Michigan 15, Arizona 6
6:00 p.m., Saturday, April 1, 2000
Oosterbaan Fieldhouse, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Swarming Defense Keys Michigan Win

4/1/00 – Just one night after dominating the #6 team in the nation, the 7^th ranked Michigan lacrosse team had to face #9 Arizona and their big, talented defensive unit led by 1^st –team All-WCCL Jeff Cady. As it turned out, it was the Michigan defense that was the story of the game as the Wolverine longsticks swarmed all over Arizona’s attack and led their team to a 15 – 6 victory. The all junior defensive unit of Greg Deutch (Boca Raton, FL/St. Andrews HS), Wesley Martus (Nashville, TN/Hillsboro HS) and Brady Kim (Columbia, MD/Atholton HS) never allowed the Wildcats to settle into any offensive flow. The Michigan offense played their most patient game of the year as they dominated time of possession.

The Wolverines began in a zone defense in an attempt to confuse Arizona. But when the Wildcats figured out how to attack it and began getting good shots, Michigan head coach John Paul switched to an aggressive man-to-man that utilized early double teams to disrupt the Arizona attack. The change worked, and it also energized the Michigan midfield who seemed to be everywhere at once whenever the Wildcats were fighting for loose balls. Sophomore longstick Dave DiCamillo (Port Washington, NY/Schreiber HS) played his best game of the year as he turned up around the ball constantly.

The change in defensive strategy got the ball out of the Wildcat’s end and allowed the Wolverines to work on possession and patience as they often spent 2 or 3 minutes just moving it around before they worked for a good shot. Adam Denenberg (Wynnewood, PA/Lower Merion HS) led all scorers again with 7 goals and 2 assists.

In the other Michigan Invitational game on the night, #12 Illinois upset #6 Virginia Tech 18-16. Next up for Michigan is Illinois tomorrow at Oosterbaan at 4:00 p.m. Games between these two heated rivals have decided the CCLA championship for the past 5 years.

Box Score
Michigan vs. Arizona
Saturday, April 1, 2000
6:00 p.m., Oosterbaan Fieldhouse, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Goals: UM – 15 (Denenberg 7, Hadwin 3, Davis 2, Jerneycic 1, Bernard 1, DeLamarter 1)
A – 6 (Wilkins 2, Lockridge 1, Moore 1, Renner 1, Mastores 1)

Assists: UM – 7 (Burns T. 3, Denenberg 2, Davis 1, DeLamarter 1)
A – 1 (Martini 1)

Saves: UM – 17 (Charm 17)
A – 13 (Burgess 13)

Face Offs: UM - 19 (Davis 14/18, Marchena 4/5, Jerneycic 1/1)
A - 5

Ground Balls: UM 49 (Davis 12, Kim 8, Deutch 6, Denenberg 5, Martus 4, Burns T. 2, Jerneycic 2, Herbst 2, DeLamarter 2, Marchena 2, DiCamillo 2, Willis 1, Gregor 1)
A 20

Shots: UM 50 (Denenberg 13, Hadwin 13, Bernard 5, Jerneycic 4, Davis 4, Burns T. 4, Herbst 3, DeLamarter 2, Willis 1, Martus 1)
A 32

Clears: UM 23/42
A 20/45

Extra-man: UM 2/6
A 2/6

Officials: Rob Quinn, Dave Hague, Tom Bensman

Attendance: 305

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