February 24, 2008

Event:  Men's Lacrosse

Site: Tempe, Arizona (Sun Devil Band Field)

Score:  #8 Michigan 11, #6 Arizona State 8

Records:  U-M (2-0, 0-0 CCLA), Arizona State (1-1, 1-0 WCLL)

Next U-M Game:  Wednesday, February 24, 2008, 7:00pm MST - vs. Arizona - Tucson, Arizona (Lax Cat Coliseum)

Kohlitz, Ein Scorch the Sun Devils

Event Recap I Boxscore I Notes & Quotes I Photos

Tempe, AZ. - Revenge was in effect on Sunday as the #8 ranked University of Michigan men's lacrosse team defeated #6 Arizona State in Tempe, Arizona by a score of 11-8.  Last season the Sun Devils nipped the Wolverines by the slimmest of margins in Ann Arbor, defeating the Maize and Blue in a classic 13-12 contest in late March.  On Sunday however, the Wolverines used a combination of great faceoff play from senior captain Brekan Kohlitz (St. Claire Shores, Mich./Notre Dame Harper Woods), timely third-quarter scoring from sophomore Josh Ein (Potomac, Md./Bullis), and tough defense to earn a solid, early-season road win. 

After winning the opening faceoff, Kohlitz carried the ball into the ASU end and fired low to give the Wolverines a quick lead just seven seconds into the game.  An off-sides penalty after the next faceoff win from Kohlitz resulted in a man-up opportunity for the Maize and Blue and U-M capitalized on a tally from Peter Krauss (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) to increase their lead to 2-0.  Another Sun Devil penalty three minutes later produced another man-up chance for U-M.  After a turnover in the offensive zone, the U-M ride created a turnover of their own that was scooped up and shoveled into the goal by senior long-stick midfielder Alex Martusiewicz (Troy, Mich./Troy) to extend the lead to 3-0 half-way through the quarter.

The Wolverines continued to pour it on early, as senior captain Mark Hammitt (Madison, N.J./Delbarton - Boston College) quick-sticked a shot off a rebound, making it 4-0 before ASU finally got on the board at the four-minute mark after a long clearing pass resulted in a an open net chance for Arizona State.  The Sun Devils crept within two late in the first quarter on another transition goal but the Wolverines stopped their momentum on freshman attackman Trevor Yealy's (Upper St. Claire, Penn./Upper St. Claire) first of the game, wrapping around the left post to make it 5-2 headed into the second quarter.

ASU re-gained momentum in the second quarter, scoring the only two goals of the period as both teams locked down defensively.  The Wolverines best chance came when Hammitt rang one off the cross bar on a man-up opportunity late in the period.

The Sun Devils kept up the pressure coming out of the gates in the second half, knotting the game at 5-5 two minutes in.  The Wolverines answered however after another Kohlitz win at the "X" before he found sophomore Josh Ein (Potomac, Md./Bullis) streaking down the right side.  Ein quickly released the shot to give Michigan the 6-5 lead.

The second-half flurry continued as the teams traded goals with Ein adding his second of the quarter.  Sophomore Kevin Zorovich (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) extended the lead to 8-6 on another man-up opportunity, banging home a shot from close in on the right side after receiving a cross crease pass from senior Peter Krauss.  After a six-minute scoreless span, Ein kept his hot streak going, tallying his third goal of the period just before the end of the quarter as the Wolverines took a 9-6 lead into the final frame.

Both teams traded possessions over the first five minutes of the period before ASU was called for three successive penalties resulting in a five-minute man-up opportunity for the Wolverines.  Yealy added his second of the game, before Hammitt dodged in on the left side, firing across the face of the goal for his second of the contest to give Michigan a five goal lead with five minutes left.  Arizona State buried back-to-back goals two minutes later to draw within three goals, following it up with a man-up opportunity, but the Wolverines held tough and kept the Sun Devils off the board in the final minutes of the game to secure their second victory of the year and their first on the road.

Statistically, the Wolverines were outshot by ASU 35-34, while Michigan scooped up 36 groundballs to the Sun Devils' 21.  The Wolverines were 20 of 23 at the "X", and also fared better on clears, finishing 20 of 25, while riding Arizona State to 17 of 30 totals.  ASU finished 1 of 4 on the man-up, while Michigan scored on 5 out of 10 man-up attempts. 

The Wolverines will return to the playing field on Wednesday, February 27 at 7:00pm MST when they take on #9 Arizona in Tucson before heading to Provo to take on #1 BYU on Saturday, March 1 at 1:00pm MST.

NOTES

● Faceoff specialist Brekan Kohlitz set a career high with 20 faceoff wins. 

● Kohlitz also paced the team with 12 groundballs, one short of his career high. 

● Kohlitz's one goal and one assist effort also marked his second career assist, and his first career multi-point game.    

● Josh Ein's three goals in the game mark a career high for the second-year player.  His previous high was two set vs. Central Michigan last season (Feb. 16). 

