May 3, 2008

Event:  Men's Lacrosse

Site: Saline, Mich. (Saline High School)

Score:  #1 Michigan 24, Pittsburgh 3

Records:  U-M (15-0, 6-0 CCLA), Pittsburgh (9-4, 5-3 CCLA)

Next U-M Game:  Sunday, May 4, 2008, 3:00pm EST, CCLA Tournament Finals - vs. #25 Michigan State - Saline, Mich. (Saline High School)

Wolverines Cruise Past Panthers, Advance to CCLA Finals

Event Recap I Boxscore I Notes & Quotes I Photos

Saline, Mich. - The #1 University of Michigan men's lacrosse team moved a step away from their eighth CCLA Championship, defeating Pittsburgh 24-3 in the semi-final round of the CCLA conference tournament in Saline, Michigan at Saline High School on Saturday (May 3).  With the win, the Wolverines advanced to the Finals on Sunday (3:00pm EST), where they will take on #25 Michigan State. 

Michigan came out firing, notching three quick goals to open the contest from sophomore transfer Kevin Zorovich (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa - Marist), freshman Trevor Yealy (Pittsburgh, Penn./Upper St. Claire) and sophomore David Rogers (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills).  Mid-way through the quarter, senior captain Mark Hammitt (Madison, N.J./Delbarton – Boston College) increased the Wolverine lead to 4-0 on a shot from the top of the box after being fed by fellow senior, Peter Krauss (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central).   

Krauss dodged through two defenders at the five-minute mark to make it 5-0, before Yealy added two more in the span of 15 seconds, followed by another tally from Hammitt as the Wolverines took a 8-1 lead into the break. 

Krauss opened the second quarter scoring on a quick-stick tally from just outside the crease on a feed from Hammitt.  The Maize and Blue capitalized three minutes later on a man-up goal as Krauss scored from nearly the same spot on a feed from Zorovich.  Krauss fed junior attackman Wes McGowan (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) for Michigan's 11^th goal before another quick-stick tally from Yealy on a cross-crease feed from sophomore Jamie Goldberg (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown).  McGowan added his second just under a minute later on a pass from behind the cage from senior Thomas Lehman (Beverly Hills, Mich./Univ. of Detroit Jesuit). 

Michigan closed out the second-quarter scoring on a faceoff win and goal from senior captain Brekan Kohlitz (St. Claire Shores, Mich./Notre Dame Harper Woods) as the Wolverines took a 14-1 lead into the half-time break.

The Wolverines got on the board quickly in the third quarter, getting some unlikely scoring from junior defenseman Zach Elyachar (Upper Saddle River, N.J./Northern Highlands) who notched his second goal of the season.  Hammitt added his third goal of the game less than thirty seconds later.

Pitt answered on a tally from the right wing mid-way through the quarter, before Goldberg notched his first goal of the season with less than five minutes left in the quarter.  Wes McGowan added his third moments later after picking off an errant pass from the Pitt net-minder.  Senior captain Bobby Morales (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) closed out the scoring in the third quarter on a feed from junior attackman Riley Kearns (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice).

Pittsburgh notched their third goal of the game to open the fourth quarter, before junior midfielder Nick Standiford (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) notched his second goal of the season, followed by tallies from Wes McGowan, and Bobby Morales.  Senior Doug Bell (Troy, Mich./Troy) closed out the scoring with back-to-back goals, including one from the seated position after being checked by the goaltender, as the Wolverines walked away with the 24-3 victory. 

Statistically, Michigan won every category.  U-M outshot their opponent 59-14, and won the groundball battle, 63 to 17.  The Wolverines were 27 of 30 on faceoffs, and finished 16 of 19 on clears, while riding Pitt to 10 for 22 totals.  The Maize and Blue finished 4-7 on the man-up, while the Panthers scored twice on two attempts.

The Wolverines will be back in action tomorrow, Sunday, May 4, when they head back to Saline, Michigan for the final round of the CCLA Conference Tournament to take on #25 Michigan State.  Game-time is set for 3:00pm EST

NOTES

● Senior captain and faceoff specialist Brekan Kohlitz (St. Claire Shores, Mich./Notre Dame Harper Woods) finished 15 of 17 on faceoffs, while sophomore David Reinhard (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) won 12 of his 13 attempts.

●  Reinhard finished with a team-high nine groundballs, one short of his career high.

●  Trevor Yealy and Wes McGowan each paced the team with four goals.  Yealy has also scored three goals in 10 consecutive games, totaling 41 in that span.

