April 14, 2007

Event:  Men's Lacrosse

Site:  Ann Arbor, Michigan (Oosterbaan Fieldhouse)

Score:  #5 Michigan 9, #1 Brigham Young 15

Records:  U-M (9-3, 4-0 CCLA), Brigham Young (13-2, 3-0 RMLC)

Attendance:  535

Next U-M Game:  Saturday, April 21, 7:30 PM EST - vs. #20 Michigan State - Birmingham, Michigan (Birmingham - Seaholm High School)

6-0 Third Quarter Lifts BYU Past Wolverines

Event Recap I Boxscore I Notes & Quotes I Photos

Ann Arbor, Mich. - The #5 ranked University of Michigan men's lacrosse team dropped their second game in a row on Saturday night (April 14), falling 15-9 to the #1 ranked Brigham Young University Cougars in Ann Arbor, Michigan at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse.  After a see-saw first half, Michigan trailed by the slimmest of margins.  But the Wolverines stumbled out of the gates in the third quarter, and BYU took advantage, notching six goals while blanking U-M en-route to the win. 

Brigham Young struck first in the game, opening the scoring just a minute in on a tally from Steve Naegle.  Trailing 1-0, sophomore Peter Vasher (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) evened the game at the 10:44 mark on a blast from the far left wing.  BYU regained the one-goal lead a minute later, before Michigan knotted it up again on a tally from sophomore Anthony Hrusovsky (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) at 8:36.  The back and forth action continued with Ted Ferrin scoring on the edge of the crease to give BYU the 3-2 lead under three minutes later. 

With a chance to draw even, Michigan was awarded a two-man up opportunity mid-way through the quarter after BYU was flagged for multiple penalties.  It was the Cougars who took the offensive initiative however, scoring on a transition goal moments after the end of the first penalty.  Brigham Young scored again on another man-down tally 20 seconds later, followed by another goal just moments after to make it 6-2 with 3:13 left in the first.  A reeling U-M finally answered as Hrusovsky notched his second of the game for the Wolverines with just under two minutes remaining in the quarter on the man-up to close out the scoring in the period. 

The Maize and Blue put together a solid possession to start the second quarter after winning the faceoff, and cut the lead to 6-4 on Peter Vasher's second goal of the game.  After multiple possessions for both teams, freshman defenseman Zach Mueller (Arlington, VA./Sidwell Friends) scooped up a loose ball on the defensive side of midfield and carried it in, firing a low, skipping shot that found the back of the net to draw the Wolverines within one. 

With momentum on their side, Michigan knotted the game at 4:20 on a goal from sophomore Jared Blechman (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) who was parked just outside the crease for the Wolverines' fourth unanswered goal.  BYU regained the lead at 1:51 on a blast from the left wing that snuck just inside the post for the 7-6 lead as the teams entered the locker-rooms for half-time.

BYU scored first in the third, after a turnover on the Michigan clear resulted in a wide-open shot from 15 yards out from long-stick midfielder Murphy Smith.  Back-to-back goals from Mark Davis made it 10-6 early in the third and then the Cougars' added three more unanswered goals to close out the quarter, heading into the final frame with a commanding 13-6 lead. 

The Wolverines opened the fourth quarter scoring seven minutes in on a tally from Peter Vasher, his third of the contest.  BYU quickly answered, scoring 45 seconds later to rebuild their seven goal lead.  Jared Blechman added back-to-back goals shortly after, as the Wolverines clawed within five goals at 14-9 with half a quarter remaining.  Michigan was never able to mount a serious come-back attempt in the final minuets however and BYU scored with just over a minute remaining in the game for the 15-9 final.      

Statistically, it was a fairly even game, with Michigan outshooting BYU 46-37, while the Wolverines scooped up 45 groundballs to the Cougars' 38.  The Wolverines were 18-28 at the "X", but cleared the ball at a relatively poor rate, finishing 23-36 with BYU posting 23-29 totals.  U-M was 1-6 on the man-up, while Brigham Young flourished, finishing 3-6. 

Michigan will be back in action next week when they take on intra-state rival #20 Michigan State in Birmingham, Michigan at Birmingham - Seaholm High School on Saturday, April 21 at 7:30pm EST.

