February 28, 2004                                                                      

Site: Orlando, Florida (Winter Park High School)

Score: #5 Michigan 6, #3 Brigham Young 8

Records: UM (2-1), Brigham Young (5-1)

Late Rally Falls Short Against #3 BYU

Event Recap I Boxscore I Notes & Quotes I Photos

Orlando, Fla. – The University of Michigan men’s lacrosse team lost an 8-6 decision to Brigham Young University Saturday evening (Feb. 28) in Orlando, Florida at Winter Park High School in breezy, but clear, 40 degree weather.  It was the final game of three to be played this week in the state of Florida.  Both junior Mike O’Leary (St. Louis, Mo./Clayton) and senior captain Jeff Hanna (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manilus) netted two goals apiece while senior captain Ray Lombardi (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) had three assists.  In the end however, the Wolverines couldn’t find enough firepower to bring the game even. 

Webber had a season high 11 saves, including five in the second quarter.

Trailing by a score of 7-3 with just under four minutes left in the contest, the Wolverines stormed back with a goal from junior Ryan Clark (Summit, N.J./Summit) at the 3:58 mark, and with two minutes left O’Leary netted back to back goals just under a minute apart to draw the Wolverines to within one goal with just under a minute remaining.  Michigan was able to gain possession of the ball and called a timeout but a turnover in the Wolverines’ zone led to BYU’s eighth goal of the game, coming from Brigham Young’s Curtis Salmon.  BYU’s Justin Hier led the team with 2-2-4 totals. 

The two teams scored only three goals in the first half, with neither team able to find the back of the net in the first quarter.  Junior goaltender Dan Webber (Weston, Mass./Weston) made 11 saves in the contest, his high so far for the season, and kept the Wolverines in the game after being outshot 17-8 in the first half. 

U-M was able to win the ground ball battle, collecting 36 to BYU’s 32, but in the faceoff category the Wolverines were limited to only two wins in 16 attempts.  Michigan was 50% on the man-up however, going 3-6 with the extra attacker.  Junior long-stick midfielder Dave Silverman (Potomac, Md./Churchill) posted impressive ground ball numbers once again, pacing the Wolverines with six. 

Michigan will play next vs. Buffalo in the first game of CCLA conference play, on Saturday (March. 6) in Ann Arbor at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse at 8:00 p.m.  The Wolverines are looking to continue their streak of 50 straight wins in CCLA play.

NOTES

●  With two goals vs. BYU, Jeff Hanna moved into sole possession of fifth place on the Wolverines all-time goal scoring list with 105.  Hanna surpassed Dan Jerneycic who recorded 104 goals in his Wolverine career.  Next in front of Hanna is Tom Burns who is only two away with 107.

●  Hanna has netted a total of 10 goals in his first three games of the season. 

●  Ryan Clark has recorded 14 points in his first three games.

●  Mike O’Leary tied career highs in Saturday’s game with two goals and five shots.  O’Leary netted two goals most recently vs. Buffalo in 2003, and recorded five shots vs. Missouri in 2002.

●  Jim Constantine left the game early with a thigh bruise that lists him as day-to-day.   Constantine should be available for next Saturday’s game vs. Buffalo.

●  Dan Webber made a season high 11 stops in Saturday’s game and earned his second career penalty, drawing a cross checking penalty in the second quarter of the game.

●  The Wolverines were only 1-16 in faceoff attempts in the contest. 

●  Bobby Groenke missed the game with a separated shoulder that occurred in Wednesday’s game vs. Florida.  He will be re-evaluated throughout the coming week.

QUOTES

UM Head Coach John Paul

On the game overall: "Tonight was a sloppier game than what we are used to at this level, playing against a team like BYU.  The ball was on the ground a lot.  I think both defenses played pretty well and denied a lot of quality chances.  I think in the end the game came down to possessions.  BYU won the majority of the faceoffs and cleared the ball better.  That’s what won them the game."

On who stood out for the Wolverines:  “Mike Roth and Dan Webber really stepped up big for us tonight.  Mike was a force on defense and Dan had a very solid game and kept us in it throughout.”

On injuries being a factor:  “You never want to blame a loss on injuries but we were short tonight and it definitely hurt us.  With both Bobby and Jimmy out, and (Brian) Vincent playing hurt, we were short in midfield and we had a few guys playing out of position tonight where they are not exactly comfortable.  We're not a deep team this year.  It's difficult to overcome those kinds of losses."

On the team’s comeback bid:  “I was proud of the guys tonight.  They showed the relentlessness and no-quit attitude that I think is going to characterize this team this year.  We worked hard the entire game, but had a few mental breakdowns.  You can’t have those sorts of things versus a team like BYU.”

On entering CCLA play next week:  “We’re obviously still very excited about the team we’ve got this year, and we’re looking forward to continuing our solid CCLA play.  We need to just put tonight behind us and continue working toward our goals.”

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