April 2, 2005                                                                      

Event:  Men’s Lacrosse

Site: College Station, Texas (Penberthy Field)

Score: #5 Michigan 12, Texas A&M 3

Records: UM (9-2, 1-0 CCLA), Texas A&M (7-10, 4-0 LSA)

Next U-M Game: Friday, April 8 – Indiana (Ann Arbor, Mich.. -  Oosterbaan Fieldhouse)

Event Recap I Boxscore I Notes & Quotes

College Station, Tex. – On a gorgeous night in College Station, the #5 ranked University of Michigan men’s lacrosse team defeated the Aggies of Texas A&M by a score of 12-3.  Freshman Peter Krauss (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) led the Wolverines in scoring with 1-3-4 totals as Michigan was able to play their entire squad en-route to their ninth win of the season.  A total of ten Wolverines scored goals in the most balanced offensive effort of the season.

Michigan jumped out to an early 6-1 lead through one quarter of play, led by Krauss’ one goal and two assists.  The Wolverines fired 13 shots on goal, while holding the Aggies to 3 in the decisive first period.  Ryan Clark (Summit, N.J./Summit) continued his quality play as of late, finishing with a team-high two goals while adding an assist for three total points.  Junior Jim Constantine (Troy, Mich./Seaholm) also added two goals, while this season's leading scorer Evan Fox (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) finished with 1-1-2. 

Sophomore defender Brad Ferriell (Cockeysville, MD./Dulaney) added the first goal of his career.  Senior goaltender Dan Webber (Weston, Mass./Weston) finished with eight saves through three quarters of play, while freshman Ryan Kaufman (Olney, Md./Magruder) stopped three shots in his quarter between the pipes. 

Statistically, Michigan won every category, finishing with 42 shots, while holding Texas A&M to 22 and scooping up 41 groundballs to the Aggies 29.  Michigan was able to control possession throughout winning 12 of 19 faceoffs and clearing the ball at a rate of 32-34, with Texas A&M finishing 23-32.  Michigan did not have a man-up opportunity in the game, but held the Aggies scoreless on three chances. 

U-M will take to the field again on Friday, April 2 vs. Indiana in Ann Arbor, Michigan at 7:00pm EST.

NOTES

●  For the first time in the 2005 season, someone other than senior long-stick midfielder David Silverman (Potomac, Md./Churchill) finished with the team-high in the game.  Versus Texas A&M senior defender Kirk Kozel (Barrington, Ill./Taft Ct.) and senior midfielder Anthony Ragnone (Flint, Mich./Flint Powers) paced the squad with four groundballs each, while Silverman finished with three.

● Sophomore defenseman Brad Ferriell (Cockeysville, Md./Dulaney) scored his first career goal.

● Michigan spread the scoring load as well as they've done all season.  Ten different Wolverines scored goals.  Only Constantine and Clark scored more than one (2 each).

● The officials kept their flags in their pockets.  Michigan committed three fouls for only 1:30 of penalty time.  The Wolverine extra-man unit was kept off the field as Texas A&M was not called for a single penalty.

●  Following the game the Texas A&M Booster Club provided an extensive barbeque buffet for both teams.

QUOTES

U-M Head Coach John Paul

On the game itself: “We started with a bit more fire today than we did last night.  I liked our energy in the first quarter, and it showed.  We got away from some of the things that make us successful as the game went on, and that's something we need to continue to address.  Overall, I was pleased with our energy today.”

On shutting down an opponent defensively in the second half for the second night in a row: “Obviously that's something we take pride in.  We have a senior defensive unit.  We should be able to shut some teams down, and we should be able to make it very difficult on anyone we play.  We're not satisfied with where we are yet, and I think that's a good thing.  If we're going to compete for a conference and national championship, our defense will be why.  We're still missing some assignments here and there, and the guys understand they need to keep improving.”

On who impressed: “I don't think we had any one guy stand out today.  We played pretty well as a team.  One thing I really like about this team is how balanced we are offensively.  There are no superstars to key on.  It would be hard to be more balanced then we were today with 11 guys scoring 12 goals.”

On the Texas trip overall: "Well, we won both games, and we didn't have any injuries.  That's a successful trip.  We also got to experience some of that famous southern hospitality with the two barbeques last tonight and tonight.  Thanks to the Passino family and the Texas A&M Boosters.

On moving into the CCLA season: "We're done with our non-conference games now.  We have five CCLA games left, then the post-season.  Our focus shifts now to trying to get back the conference title, and that starts Friday with Indiana.  I think we'll be as ready as we can be for the home stretch."

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