March 23, 2007

Site:  Ann Arbor, Mich. (Oosterbaan Fieldhouse)

Score:  #3 Michigan 23, Eastern Michigan 3

Records:  U-M (6-0, 3-0 CCLA), Eastern Michigan (1-2, 0-2 CCLA)

Attendance: 155

Next U-M Game:  Saturday, March 24, 1:00 PM EST - vs. Wooster - Ann Arbor, Michigan (Pioneer High School - Hollway Field)

Fox, Hammitt Lead Offensive Explosion Versus Eagles

Event Recap I Boxscore I Notes & Quotes I Photos

Ann Arbor, Mich. - The #3 ranked University of Michigan men's lacrosse team earned their sixth win of the season, cruising past the Eastern Michigan University Eagles with a 23-3 win on Friday night (March 23) in Ann Arbor, at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse.  Michigan was led by junior Mark Hammitt (Madison, N.J./Delbarton - Boston College) and senior Evan Fox (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) who both notched five goals in the contest. 

Michigan opened the scoring on their second possession of the game on a transition goal from sophomore Jared Blechman (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville), who snuck a high shot past EMU goaltender Eric Hoffman for the opening goal.  Blechman added his second of the game just under a minute later, before assisting junior Peter Krauss (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) on his first of the game.  Evan Fox scored on the ensuing possession, followed by a tally from freshman Jamie Goldberg (Yorktown Height, N.Y./Yorktown) as the Wolverines kept the pressure on in the first quarter.   Fox continued his solid-early season play with three more goals in the quarter as U-M led 9-0 after one period of play.

Fox opened the scoring in the second for his fifth, before assisting junior Bobby Morales (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) on a goal from just outside the crease.  After two more Michigan goals, Eastern got on the board with back-to-back goals to make it 13-2 with just over five minutes remaining in the first half.  Any momentum gained was quickly squashed by back-to-back goals from Mark Hammitt, his third and fourth of the game to that point.

Trailing 15-2 entering the second half, Eastern scored first on a tally from Matt Garety, before Michigan responded on a score from freshman Clark McIntyre (Little Silver, N.J./Rumson - Fair Haven).  The Wolverines continued to sub in reserves as the game carried on, with a number of first year players seeing significant action.  Michigan notched five more goals in the quarter, while only allowing one, taking a 21-3 lead into the final frame. 

The theme of the game remained consistent in the fourth quarter as Michigan continued to clear the bench, adding two more goals en-route to the 23-3 finish. 

Statistically, Michigan dominated every category, with U-M out-shooting EMU 52-10, and scooping up 61 groundballs to Eastern's 24.  The Wolverines won 20 of 27 faceoffs, and cleared the ball at a rate of 19 of 28, as the Eagles finished only 11of 35.  Michigan was sharp on the man-up, finishing 9-11 while holding the Eagles to one goal on five attempts.

Michigan will be back in action tomorrow afternoon (March 24) when they take on Division III Wooster in Ann Arbor, Michigan at Pioneer High School at 1:00pm EST.

NOTES

● Junior faceoff specialist Brekan Kohlitz (St. Claire Shores, Mich./Notre Dame Harper Woods) finished 14-18 on faceoffs, while fellow junior Lawrence Okwali (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) posted 2-2 totals.  Freshman David Reinhard (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) was 5-7 during his time at the "X".

● Kohlitz also paced the team with 13 groundballs, a career high.

● Evan Fox paced the team with a career-high tying eight points, while Mark Hammitt set a career best his with his six point effort.

● Freshman defenseman Zach Mueller (Arlington, VA./Sidwell Friends) notched his first career point, assisting on one of Evan Fox's first quarter goals.

● Sophomore attackman Matt Huspeni (Lakewood Village, CO./Regis Jesuit) notched his first career goal on a second-quarter tally. 

● Clark McIntyre notched his first career goal with his third-quarter tally. 

● Jamie Goldberg had his first career assist and first-career multi-point game with two goals and an assist.

● Freshman midfielder Svet Tintchev (Rockville, Md./Bullis) scored his first career goal with a third-quarter tally and notched his first career assist on a fourth quarter goal from McIntyre.

● Junior goaltender Graham Townsend (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) started the contest, finishing with five saves.  It was his second career start.  Freshman Drew Donnell (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) was in cage for the fourth quarter.

● 10 different Wolverines scored in the contest. 

● The 20-goal differential was the largest the Wolverines have produced this season.  Their previous high came in a 22-3 win over Central Michigan in the season opener on Feb. 16.   

● Michigan improved to 6-0 on the season for the first time since 1998 when the Wolverines started 8-0.

QUOTES

U-M Head Coach John Paul

On the game itself:  "Well our focus this week was to come out with some fire and intensity.  I think we did that.  We established our kind of tempo and our kind of game right away.  It wasn't just the score; it was the intensity and focus.  We did a much better job today of being prepared."

On the play of the reserves:  "These are learning experiences for a lot of the younger guys.  We tell them that we don't expect them to be as good as the top guys, because they're not the top guys, but we expect them to do two things.  They always need to be hustling, and also to know what you're doing.  As they play more they'll get that.  Offensively we were subbing very quickly.  By the second quarter we were about as deep as we go.  In a game like this a lot of it is just about playing to your potential.  I think most of the guys did that today." 

On getting Graham the start in goal:  "I'd love to get him time in a big game, but it's hard to make that happen and find that time.  Ryan is playing so well right now, but we want to find some time for Graham to keep him sharp.  The nice thing is he is playing so well when he gets a chance, so regardless it's good to get him in no matter who we're playing."

On Wooster:  "Wooster is a good team.  We've never played them in a regular-season game, only scrimmages.  Their Head Coach, Jason Tarnow is a good friend of mine so we talked in the fall about this date, and it just worked out.  It's pretty rare to get that so late in the scheduling process.  I'm glad we have the opportunity to do this.  For both of us, it's just another chance to play against a good team.  I talked to him earlier this week and told him we were playing to win, but it's just nice to get another game in versus a good opponent." 

On the atmosphere of the early, neutral site game:  "In a way, it's like a road game even though it's in town.  We're up early, eating at 9:00am.  We're playing at a field we're not familiar with.  I think it's good for us, because two weeks from now we're headed down to St. Louis for some big games and this will help us prepare for that."

Junior midfielder Mark Hammitt

 On his six-point effort:  "I didn't get to play against Western because of my back, but I'm feeling somewhat better.  It was nice to get back out there tonight and get some work in.  My shots were falling and that was nice as well."

On the team's intensity:  "I think a lot of the kids did.  But I think we could have taken it a step further.  We want to come out and pretend like every game is it, and we also want to dominate the CCLA  I think we came out pretty hard with the nine goals in the first quarter."

On the offensive execution:  "We've been working a lot in practice on simple execution, doing a lot of drills where we are just whipping it around the outside.  I think it showed in our game a little tonight.  We didn't have as many turnovers and we were a lot cleaner all-around."

Junior goaltender Graham Townsend

On getting the start:  "It's always good to get that kind of experience.  It's a little different starting off a game than coming in cold.  Mentally the preparation is a little different.  Coming in right off of warm-ups is also nice."

On how the defensive unit has "gelled" so far this season:  "You can definitely see us getting better every game.  And when you look back all the way to the fall, you can see how a lot of these guys are getting more confident and playing smarter.  Guys like Elyachar and Petoskey are getting more and more experience, and then you have guys like Mueller who are already making a contribution in their first year.  I think you'll continue to see the unit get better as the year goes on."

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