● Alex Martusiewicz's first quarter goal was his first career point as a Wolverine. 

● Kevin Zorovich's third quarter goal was the first of his career and gives him a point in each of his first two games as a Wolverine. 

● Senior Graham Townsend (Williamsville N.Y./Williamsville East) stopped 11 shots in the contest. 

● Peter Krauss tied a career high with three assists in the game.

● Mark Hammitt and Trevor Yealy are now tied for the team lead in goals with five apiece. 

● The Wolverines will have an off-day on Monday as they head to Sedona for a day of outdoor activities and relaxation before heading south to Tucson for their matchup with Arizona. 

QUOTES

Head Coach John Paul

On his general impressions:  "Obviously this was a big win for us.  In many ways we were more concerned about this game than any of the others on the tripj. We needed to get off to a good start on this trip and we have a lot of respect for Arizona State.  It was satisfying to get this win out of the way and now we can breathe a little sigh of relief and move on to Arizona.  We've got plenty of motivation to play Arizona and we've had some great games with them in the past.  We're going to have to win on the road this year if we want to accomplish our goals and Arizona is another step towards that."

On the play of the defense: "We knew our defense would have a lot of pressure on it today.  ASU has an explosive offense.  We put a lot of thought into the matchups and how to play their personnel.  Scott Morrison did a great job getting our guys ready.  It turned out to be even more important than we anticipated because our offense didn't have their best day.  We threw too many balls away and didn't shoot very well.   We had hoped to keep the pressure off of our defense, but we ended up depending on them, and they stepped up."

On the play of Brekan Kohlitz: "A huge part of playing a team like this is to be able to win those faceoffs and either stop their runs or build on ours.  The scary thing is that we have another guy who is almost as good as Brekan [sophomore David Reinhard] at this point.  That's a part of the game that we hope we'll be able to dominate this year.  It's also a real plus when Brekan can score because I think that helped us relax a little early on.  BK has been dominating at this level for three years now, and I'd love to see him get the recognition he deserves.  We don't hype our guys on the message boards, so they aren't always on the tips of everyone's toungues in the MCLA, but hopefully word will spread as we go through the year."

On Josh Ein's play: "Ein started for a reason.  We're trying to reward guys for doing the little things.  He's also gained a lot of confidence this year in his ability.  A lot of guys seem to make a big jump between their freshman and sophomore years because something just clicks.  He's always had the tools but he's just playing with a lot more confidence now.  That's key for him.  He's got a great shot and if can get to his spot, he's going to finish."

On preparing for the season with an NCAA schedule: "We've played or scrimmaged 8 or 9 NCAA teams, including Hopkins, Army and Ohio State, since we played an MCLA team last May, and it's definitely helped.  We took our lumps, but I think it gave the guys confidence that they could do some good things against anybody."

On the upcoming game vs. Arizona: "The guys will have a nice day off tomorrow and won't have to think about lacrosse until tomorrow night when we work in the game plan.  I think the guys all felt that it was a good win but we all know we can play a lot better, and we're going to have to if we want to do what we want to do this year."

Senior Brekan Kohlitz

On the importance of faceoff wins and their impact on momentum:  "First off I have to credit the wings today.  Knowing those guys have my back is huge.  Winning faceoffs and putting together lengthy possessions is a big way to build momentum or slow them down.  We knew they would put together some runs today but we were able to slow things down at times and really put together some long possessions.  Even if we don't capitalize, it's still important against an explosive team like that."

On the upcoming Arizona game:  "Coming off a big win like this we really need to keep our heads in the right place.  We'll have a nice day off tomorrow, but then we'll get focused again and put everything into the Arizona game.  This won't be a cake-walk by any means and we certainly expect a challenge on Wednesday."

Sophomore Josh Ein

On his third-quarter effort: "I was happy to give the team a boost there in the third quarter.  We were losing a little momentum, but I think the guys rallied and we stepped up our play after they got that first goal of the second half."

On the early lead: "There was a lot of emotion early on when we got the lead.  But we knew they were also a team of runs and we didn't want to get ahead of ourselves. They got back in the game, but we never really let them get going like they probably wanted to.  I think going in we were a little antsy, and that early lead helped us calm down a little." 

On his growing confidence:  "We've got a solid rotation going and a lot of guys are getting a chance, but I think I got mine by riding hard and doing the little things.  Today I was able to show them that I can play some offense as well.  It's a good feeling to get a chance like that and to show what you can do."

Senior Peter Krauss

On the game itself:  "This was a very important game for us and there was definitely some ill will between these teams after they beat us last year at home.  I think one of the big things was that we always remained positive on the sidelines and we all had each other's backs.  That's the kind of attitude it's going to take if we're going to do what we want to do this season.  Coach made it clear to use to keep our composure and play smart.  They had a couple of runs like we expected them to have, but we played smart and kept our heads in the game and stayed positive no matter what."

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