NOTES

● Junior faceoff specialist Brekan Kohlitz (St. Claire Shores, Mich./Notre Dame Harper Woods) finished 10-17 on faceoffs, while freshman David Reinhard (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) was 8-11 before being forced out of the game with an injury.

● Kohlitz also led the team with 9 groundballs. 

● Senior goaltender Ryan Kaufman (Olney, Md./Magruder) finished with 10 saves in three quarters of play, while junior Graham Townsend (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) posted four in the fourth quarter.  Kaufman allowed 13 goals in the first three quarters, while Townsend allowed two goals in 15 minutes of play.

● Jared Blechman and Peter Vasher tied for the team lead in total points in the game with each player notching three goals.  Vasher also set a career high with the three goals, besting his previous high of two. 

● The six-goal differential in scoring in the third quarter marks the Wolverines worst quarter of the season.

● The quartet of Evan Fox (Airmont, N.Y./Suffern), Peter Krauss (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central), Bobby Morales (Bloomfield, Mich./Brother Rice) and Mark Hammitt (Madison, N.J./Delbarton) make up four of Michigan's top six scorers, but for the first time all season they were all held scoreless.  The group totaled 25 shots.

●  Morales suffered a possible concussion early in the fourth quarter on a high hit and had to leave the game.

●  With the loss, Michigan is 2-10 overall vs. Brigham Young.

●  With the loss vs. Brigham Young, coupled with the loss to #4 Arizona State at home two weeks ago, it marks the first time Michigan has lost two home games in a row.

●  Michigan is 2-3 vs. ranked opponents in 2007. 

●  A large contingent of former Michigan laxers were on hand for an alumni gathering. 

●  It was the team's senior night, with four seniors, attackman Evan Fox, defenseman Brad Ferriell, midfielder Matt Hudson, and goaltender Ryan Kaufman being honored.  Film coordinator, senior Jin Shi was also recognized for his efforts.

QUOTES

U-M Head Coach John Paul

On the game itself:  "The beginning of the first and third quarters were the difference in the game.  They jumped on us early and again after the half.  I liked the way we clawed back in the second.  We played some solid defense and put together some good possessions.  But we just couldn't dig out of the hole again and against better teams it's tough to do that."

On the offensive effort:  "I thought we played pretty well.  We didn't shoot particularly well, but their goaltender also made some great saves.  A couple of kick saves at big times.  That said, we out-shot them, and we got some pretty good opportunities that we didn't finish on and should have."

On the first and third quarters:  "I'm not sure what you can blame those quarters on.  We've been having this problem all year.  At halftime, we were almost disappointed that we gave up some of those goals we did in the first quarter.  And then they come out and score those two goals early in the third quarter and the emotion just drops."

On the solid second quarter:  "We were executing offensively and the defense was making plays.  We were running some defenses we haven't run this year.  We knew we'd have to try something new and for awhile there we were doing a good job, but I think eventually they found some holes there."

On the Michigan State game:  "We'll be ready for that game.  We're obviously disappointed in the way we've played in the past two games, but we've separated the CCLA schedule from everything else and we'll have a good week of practice and come ready to play.  It's cliche, but if you can't get up for Michigan State then you shouldn't be wearing this jersey."

Senior goaltender Ryan Kaufman

On consistent intensity:  "It's a problem we've been having all year.  We came out way too slow, and after we battled back we did it to ourselves again.  We've got to come out flying both at the start and at half-time.  We've tried to take steps to fix it, but obviously it's still a problem."

On the Michigan State game next Saturday: "Last year we learned that any team can beat any team.  They know they can play with us.  Now it's time to show who rules the CCLA.  You can say the same thing about tonight.  If we come out and put together a better third quarter it could have been a completely different game."

Sophomore midfielder Anthony Hrusovsky

On the team's play:  "We're just way too inconsistent right now.  We'll come out real slow, and then we'll pick it up and then we're down again.  It's just mental lapses, a lot of turnovers and lack of execution."

On the team's mood at halftime:  "We were pumped up and ready to play so I have no idea how we came out that flat.  That's not new for us though.  There is obviously something we're going to have to do to correct that before the post-season starts."

On prepping for Michigan State:  "There is no possible way we could over look this team.  Every day before practice we do 12 jumping jacks to remind us of the 12 goals they scored in the semi-final game last season.  Now it's time to take the anger we have right now and go punish somebody.  That's about all you can do after a game like this."

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