May 13, 2008

Event:  Men's Lacrosse

Site: Dallas, Texas (Ross Stewart Complex)

Score:  #1 Michigan 18, #16 Lindenwood 5

Records:  U-M (17-0, 7-0 CCLA), LU (14-7, 6-1 GRLC)

Next U-M Game:  Wednesday, May 13, 2008, 7:00pm CST – MCLA National Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Round – vs. #9 Georgia – Dallas, Texas (Ross Stewart Soccer Complex)

Yealy Leads Michigan into Quarters

Event Recap I Boxscore I Notes & Quotes I Photos

Dallas, Tex. - The #1 University of Michigan men's lacrosse team advanced to the quarterfinal round of the MCLA National Championship Tournament on Tuesday afternoon (May 13), defeating #16 Lindenwood by a score of 18-5 at the Ross Stewart Complex in Dallas, Texas in first-round action.  Freshman attackman Trevor Yealy (Pittsburgh, Penn./Upper St. Claire) was dominant down low once again, notching eight goals and two assists in the contest as the Wolverines improved to 17-0.  

Lindenwood opened the scoring just under a minute into the game after winning the opening faceoff, but Michigan responded immediately following a win from senior captain and faceoff specialist Brekan Kohlitz (St. Claire Shores, Mich./N.D. Harper Woods) and Trevor Yealy's first goal of the contest. 

Michigan earned their first lead at 11:36 when Jordan Kirshner (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) received a pass from the left wing, dodged his defender and fired high for the 2-1 lead.  Yealy added his second of the game on a feed from sophomore transfer Zorovich (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa - Marist) before he found the back of the net again on a rebound attempt just outside the crease for the 4-1 lead at the end of one quarter. 

Yealy's fourth of the game opened the second quarter scoring at 13:35 of the second, before he assisted Zorovich on Michigan's next possession to increase the lead to 6-1.  Lindenwood scored their first goal since the opening moments of the game at 10:46 to cut the lead to 6-2 before junior Riley Kearns (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) notched his first of the game at 5:24 to regain the five-goal lead. 

Another tally from Yealy at 3:57 made it 8-2, before Wes McGowan (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) finished a pass from senior long-stick midfielder Alex Martusiewicz (Troy, Mich./Troy) on the transition to close out the first-half scoring with the Wolverines leading 9-2. 

Michigan took no time to get going again in the third, as sophomore faceoff specialist David Reinhard (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) dominated at the "X" while the Wolverines scored four goals in the first two minutes of the quarter, including two more from Yealy. 

LU scored their third goal of the game at 10:34 of the third, before senior Thomas Lehman (Beverly Hills, Mich./Univ. of Detroit Jesuit) scored mid-way through the quarter for the 14-3 lead and the final goal of the period.

Lindenwood got on the board first in the fourth quarter, scoring at 12:27 on a scoop and score just outside the crease.  Senior attackman Doug Bell (Troy, Mich./Troy) answered under a minute later followed by Wes McGowan's third of the game. 

Yealy notched his eighth of the game followed by a Lindenwood goal under a minute later as the Wolverines held a 17-5 lead mid-way through the fourth.  Bell closed out the scoring in the contest with just over four minutes left as Michigan moved on to quarter-final play with the 18-5 win.    

Statistically, Michigan won every category.  U-M outshot their opponent 37-32, and won the groundball battle, 57 to 42.  The Wolverines were 18 of 27 on faceoffs, and finished 18 of 26 on clears, while riding LU to 15 for 34 totals.  The Maize and Blue finished 0-2 on the man-up, while the Lions failed to score on their lone attempt.

The Wolverines will be back in action tomorrow when they take on the #9 seed, Georgia, at 7:00pm CST at the Ross Stewart Complex in Dallas, Texas.  With a win the Wolverines would advance to the semi-finals for the second time in program history and head to Texas Stadium for the final two rounds, opening on Friday, May 16.  Please visit http://www.mclachamptx.com/ for all your tourney info.

NOTES

● Senior captain and faceoff specialist Brekan Kohlitz (St. Claire Shores, Mich./Notre Dame Harper Woods) finished 7 of 13 on faceoffs, while sophomore David Reinhard (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) won 11 of his 14 second-half attempts.

●  Reinhard also paced the team in groundballs with eight. 

●  Yealy's career-high 10-point (8g, 2a) effort  paced the team, while Zorovich finished with one goal and five assists for second on the squad. 

