April 19, 2008

Event:  Men's Lacrosse

Site: Grand Rapids, Mich. (Forest Hills Eastern High School)

Score:  #1 Michigan 13, #24 Michigan State 5

Records:  U-M (14-0, 5-0 CCLA), MSU (8-5, 4-1 CCLA)

Next U-M Game:  Saturday, May 3, 2008, CCLA Tournament Semi-Final Round - vs. TBD - Saline, Mich. (Saline High School)

Wolverines Top Spartans to Finish Perfect Regular Season

Event Recap I Boxscore I Notes & Quotes I Photos

Grand Rapids, Mich. - The #1 University of Michigan men's lacrosse team finished off their regular season on Saturday night in Grand Rapids, Michigan at Forest Hills East High School, defeating rival #24 Michigan State by a score of 13-5 in front of 3507 fans.  In the third-annual Great Lakes Lacrosse Classic, the Wolverines controlled possession throughout much of the contest and used a 4-0 third-quarter to pull away from their opponent.  With the win, Michigan finished off the CCLA schedule a perfect 5-0 and in the process earned a first-round bye in the CCLA Tournament two weeks from now in Saline, Michigan. 

Freshman Trevor Yealy (Pittsburgh, Penn./Upper St. Claire) got things going for the Wolverines in the first quarter, banging home a goal from just outside the crease on a feed from sophomore David Rogers (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills).  The Wolverines other hot player, sophomore transfer Kevin Zorovich (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) extended the Maize and Blue lead to 2-0 five minutes into the game. 

MSU got on the board at the 7:23 mark and evened the game with less than four minutes left in the quarter on a transition tally.  The Spartans grabbed the lead after the ensuing faceoff as a MSU player slipped behind the Wolverine "D" and walked in on goal for MSU's first lead of the game.  Grand Rapids native, senior Peter Krauss (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) evened the game and closed out the first-quarter scoring with the game knotted at 3-3 after 15 minutes. 

The teams traded possession early in the second quarter with the Wolverines producing two quality scoring chances on the man-up, both from just outside the crease, but Spartan goaltender Dean Hall was up to the task, making two point-blank saves to maintain the tie game. 

Michigan dominated possession throughout the rest of the quarter, shooting big and running through their offense in methodical fashion.  It was on the transition however that the Wolverines found success as freshman defenseman Harry Fried (Needham, Mass./Needham) fed Yealy on the break late in the second to give the Wolverines a one-goal lead at 4-3 going into half-time. 

Yealy kicked things off again in the third quarter after a failed MSU clear resulted in a transition goal from the first year player who was assisted on the wing from Krauss.  The Maize and Blue kept up the offensive pressure throughout the third quarter, but continued to find opposition in the form of the goal-pipes. 

U-M was finally able to capitalize at the 3:09 mark, on a man-up goal from senior captain Bobby Morales (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) who streaked down the middle of the box before being fed by junior Riley Kearns (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice).  Yealy added his fourth of the contest before junior Wes McGowan (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) scored just moments later as the Wolverines finished the period on a high note, taking a 8-3 into the final frame, and out-scoring MSU 4-0 in the third quarter. 

MSU wasn't about to back down however, scoring just seven seconds into the fourth quarter after winning the faceoff.  Riley Kearns answered for Michigan at the 12:58 mark on a feed from Zorovich, and the combination of Yealy from Fried found the back of the net again with less than seven minutes remaining as U-M extended their lead to 10-4.  Krauss, Kearns and senior Doug Bell (Troy, Mich./Troy) closed out the scoring for the Wolverines as U-M walked away with the 13-5 win, their 14^th straight to open the season. 

Statistically, Michigan won every category.  U-M outshot their opponent 63-33, and won the groundball battle, 49 to 27.  U-M was 13 of 23 on faceoffs, and finished 18 of 20 on clears, while riding MSU to 9 for 26 totals.  The Maize and Blue finished 2-6 on the man-up, while holding the Spartans scoreless on three attempts.

The Wolverines will be back in action on Saturday, May 3, when they travel to Saline, Michigan just outside of Ann Arbor for the semi-final round of the CCLA Conference Tournament.  The Wolverines will receive a first-round bye after finishing a perfect 5-0 in the CCLA.  Please visit Men's Lacrosse at MGoBlue.com for complete tournament information.   

NOTES

● Senior captain and faceoff specialist Brekan Kohlitz (St. Claire Shores, Mich./Notre Dame Harper Woods) finished 11 of 19 on faceoffs, while sophomore David Reinhard (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) won two of his four attempts.