●   Michigan improves to 5-0 all-time vs. Pittsburgh.

●  Sophomore midfielder Svet Tintchev (Rockville, Md./Bullis) suffered a sprained ankle in the second quarter and was helped off the field.  He will be re-evaluated during the week and his status for the MCLA National Championship tournament is unknown. 

●  Senior Thomas Lehman recorded his first multi-assist game of the season.

●  12 Wolverines scored in the contest, and six recorded multi-goal games. 

●  Goaltender Graham Townsend (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) started the game and finished with 3 saves in a half of play.  Freshmen Andrew Fowler (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Hotchkiss CT) and Mark Stone (Greenwood Village, Colo./Cherry Creek) each played a quarter, with Fowler stopping five shots in the third, while Stone faced only one shot on goal in the fourth, which deflected in.

●  The Wolverines allowed a man-down goal for the first time since April 6 vs. Eastern Michigan.  The Wolverines are still dominating, allowing opponents to score only 15% of the time on the man-up.

●  Michigan State defeated Buffalo in the second semi-final game of the day by a score of 10-9 and will play Michigan in the finals on Sunday.

QUOTES

Head Coach John Paul

On his general impressions:  "With a couple of weeks off, one thing we wanted to make sure of was that we were going to be flying around and doing all of the little things that had made us successful to this point.  We came out with plenty of energy and focus and we jumped on them immediately."

On the play of the reserves:  "We went real deep as fast as we have all season and I think that will help us tomorrow.  We need to be deep as shown by Svet going down.  Having an opportunity to play these guys early in games helps us at the end of the year when injuries start to mount."

On reserve faceoff specialist David Reinhard:  "It's great having David for a couple of reasons, number one being the fact that there have been a couple of times this year where he matched up better with a certain guy than Brekan did.  Secondly, it's such an important position and it's great knowing we have a guy ready to go for next year and there won't be any drop-off."

On the ride:  "So much of the ride success is winning the whistle, getting to the right spot, and playing with intensity, and it's been one of the keys to our success this year.  It's one thing when we go against a team that's prepared to go for an aggressive ride like ours, but when they're unprepared it can really make a huge difference in a game."

On the game tomorrow:  "I've been harping on keeping focus and coming out with the right energy all year.  I think I've worried more because of past teams where you had to harp on those things all the time, but with these guys I just don't think it's going to be an issue.  The only game this year we didn't come out the right way was the Central Michigan game, and for the most part they've kept up the energy through the entire season.  We haven't had to fire them up too much.  This is a special group and I don't think they want to let each other down."

Junior Wes McGowan

On his effort:  "They keep us constantly prepared on the sidelines and we are getting a solid rotation lately.  We are all on our toes and ready to go at any time and once we're in there we know they have confidence in us.  The offense doesn't need to change at all.  Sitting on the edge of the crease is always a nice thing, especially when you're getting the ball from everyone, the starters, Doug, Lehman; we all work great together."

On the offensive chemistry:  "We've grown incredibly tight as a group and we all know each other's tendencies.  We also know that if one of doesn't have our best game, someone is going to be able to pick up the slack.  We can all work together to make up for someone's off night."

On the CCLA play this year:  "We've been dominant so far in the CCLA and we want to hammer that home tomorrow.  There have been multiple defensemen who have approached me at the end of games this season who have told me they appreciated the fact that we gave them our best game for the entire game.  We want to play our best ball all the time."

Sophomore Jamie Goldberg

On the depth:  "It seems like no matter who we put in there, it just works and every guy is able to complete the job.  Having that kind of depth, and that kind of spread scoring really makes it hard for other teams to scout us."

On the confidence in each other:  "I think as a whole the entire team knows that anyone can step up at any time and carry the load.  It gives guys a lot of confidence.  You can just go out there and play and not be concerned with making a mistake.  No one is worried about being 'the guy' and that makes a big difference."

On tomorrow's game:  "Regardless of who we play I think we'll come out with the right intensity.  We've never played Buffalo before and obviously there is no trouble getting up for State.  I think we also felt we could have played a little better in our last game, so we want to come out tomorrow and put it all together."

On the final approach:  "I think guys are thinking about the end of this season in two ways.  On one hand it's been a long season, and I think we are all excited about finishing this thing off and getting the job done.  And on the other hand, I think guys are really taking the time to enjoy the ride, and everyone wants it to last." 

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