● With the eight goals, Yealy was one goal shy of tying former Wolverine Jeff Hadwin for the MCLA Tournament record for goals in a game.  His ten total points did tie the tournament record for points in a game.

●  Yealy has scored at least three goals in 12 consecutive games, totaling 54 in that span.  He has also recorded five or more goals on six different occasions this season.

●  With 64 goals this season, Yealy is only three away from overtaking Adam Denenberg (1999) for third all-time on the single season scoring list.  Denenberg also holds the second place record with 79 goals in 2000.  Jeff Hadwin tops them all with an 115-goal effort in 2000.

●  Zorovich has totaled 11 assists in his last two games. 

●  Michigan improves to 4-0 all-time vs. Lindenwood.

●  With another three-goal effort, Wes McGowan has recorded a hat-trick for the third time in his last five games after failing to record a point in his first six games of the season.  McGowan has totaled 20 goals in '08, topping his total of 16 through his first two seasons.

●  The Wolverines are holding opponents to a 50% clear rate (232 for 463) through 17 games.

●  Goaltender Graham Townsend (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) started the game and finished with four saves in one half of play before giving way to  freshman Andrew Fowler (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Hotchkiss CT) who posted three saves in the third quarter.  Fellow freshman Mark Stone (Greenwood Village, Colo./Cherry Creek) posted a career-high six saves in the fourth quarter.    

QUOTES

Head Coach John Paul

On his general impressions:  "I think our legs were a little heavy, and we came out a little flat, but I don't think that's completely unexpected with this kind of heat.  The good news was that we got to go to the bench early, and get everyone some time throughout the game and we're coming into tomorrow I think as fresh as we could be."

On the third quarter-play:  "We had some things go our way at the start and Rhino was a big part of that and Yealy doesn't have to be open to finish.  I think it helped us establish some of the things we wanted and we got them on their heels a little bit and we were able to coast a bit from there."

On the lack of execution: "I think the lack of execution was probably due to the heat and humidity, and partly because these guys were eager to play and had a lot of pent up energy.  We have some high expectations and I think the adrenaline had the guys a little on edge early on.  I think we'll come out better tomorrow though."

On simply moving on:  "The stats aren't too important at this point.  All we want to do is to move on and win.  It was great that this wasn't a close game, and we were able to coast a little at the end, but if this had been a 13-12 win, we'd still be moving on, and that's all that really matters." 

Senior attackman Thomas Lehman

On getting healthy again and contributing:  "It's good to be out there and playing again.  I was a little nervous early on considering the magnitude of these games, but once I got settled in I felt fine.  I feel good though and I feel like I'm getting back to my old game at just the right time."

On the lack of pressure to immediately produce:  "I'm incredibly close with this group of attackman, more so than in previous years probably and to know I have this group of guys that will always be there to pick me up if I don't have my best game is a great feeling.  It's not like you make one mistake, and they're going to go down and score as well so that helps.  We got to play a lot of the reserves tonight and I think that's really going to help us down the road."

Sophomore midfielder Jordan Kirshner

On the team's depth:  "It's a great feeling as a defensive middie to know that I can work my butt off out there and if I get winded someone is going to be able to come in and do a great job.  I don't need to conserve any energy out there and that helps a lot.  Everyone else played tight games today, but we got up early and were able to play a lot of guys and that will certainly help."

On the play early on:  "I think they got some long possessions early on and I think that helped their confidence a little.  There is also a lot of pressure because of the importance of these games so maybe that worked against us.  Everyone wants to elevate their game, and sometimes you forget to just play within yourself.  But once we figured out that we just need to play the roles we have all year we were fine.  We need to do the same thing tomorrow."

Senior attackman Doug Bell

On the heat:  "We know how it's going to be this week, but we've been rolling through the bench all year, so all of these guys are prepared when called upon and that is going to be a major plus for us considering the heat and the fatigue."

On the third quarter opening:  "Rhino was beating everyone there early in the third and the break was working great.  Last year we had some struggles in the third quarter, but it's been a point of emphasis this season and we've really performed well in the third."

Sophomore faceoff specialist David Reinhard

On his third quarter play:  "I think the weather and the heat was starting to get to guys a little, but I knew I had fresh legs and I just wanted to continue our success in third quarter.  We put them away early and that gives the young guys a lot of experience and obviously with four games in five days, we need to stay fresh."

On his confidence:  "Being able to go against other guys and having success really builds my confidence because in practice Brekan will usually get the best of me, and that can be frustrating at times, but knowing I can have success in my other matchups really helps."

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