May 16, 2007

 

Event:  Men's Lacrosse

Site:  Dallas, Texas (Pizza Hut Park - Dr. Pink Field)

Score:  #4 Michigan 7, #12 Georgia 9

Records:  U-M (12-5, 7-0 CCLA), Georgia (12-3, 8-2 SELC)

Attendance:  92

Next U-M Game:  MCLA National Championship Tournament Consolation Game - May 17, 1:00pm CST vs. TBD - Dallas, Texas (Pizza Hut Park)

                                                                                                         

Michigan Falls to Georgia 9-7, 0-2 For Maize and Blue

Event Recap I Boxscore I Notes & Quotes I Photos

DALLAS, Texas - The University of Michigan men's lacrosse team lost their second game in as many days, falling 9-7 to the 12th seeded Georgia Bulldogs on Wednesday (May 16) in Dallas, Texas in a MCLA National Championship Consolation game.  Trailing by two at the half, the Wolverines kept it close in the second half, but were never able to get over the top.

 

Georgia opened the contest with two unanswered goals in the first five minutes before junior Mark Hammitt (Madison, N.J./Delbarton - Boston College) fired a laser from 15 yards out straight out after being from behind the cage from sophomore attackman Wes McGowan (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest).  A stick save from just outside the crease from junior goaltender Graham Townsend (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) kept it to a one-goal lead Bulldog lead as the teams entered the second quarter. 

 

Freshman midfielder Jordan Kirshner (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) buried the first goal of the second quarter, dodging on the left side for the tally.  Junior midfielder Bobby Morales (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) gave the Wolverines their first lead at 10:02 before UGA evened things up just under a minute later at 9:12.  Georgia regained the lead at 5:36 to make it 4-3, before the teams traded goals with Wes McGowan adding his second of the game, assisted on the play from junior midfielder Lawrence Okwali (Silverspring MD./Springbrook).  Georgia scored again late in the second quarter to take a 6-4 lead into the half-time break. 

 

It took the Wolverines almost 10 minutes to finally light the board in the third as senior Evan Fox (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) notched the only Wolverine goal of the third quarter on a feed from Mark Hammitt.  Georgia answered moments later to extend their lead to 7-5 as the teams entered the final frame. 

 

After Georgia made it 8-5 with the first goal of the fourth, junior attackman Peter Krauss (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) finished a feed from Mark Hammitt, skipping a low shot past the keep to draw within two.  Morales made it a one-goal game at the seven-minute mark, before Graham Townsend made another door-stop save to keep Michigan close as the final quarter dwindled down. 

 

Coming out of a timeout with three and a half minutes to play, Georgia scored a quick-stick goal from just outside the crease to rebuild a two-goal lead they would never relinquish as Michigan fell to 0-2 in the MCLA National Championship Tournament.

 

Statistically, it was a mixed bag, with Georgia out-shooting Michigan 34-23, while the Wolverines scooped up 39 groundballs to the Bulldogs' 28.  The Wolverines were 14-20 at the "X", while both teams faired roughly same on clears, with U-M finishing 17-26 with UGA posting 18-28 totals.  The Maize and Blue was 1-4 on the man-up while Georgia went 2-3.

 

Michigan will be back in action tomorrow afternoon at 1:00pm CST when they take on a yet to be determined opponent in their final game of the season.

 

NOTES

● Freshman David Reinhard (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) took all the faceoffs on the day, finishing 14-20, setting a career high in total faceoffs attempted.  His previous high was 19 set vs. Lindenwood (April 6)

● Reinhard led the team with eight groundballs, two short of his previous high of 10 set multiple times. 

● Junior goaltender Graham Townsend finished with 17 saves on the day, setting a career high.  His previous high was 16 set last season in a consolation game vs. Sonoma State when he stopped 16 shots. 

● After Michigan allowed 10 different goal-scorers in their loss to Northeastern, Georgia featured nine different goal scorers.  

● Mark Hammitt paced the team with two goals and an assist. 

● Michigan's seven goals scored was their second lowest total after only scoring four yesterday vs. Northeastern.

● Michigan fell to 5-5 vs. ranked opponents in 2007.

● This was the first matchup between the two teams.   

● Michigan is 3-3 in neutral-site games this season.

 

QUOTES

 

U-M Head Coach John Paul

On the game itself:  "For the second straight day we didn't play the most inspired game.  Georgia is an athletic team with some very nice players.  We fell behind early and could never close the gap, although there were a few young guys who did play with some fire, and that's what I was looking for."

 

On the decision to feature reserves in the game:  "We don't make any secret about how we usually approach consolation games.  They are tough to play if you ended the season with a disappointment the day before, and by nature that's usually what happened.  We choose to use them to play a lot of guys who don't get as much time during the year, and that's what we did today.  We consider these games a bridge to next season...the start of that transition."

 

On the final game tomorrow:  "We'll start the starters tomorrow and then work others in as the game goes on.  We'd like to go out on a winning note if we can.  Colorado is a great team.  I have a lot of respect for what John Galvin has done there.  It will be fun to play them."

 

 

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