3/19/00 – Senior captain Dan Jerneycic (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Univ. of Detroit Jesuit HS) scored 3 goals in the 1^st quarter, and 4 for the game, to lead the 8^th ranked Michigan lacrosse team to a 20-4 win over #22 Missouri. Jeff Hadwin (Vestal, NY/Vestal HS) added 5 goals and Adam Denenberg (Wynnewood, PA/Lower Merion HS) contributed 1 goal and 6 assists in the victory. The win improves Michigan’s record to 4-0 in the CCLA and 7-3 overall. Previously undefeated, Missouri drops to 8-1 on the season.

Muddy fields have never been kind to Michigan, a team that is used to playing in perfect conditions indoors on artificial turf, and the rain Saturday night reduced parts of Epple Field to a quagmire. Fortunately for the Wolverines, the weather held Sunday and much of the field remained relatively solid. Michigan was aided further by the absence of Missouri leading scorer Jason Miltenberger, who was serving a one-game conference suspension for fighting in the Tigers’ Saturday win over Kansas State. The Wolverines were without the services of Eric DeLamarter (Concord, MA/Concord-Carlisle HS) who led the Michigan midfielders with 3 goals and an assist the day before against Kansas State despite suffering from the flu.

Missouri was called for a mouthpiece violation less than a minute into the game, and Jerneycic put the Wolverines up 1-0 just 1:12 into the first quarter when he was allowed to walk in untouched from behind the goal on the ensuing extra-man opportunity. The penalty was unreleasable, and after Pierce Davis (Wellesley, MA/Wellesley HS) won the next faceoff, the Wolverine man-up unit found Jerneycic alone behind again, and he put Michigan up 2-0 on a play identical to his first goal. Penalties would prove to be one of the keys to the game as Missouri found themselves man-down 13 times on 11 ˝ minutes of penalties, while Michigan gave up only 6 extra-man opportunities on 8 ˝ minutes of fouls. The Wolverines were able to capitalize 7 times while holding the Tigers to 1 man-up goal in the 4^th quarter with a pressure defensive scheme. The man-down unit came up big late in the 2^nd quarter when they held during a 3 minute unreleasable unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to Alex Gregor (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Country Day HS). To make matters worse, the penalty killers had to play 2 men down for 45 seconds after a slash call to Greg Deutch (Boca Raton, FL/St. Andrews HS) at the start of the first penalty. Missouri couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity, and the Wolverines were able to hold their 11-2 lead going into halftime.

The Wolverines made mass-substitutions to start the 2^nd half, gaining valuable playing time for many of their younger players. The offensive starters got to contribute on man-up for the start of the half, as Michigan got on the board first twice in the 3^rd quarter on extra-man opportunities. Both goals came off Hadwin quicksticks as Denenberg found him all alone on the far side of the crease. The play that was called on both goals was the same play that came within a goalpost of beating 2^nd ranked California in overtime two weeks ago. Missouri was able to answer less than 30 seconds later on a Kevin Corcoran goal, but Michigan scored twice before the end of the quarter to take a commanding 15-3 lead going into the final stanza.

The Wolverines slowed things down in the 4^th, but a tired Mizzou defense gave up several transition goals on failed clears and late slides. Sophomore attackman Brian Fischer (Novi, MI/Novi HS) made the most of his opportunity to play scoring Michigan’s final 3 goals. The Wolverines dominated in all statistical categories for the fourth straight game by winning 21 of 26 faceoffs, hustling to 62 ground balls to Missouri’s 24, outshooting the Tigers 51 to 22 and clearing the ball 76% of the time (83% with the starters in) while holding Mizzou to 48% of their clears with a variety of rides. For the second straight game faceoff specialist Kevin Keenan (Bloomfield, MI/Seaholm HS) was in complete control, winning 19 of his 23 draws.

Michigan continues CCLA play next weekend with two Eastern Division games: at home against Purdue Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. and on the road Sunday at Ball State.

Goals: UM – 20 (Hadwin 5, Jerneycic 4, Fischer 3, Davis 2, Willis 2, Burns T. 1, Denenberg 1, Buchan-McGilliard 1, Bernard 1)
MU – 4 (Conroy 2, Corcoran 1, Larson 1)

Assists: UM – 14 (Denenberg 6, Burns T. 2, Gregor 2, Thomas 1, Jerneycic 1, Tucker 1, Deutch 1)
MU – 3 (Corcoran 2, Mullen 1)

Saves: UM – 11 (Charm 7, Marsh 4)
MU – 19 (Lane 19)

Face Offs: UM 21 (Keenan 19/23, Davis 2/3)
MU 5 (Conroy 3/12, McKittrich 1/9, Schun 1/ 4, Larson 0/1)

Ground Balls: UM 62 (Keenan 10, Deutch 8, Davis 7, Tucker 5, Willis 5, DiCamillo 5, Martus 5, Denenberg 4, Buchan-McGilliard 2, Gregor 2, Vilardo 2, Sigakis 1, Bernard 1, Herbst 1, Marchena 1, Fugate 1, Kim 1, Graetz 1)
MU 24

Shots: UM 51 (Hadwin 7, Jerneycic 7, Denenberg 6, Davis 5, Buchan-McGilliard 4, Fischer 3, Thomas 3, Herbst 3, Burns T. 2, Bernard 2, Willis 2, Marchena 2, Gregor 1, Carter 1, DiCamillo 1, Deutch 1, Martus 1)
MU 22

Clears: UM 25/33
MU 20/42

Extra-man: UM 7/13
MU 2/6