April 4, 2004                                                                      

Event:  Men’s Lacrosse

Site: Ann Arbor, Michigan (Oosterbaan Fieldhouse)

Score: #5 Michigan 11, #12  Minnesota-Duluth 4

Records: UM (9-2, 3-0 CCLA), Minnesota-Duluth (4-4, 3-0 UMLL)

Next U-M Game: Saturday, April 10 vs. Indiana (Oxford, Ohio), 2:00 p.m. EST

Wolverines Take a Bite out of #12 Bulldogs on Senior Day

Event Recap I Boxscore I Notes & Quotes I Photos

Ann Arbor, Mich. – The #5 ranked University of Michigan men’s lacrosse team defeated the #12 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs by a score of 11-4, in front of 238 fans at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse, Sunday afternoon (April 4.  The Wolverines came out scoring quickly with three goals in the first seven minutes and eventually led Minnesota-Duluth 5-0 entering the second period.  Although the Bulldogs would eventually make it a tighter contest and cut the Wolverines lead down to three, Duluth was never able to get any closer, while Michigan was never able to completely put the game out of reach. 

Webber had Senior defenseman Jason Hall appeared in his final home game for the Wolverines.

Michigan came out firing, scoring five unanswered goals in the first period, including the first two goals that were scored by extensive movement of the ball in the Wolverines offensive end.  Anthony Ragnone (Flint, Mich./Flint Powers) notched the first Maize and Blue goal from the left-hand side after the Michigan offense swung the ball to his side off a dodge and found him open from about ten yards out.  Bobby Groenke (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) was the recipient of the Wolverines next offensive thrust at the 9:52 mark, as more ball movement found an open Groenke parked to the left of the goal, and from about eight yards out he let loose a low shot that beat UMD goaltender Sam Litman just inside the post.  Senior captain Jeff Hanna (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) registered his lone assist on the day (1-1-2 totals) with the final pass of the rotation.  The Wolverines would net three more in the opening quarter including the first of Ray Lombardi’s (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) two goals on the afternoon (2-0-2).

The Bulldogs didn’t go down without a fight however, registering the first two goals of the second period.  Todd Christianson tallied the first UMD goal just under two minutes into the second quarter as he received a pass right on the doorstep, and was able to get a quick shot off that beat Michigan goaltender Dan Webber (Weston, Mass./Weston) inside the left post.  The Bulldogs struck again under three minutes later at 10:51 on a goal from Dan O’Donnell, as the Bulldogs featured their own brand of ball movement that created space for O’Donnell at the top of the zone.  The shot beat Webber just over the goaltender’s left shoulder.

It looked as if the teams would enter the locker room in a relatively close match if it wasn’t for a Justin Gal (Amherst Mass./Milton Academy) goal right before the end of the second period on a turnover in the Duluth zone with just seconds left in the half.  The Wolverines were able to scoop up a loose ball deep in the right corner as Gal strode up the center of the field for a final run.  Gal received the long pass and let go a low shot that beat Litman to his left-side.  Entering the half with a four-goal lead it looked as if the Wolverines might be able to pull away in the second.

That case appeared even stronger at the outset of the second half as Gal notched the second of his two goals just under two minutes into the third quarter at 13:47 for a team-high three points (2-1-3).  Gal cut across the field to the right and fired a shot back to the left across the face of the goal.  The goal was the result of a faceoff win by Trevor Broad (Grosse Pointe, Mich./University Liggett) and the ensuing Wolverine possession.

Just as it appeared Michigan would begin to pull away, O’Donnell notched his team-high second goal of the game just 13 seconds later at 13:34 on an assist from Matt Reeves.  The teams would then play over 10 minutes of scoreless lacrosse with Lombardi finally breaking through with 1:09 left in the third quarter on a scrum in front of the net when he gathered the ball and banged it home. 

Duluth would once again answer, this time under four minutes into the final frame at 11:37 on a goal from Reeves on a UMD transition play.  The Bulldogs got no closer however, and Michigan notched three more goals in the game including Bobby Groenke’s second, freshman Matt Hudson’s (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) second of two goals, and a final freshman combination that saw Matt Mierendorf (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) and Mark Idzenga (River Vale, N.J./Bergen Tech) connect.  Mierendorf dodged three Bulldog defenders while carrying the ball into the offensive zone and found Idzenga open on the left side on the transition.  Idzenga collected the pass, fired and scored his fifth goal of the season and sixth point (5-1-6).  The assist was Mierendorf’s first career point. 

