior Brian Anderson (Lansing, Mich./Waverly) tallied four ground balls while junior Kirk Kozel (Barrington, Ill./Taft) notched three. 

Michigan will play next vs. #3 Brigham Young University, on Saturday (Feb. 28) in Orlando at Winter Park High School at 7:00 p.m.

NOTES

● With five goals vs. Florida, Jeff Hanna moved within one goal of fifth on the all-time goal-scoring list.  With two more goals, Hanna will surpass Dan Jerneycic who recorded 104 goals in his Wolverine career. 

● Matt Hudson tallied his first two points as a Wolverine with a goal and an assist vs. Florida.

● Ryan Clark has recorded 12 points in his first two games while Jeff Hanna has eight goals in the first two Wolverine contests.    

● Two players recorded career-high ground ball figures Wednesday night vs. Florida.  Dave Silverman and Ray Lombardi each scooped up eight ground balls in the game to set career marks.

● Paul Passino left the game early with a cut over his right eye that would require a trip to the hospital for stitches.  Passino should be available for Saturday’s game vs. BYU.

 

QUOTES

 

UM Head Coach John Paul

On the game overall: "This was a really big win for us.  We’ve always had difficulty on the road against top teams like this and to come out and grab the victory is a great way to start the season for us.  It gives us a lot of confidence early on.”

On the defense: "The defense really played well tonight.  Early on we had some trouble with their transition game but once we settled down and stopped their transition we were able to tighten things up and limit their opportunities.  We did a couple of things to take away their go-to guys and I think that made a difference.  We also showed them a zone sometimes and it was evident that they didn’t have a solution for that.”

On who stood out for the Wolverines:  “Jeff Hanna and Dave Silverman really played well for us.  Other than Hanna’s five goals, he was all over the field, creating turnovers, scooping up ground balls and riding the ball hard in the offensive zone.  Silverman just dominated on the defensive end.  He was outstanding.”

On the upcoming game versus BYU:  “We’ve only beaten BYU at home.  So obviously this is going to be a test for us.  I know the guys are really pumped about the game, and I know they are going to be very focused.  They look forward to this game all year.”

 

GAME SUMMARY

#5 Michigan vs. #6 Florida
Wednesday, February 25
7:00 p.m. EST, McGuire Field, Gainesville, Florida

 

Score by Quarter      1     2     3     4     OT     Totals

Michigan …………    2     1     4     5                     12

Florida....................    2     2     1     0                       5

 

Michigan Scoring

Jeff Hanna 5G/0A – 5 Pts.

Ryan Clark 2G/3A - 5 Pts.

Ray Lombardi 2G/1A - 3 Pts.

Matt Hudson 1G/1A - 2 Pts.

Brian Vincent 1G/0A – 1 Pt.

Mike O’Leary 1G/0A - 1 Pt.

Justin Gal 0G/1A - 1 Pts.

Trevor Broad 0G/1A – 1 Pt..

 

 

Central Florida Scoring

Steve Belford 2G/0A – 2 Pts.

Robert Digiore 1G/1A – 2 Pts.

James Palmieri 1G/0A – 1 Pt.

Brad March 1G/0A – 1 Pt.

Brian Pellarin 0G/1A – 1 Pt. 

 

 
Michigan In Net
Michigan:  Dan Webber – 6 saves / 5 goals against (60:00 minutes)

 

Florida In Net

Florida:  Dan Rodriguez – 13 saves / 12 goals against (60:00 minutes)
 

Team Statistics     1        2        3         4         OT        Totals

Ground Balls

Michigan                16      12      17       13                        58

Florida                   11        9      10       11                        41

Shots

Michigan                10       7        13       12                       42

Florida                     5       8        6         4                         23

Face-offs

Michigan                  3        2        3         1                          9

Florida                     2        2        3         4                        11

Clears

Michigan                 4/7     5/9     6/7     2/7                    17/30

Florida                   4/10    2/8     3/5     3/5                    12/28

Extra Man

Michigan                1/1      -         -        2/4                       3/5

Florida                     -      0/1       -        0/1                       0/1

 

 

 

Scoring Summary

8:35   (1st)….UF….Digiore….UM 0, UF 1

6:39   (1st)….UM….Hanna (Clark)….UM 1, UF 1

2:14   (1st)….UM….(EMO) Hanna (Clark)….UM 2, UF 1

0:20   (1st)….UF…..Belford….UM 2, UF 2

End of 1st Quarter: Michigan 2, Florida 2

11:44   (2nd)….UM….Vincent (Clark)….UM 3, UF 2

1:19   (2nd)….UF….March (Pellarin)….UM 3, UCF 3

0:08   (2nd)….UF….Palmieri….UM 4, UCF 3

Halftime: Michigan 3, Florida 4

14:35 (3rd)….UM….Lombardi….UM 4, UF 4

12:33 (3rd)….UM….O’Leary (Lombardi)….UM 5, UF 4

7:32 (3rd)….UM….Clark….UM 6, UF 4

7:00 (3rd)….UM….Hanna….UM 7, UF 4

2:17 (3rd)….UF….Belford (Digiore)….UM 7, UF 5

End of 3rd Quarter: Michigan 7, Florida 5

14:06 (4th)….UM….(EMO) Hanna (Clark)….UM 8, UF 5

9:46 (4th)….. UM….(EMO) Hanna (Gal)….UM 9, UF 5

5:47 (4th)….UM….Lombardi (Hudson)….UM 10, UF 5

1:03 (4th)….UM….Clark….UM 11, UF 5

0:30 (4th)….UM….Hudson (Broad)….UM 12, UF 5

End of Regulation: Michigan 12, Florida 5

 

Officials

Ken Vernoski, Chris Vahey, Ray Pierson

 

Contact: Joe Hennessy (734) 276-8493, jjhennes@umich.edu