March 1, 2007

Matt Hudson's Spring Trip Journal: Entry #3

Unlike our Florida game earlier in the week, the 24 hours leading into the FSU contest had a much more pronounced sense of normalcy to them. After getting a few days of rest,  a solid pre-game meal, and plenty of water (and in Ein's case, a little too much water - even at 19 years old) we came out firing tonight against FSU. With the first 10 minutes littered with man-up (power-play) opportunities, we built a quick 4-0 lead and were flying around like we always should be.

Even better, we had perfect conditions for the game. The air was slightly crisp, still, and filled with the electricity inherent to games underneath the lights. FSU had a vocal student section and our dedicated parents were out in force to create an exciting and energetic crowd.

However, at points throughout the game we were missing something vital to a good lacrosse game; execution. Just like the Florida game there was a ridiculously high number of ground balls; this time at 75 (both teams). Afterwords, none of us were adequately satisfied with our performance. But just like in the Florida game, there were numerous things that we can be proud of and build off of. While it is obvious that guys like Kaufman and Hammitt had career nights, our offense was moving the ball well and getting through our sets with little difficulty. We earned plenty of good looks and that's always the more difficult thing to improve. Moreover, our defense showed us streaks of what they are capable of and several players established themselves as contenders for a starting role.

For the first time in the four years I've been at Michigan, this the first year we've gone undefeated through our Spring Break. While our schedule is a little more back-loaded this year, a team's success on the road is what determines how well they do overall. Accordingly, we plan to take the next few days to practice on grass fields to gain some experience for the games down the road.

Journal Entry #2 (Feb. 26)

Journal Entry #1 (Feb. 23)