April 16, 2008

Event:  Men's Lacrosse

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Pioneer High School)

Score:  #1 Michigan 20, Western Michigan 2

Records:  U-M (13-0, 4-0 CCLA), WMU (1-8, 0-4 CCLA)

Next U-M Game:  Saturday, April 19, 2008, 7:30pm EST - vs. Michigan State University - Grand Rapids, Mich. (Forest Hills East)

Michigan Rolls Over Western Michigan

Event Recap I Boxscore I Notes & Quotes I Photos

Ann Arbor, Mich. - The #1 University of Michigan men's lacrosse team cruised through another CCLA conference game on Wednesday night in Ann Arbor, defeating Western Michigan by a score of 20-2 at Pioneer High School.  In a re-scheduled game from late March, the Maize and Blue jumped out to a 13-1 half-time lead and held the Broncos to only two total shots in the last two quarters en-route to their 13^th win of the season. 

Freshman Trevor Yealy (Pittsburgh, Penn./Upper St. Claire), senior captain Mark Hammitt (Madison, N.J./Delbarton - Boston College) and sophomore transfer Kevin Zorovich (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa - Marist) each tallied two first quarter goals as the Wolverines dominated possession in opening period and took a 6-0 lead into the second frame.

Michigan opened the second with two goals before Western finally got on the board at the 11-minute mark on a tally from the far left wing on transition.  Yealy scored his third of the game on an assist from senior Peter Krauss (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) to extend Michigan's lead to 9-1. 

The flurry continued on goals from junior Riley Kearns (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice), senior Thomas Lehman (Beverly Hills, Mich./U of Detroit Jesuit), junior Wes McGowan (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and Mark Hammitt to close out the first-half scoring with the Wolverines taking a 13-1 lead into the break. 

Yealy got Michigan going in the third quarter six minutes in, scoring from just outside the cage following a long feed from mid-field from freshman defenseman Harry Fried (Needham, Mass./Needham).  Yealy buried his fifth of the game 1:30 later.  Sophomore faceoff specialist David Reinhard (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) won the ensuing faceoff, raced into the box and fired low for his first career goal and first career point.  McGowan added his second to finish the scoring in the third. 

U-M continued to dominate possession in the fourth, running through their sets in deliberate fashion, while out-scoring their opposition 3-1.  Krauss scored two goals in the period and McGowan added his third on the game as the Wolverines defeated their opponent by 10 or more goals for the sixth time this season. 

Statistically, Michigan won every category.  U-M outshot their opponent 58-11, and won the groundball battle, 63 to 19.  U-M was 22 of 26 on faceoffs, and finished 18 of 19 on clears, while riding WMU to a rate of 7 for 24.  Michigan scored twice on three man-up attempts and kept the Broncos scoreless on their lone attempt.

The Wolverines will be back in action on Saturday, April 19, when they travel to Grand Rapids to battle in-state rival Michigan State at Forest Hills East High School at 7:30pm EST.   

NOTES

● Senior captain and faceoff specialist Brekan Kohlitz (St. Claire Shores, Mich./Notre Dame Harper Woods) finished 13 of 16 on faceoffs, while sophomore David Reinhard (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) won nine of his 10 attempts.

●  Kohlitz also paced the squad with nine groundballs, while Reinhard scooped up seven.

●  Yealy paced the team with five goals.  This is the third time this season Yealy has scored five goals in a game.  He has also scored three goals in eight consecutive games, totaling 32 in that span.

●  Michigan improves to 9-0 all-time vs. Western Michigan.

●  With another dominant performance on the man-down, Michigan is holding opponents to only 13% on the man-up.

●  The +47 shots on goal differential is by far the largest of the season. 

●  Goaltenders Graham Townsend (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) and Andrew Fowler (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Hotchkiss CT) played one half each with Townsend starting.  Townsend recorded eight saves in his half of play while Fowler failed to register a save, but faced only one shot on goal. 

●  With a three-goal effort, McGowan has eclipsed his point total from last season (7g, 5a) with 12 goals and one assist. 

QUOTES

Head Coach John Paul

On the game: "We had a specific plan coming into this to play very aggressively in the first half and to slow things down and limit their possessions in the second half, and that's exactly what we were able to do.  We were a little shaky defensively in the first half, and Graham had to make a few more saves then we wanted, but we weathered that storm and just gave up one when we made a mistake on the ride.  In the second half we did an outstanding job possessing the ball and getting it back quickly with our ride when they did get it."

On the offense: "Western played a packed in zone all night, and we're comfortable going against zone.  Our offense did a great job firing the ball around and finding seams.  Their goalie had a great first half or we would have scored quite a few more.  He was making a lot of saves where we were right on top of him."

On the Michigan State game this Saturday: "Obviously, it's a big game because it's State.  You're always excited to play them.  The rivalry is amplified because of the kind of event this game has become.  There's nothing like playing in front of a big crowd in a packed stadium.  It's even better when it's for first place in the CCLA, as this one is.  We're looking forward to it."

Senior Bobby Morales

On playing the proper way:  "I think we kept focus of what we wanted to do, and kept our composure.  Especially in the second half, we wanted to shut them down completely and offensively we held on to the ball well and cut down on the turnovers."

On the team's performance during CCLA play this season:  "This year we've been beating teams sufficiently unlike some years in the past, and we're doing all of this the right way.  We're doing it within our offense, within our defense, within our transition game, and not with just one guy dodging.  It's paying off against the better teams."

On the upcoming game vs. Michigan State: "It's always a big game.  We've lost to them once and I don't think anyone on this team ever wants to experience what that's like again.  We'll be excited and when I see that green and white it gets my blood boiling."

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