●  Junior defenseman Zach Elyachar (Upper Saddle River, N.J./Northern Highlands) finished with a team-high nine groundballs, a career high.

●  Trevor Yealy paced the team with five goals.  This is the fourth time this season and the second game in a row that Yealy has scored five goals.  He has also scored three goals in nine consecutive games, totaling 37 in that span.

●   Michigan improves to 17-1 all-time vs. Michigan State.

●  With another dominant performance on the man-down, Michigan is holding opponents to only 12% on the man-up.

●  Goaltender Graham Townsend (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) finished with 12 saves in the contest, including eight in the second and third quarters while holding the Spartans scoreless.

●  Freshman defenseman Harry Fried set a career high with two assists in the game, and has now recorded three assists in the past two games.

●  Fans of lacrosse were treated to an entire day of on-field action with a number of local high school and youth squads competing, and a half-time demonstration featuring MLL star Joe Walters during the U-M - MSU game.  The stadium complex was also host to a number of vendors, selling both food and lacrosse gear.  This was the eighth year in a row that the contest has been played at a neutral site, and the third year of the Great Lakes Lacrosse Classic.  Each year the contest switches between Grand Rapids and Birmingham.

QUOTES

Head Coach John Paul

On his general impressions:  "It was a very physical game, and you can expect that.  We knew they would come out extremely hard.  And they were also night and day different than what we saw on film from a couple of weeks ago.  You can really see how that entire team has improved in the last few weeks, and they're playing with a lot of confidence and it showed.  We had a lot of opportunities in the first half, and if we had just hit our shots, or if their goalie doesn't come up big, I'm not sure they would have had that confidence going into the second half.  That's as good as we've looked all year offensively, but we just weren't hitting our shots, and their goalie played great."

On the ride:  "We created a lot of opportunities from the ride.  We went into this season knowing we were going to ride this way.  We wanted to take a step up this year and we knew that was going to be a big part of it.  It's become part of our character.  It has created a lot of opportunities for us this year.  Part of the successful ride is working hard too.  This team is also the best conditioned team I've had here, and we're going to continue to work them so we're ready for Dallas.  They've responded to it really well."

On the keys to a successful ride:  "It's 50-50 between just working your butt off and knowing what to do and making the right decision.  There are a lot of decisions to be made, and the adjustment needs to be made quickly.  They've gotten better and better at it as the season has gone on."

On the defensive break-downs early:  "Two of their goals were match-up issues and we just didn't get our slide there in time, and they had a couple of transition goals that came from our ride when we put the ball down, and they were just able to get the groundball.  We couldn't fault our guys for doing what we were telling them to do, but we just weren't getting some of the bounces.  We play an aggressive ride and when you do that, you're going to give up some transition chances."

On the next two weeks before CCLA's:  "We need to maintain our focus and it's a difficult time of year to do that.  It's spring and the weather has changed and their routine has changed because of finals right now and then the end of the term.  It's a different feel and a different focus.  We'll have a light week and then come back next Monday and get right back to work."  

On the showing of lacrosse support at the game:  "This is my favorite place to come to play.  They do such an amazing job of hosting this event and the fans really come out to support it.  We've been lucky the past couple of years with great weather.  It makes everyone feel really wanted and appreciated.  It's also great to see so many kids into all of this, and asking our guys for autographs.  It's night and day from what it was just seven or eight years ago."

Senior Peter Krauss

On getting the win:  "I've got two friends on the team, and it's always nice to come back here and get the win, but right now we're focused on Dallas, and finishing this season off.  Obviously I'm happy, but there is still a lot of work to be done."

On the offensive effort: "I think we were doing what we wanted to do for the most part, but we caught some pipes, and missed some shots, but we knew we could grind it out.  We've known all year that we're in better shape than our opponent, so we just kept working and the shots started to fall."

Junior Riley Kearns

On beating a rival:  "I can still remember my freshman year when we lost to them so it was nice to grab the win.  We kept it a little close early on, but we started clicking towards the end."

On the third-quarter surge:  "I think we got a little frustrated by the posts and by their goalie, and once we calmed down and relaxed a little we had success.  We knew we were playing fine and that we just had to keep playing our game."

On getting back into action following the red-shirt year:  "I've never been out for that long with an injury, so last year was just terrible.  The BYU game at home was horrible and trying to explain Northeastern and not being able to do anything about it was tough.  It is just great to be back and to be playing again."

On the end of classes and the change of atmosphere:  "I think it will be important for us to be all be on the same page.  We need to be doing a lot of group activities, whether it's lifting, or just hanging out.  We need to stay active and not start to get lazy."

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