Michigan doubled up UMD in shots, totaling 34 to 15 in the contest, and also grabbed a total of 48 groundballs compared to the Bulldogs 32.  Michigan won the faceoff battle winning 11 of 19, including a 4-7 effort by freshman Thomas Groenke (Cinncinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier).  Michigan faired better on their clears attempts, posting a respectable 16-23 while UMD registered 15-27 totals.  Michigan notched the lone man-up goal of the game on Hudson’s first goal, going 1-4, while denying UMD on both of their man-up chances.  Michigan goalie Dan Webber registered five saves in the contest and freshman Ryan Kaufman (Olney, Md./Magruder) finished the final 5:09 of the game and did not see a shot on goal.

The Wolverines will play next vs. Indiana in a CCLA conference game in Oxford, Ohio on Saturday, April 10 at 2:00 p.m.

NOTES

●  Jeff Hanna was once again held in relative check, for the third game in a row as the senior captain notched only two points in the contest to bring his season total to 40 points (33-7-40).  Hanna’s three goals in his past three games is well below his 3.83 goals-per-game average that the captain earned heading into this weekend's invitational.

●  For the third night in a row, some one other than the team's leading groundball man Dave Silverman (Potomac, Md./Churchill) (72 on the season) led the Wolverines in groundballs, as senior captain Ray Lombardi scooped up seven groundballs to go along with his two goals.  Last night vs. UCSB, Justin Gal (Amherst, Mass./Milton Academy) scooped up 7 gb's in the game and in the Friday’s match vs. Colorado State, junior Brian Anderson (Lansing, Mich./Waverly) led the team in groundballs, recording nine, which also set a career mark for the defenseman

●  Anderson’s previous groundball high was eight, set last season vs. UCSB (Feb. 26) and vs. BYU (May 8).  Anderson’s best groundball performances have come against some of the nation’s toughest opponents. 

●  With the home victory, Michigan’s record at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse over the past five years improves to 37-2.   The Wolverines also improve on their 49-20 record since 1999 against teams ranked in the top-25 with the win Sunday. 

●  Mike O’Leary (St. Louis, MO./Clayton) led the team with five shots while Ray Lombardi registered four shots on goal on just four shot attempts. 

●  Three Michigan freshman players registered points in the contest.  Matt Hudson tied a career high with two goals and his first man-up goal.  Mark Idzenga registered his fifth career goal, and Matt Mierendorf registered his first career point with an assist on Idzenga’s goal along with collecting two groundballs. 

●  The Wolverines only allowed 15 Bulldogs shots which is well below the average of 24.4 shots-per-game average that the Maize and Blue have posted so far this season. 

●  For the second game in a row the Wolverines have held their opponent’s man-up offense in check.  By stopping both of UCSB’s and both of UMD’s man-up attempts Michigan held this weekend’s competition to 1 for 8 totals.. 

●  Two Wolverine seniors, Ray Chang (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) and Jason Hall (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford) started and both saw extensive action in the game as it was the Wolverines last home game of the season and the teams “senior night”.  Hall registered four groundballs while Chang scooped up one.

QUOTES

U-M Head Coach John Paul

On the game itself:  “We were not as focused as we would like to be but after last night’s victory it was to be expected.  We just couldn’t get the same kind of intensity, and it showed on the field.  We played well enough to win.”

On the play of the offensive:  “We were off and on today, sometimes making the play and sometimes not.  We would start to get in a groove and then we’d just hit a funk.  It was tough to pull away and Duluth kept after it all game.  We did make a switch in the top two midfield lines starting last night and it seems to have worked a little.  The guys just need to work with it more to get used to the change.  Justin Gal seems to have been playing a little better after the switch so we’ll have to wait and see.”

On the play of the defense:  “The intensity wasn’t there at times today on defense.  We did some different things and tried to work everyone into the game.  Ray Chang and Jason Hall are both very good players stuck in tough positions right now.  They both have some really good players above them and just aren’t getting the kind of minutes we’d like to get them, so it was nice to be able to give them some real time today.”

On Mark Idzenga’s play: “Idzenga has a lot of potential.  He still has a few technique things to work on, and he needs to continue to learn the college game and get his confidence up, but he’s working hard and he’s very athletic.  He’s taken advantage of every opportunity he’s gotten on the field and for a smaller player, even by our standards, he’s also fearless.  He’s not afraid to give or take a hit.” 

On Michigan’s return to the CCLA schedule:  “We’ve got three conference games left and we’ve always stressed two major things and that’s to win our conference games and to win our home games.  We can’t take anyone lightly and we need to come out strong off the bat in all of these games.  The competition is getting better across the entire CCLA and you can’t take a day off, especially if someone comes out and plays their best game.  We know our success makes us a target for everyone in the conference.”

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