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February 25, 2005
Michigan Men’s Lacrosse
2005
Weekly Release #2
Upcoming Schedule
● Monday, February 28, 7:00pm MST
- vs. Arizona State – Tempe, AZ (Sun Devil Band Field)
● Wednesday, March 2, 7:00pm MST
- vs. #6 Arizona State – Tucson, AZ. (Rincon Vista Fields)
● Saturday, March 5, 1:00pm MST –
vs. #3 Brigham Young – Provo, Utah (South Field)
This Week – Road
Warriors
After a week of midterms and cramming before the University’s spring
break, the Michigan men’s lacrosse team will be spending their week off
in Arizona and Utah between Friday, February 25 and Monday, March 7
taking on three quality opponents.
The Wolverines will first square off against the Arizona State Sun
Devils on Monday, February 28 at 7:00pm MST in Tempe at the Sun Devil
Band Stadium. After a day of practice and relaxation, the Wolverines
will travel to Tucson to take on the 6th ranked Arizona Wildcats on
Wednesday, March 2 at 7:00pm MST at the Rincon Vista Fields. In their
final game of the week, the Maize and Blue will travel to Provo to take
on long-time rival, #3 Brigham Young on Saturday, March 5 at 1:00pm MST
at the South Field.
The three road games will mark the last time the Wolverines will hit the
road until early April after home contests vs. Eastern Michigan on March
18, and the Michigan Invitational between March 25-27. The Wolverines
next road trip will find them heading south to take on Texas and Texas
A&M.
Last Week
Last week, the Wolverines opened their season with two home games,
taking on nationally ranked Missouri and Division II opponent St.
Vincent in back to back games on Friday, February 18 and Saturday the 19th.
In their first game of the regular season the Maize and Blue defeated
#18 Missouri by a score of 18-1 in front of 200 fans at Oosterbaan
Fieldhouse in Ann Arbor. In a game where every Wolverine saw action,
Michigan opened up a quick 4-0 lead just over five minutes into the game
and never looked back.
Senior attackman, captain Ryan Clark (Summit, N.J./Summit)
notched the first Wolverine goal of the 2005 campaign on an unassisted
shot in front just moments into the opening period. 12 other Wolverines
would eventually join in the goal-scoring fun as Michigan would register
58 shots while holding the Tigers to under double-digits with eight.
U-M lead 12-0 entering the second half, and 15-0 entering the final
frame.
Leading the team in goals, assists and points in the game was freshman
attackman Evan Fox (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) who notched
3-3-6 totals. Six other Wolverines notched multi-point games including
three freshmen, attackman Tom Lehman (Beverly Hills,
Mich./Univ. of Detroit Jesuit) (1-2-3) and midfielders Bobby
Morales (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) (1-1-2) and
Mike Shearman (Madison, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) (1-1-2). Three
Wolverine goalies saw action with the lopsided win as senior Dan
Webber (Weston, Mass./Weston) played until the second half
when he was replaced by sophomore Ryan Kaufman (Olney, Md./Magruder)
in the third, who was then replaced by freshman Graham Townsend
(Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) in the fourth quarter.
Senior midfielder Trevor Broad (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Univ.
Liggett), who finished 13 for 15 on faceoffs, tied fellow senior
midfielder Brian Vincent (Farmington Hills, Mich./Univ. of
Detroit Jesuit) for the game high six groundballs.
In their second game of the weekend, U-M dropped a 9-8 decision to
Division II opponent St. Vincent of the American Mideast Conference. In
a classic sea-saw battle, neither team was able to pull away when
holding the lead, with the game coming down to the final seconds.
Trailing 9-8 in the waning moments, the Wolverines had possession of the
ball in the final 30 seconds with the man-up advantage but failed to tie
the game to force overtime.
Entering the final frame trailing 7-6, the Bearcats of St. Vincent
opened the scoring in the fourth at the 8:53 mark on a goal from Vince
Chiodo after he wrapped around the back of the net and beat senior
goaltender Dan Webber just over his shoulder. Just under two
minutes later the Wolverines answered back, re-gaining the lead on a
man-up goal from Evan Fox. Fox blasted a high shot from the left side,
sneaking the goal just inside the post.
Michigan retained the 8-7 lead until just over three and a half minutes
remained, when St. Vincent midfielder Bill Leinendecker dodged in from
the top of the zone and let loose a low shot that took a strange bounce
and just barely crossed the goal line before spinning back out. Just
over 20 seconds later at the 3:14 mark, the Bearcats captured the lead
for the second time in the game on a goal from Bryan Poole right on the
doorstep.
Michigan had their chances in the final three minutes, failing to
execute two man-up opportunities in the final two minutes. The
Wolverines last chance came with four seconds left after a St. Vincent
defender attempted to clear the ball downfield to run the clock out but
inadvertently struck the ceiling of Oosterbaan Fieldhouse with the ball,
giving the Maize and Blue one last chance. A desperation pass into the
crease found no one as time expired on the Wolverines.
Scouting the Opponents
Arizona State - A Western Collegiate Lacrosse League (WCLL)
opponent, the Sun Devils of Arizona State are currently 1-2, with their
win coming over common opponent Missouri in their regular season opener
by a score of 8-6. Arizona State finished the 2004 season with a record
of 7-7 and 3-4 in conference play.
Through three games of the 2005 season, attackman Jeff Pilon paces the
squad with 12 points (3-9-12), with midfielder Jason Bellar leading the
team in goals and second in total points with 7-1-8. Senior Eric
Cardesh leads a young defensive corps for the Sun Devils that includes
six freshman. Between the pipes, sophomore goaltender Jake Delashmit
has recorded 38 saves on 73 shots for a save percentage of .521.
The last time the Wolverines played ASU was on February 23 of 2002, in
Tempe, as Michigan defeated the Sun Devils by a score of 12-4. The
Wolverines would drop their next game to Arizona four days later by a
score of 8-7. The 2005 Sun Devils are coached by Jonathan Minder.
http://www.asu.edu/studentprgms/orgs/menslacrosse/index.html
#6 Arizona - A member of the WCLL, the #6 Arizona Wildcats enter
their contest with the Wolverines with a record of 3-1 having just
defeated common opponent Brigham Young by a score of 9-8 on Wednesday,
February 23. The Wildcats also defeated another common opponent with
the Wolverines earlier this year, overcoming Missouri by a score of
13-6. Arizona finished the 2004 season with a record of 14-4 and
finished second in the WCLL South Conference with a record of 6-1.
Leading the 2005 Wildcats is Adam Paris who has registered 12-4-16
totals through four games. Tops in assists is Greg Polheber who has
posted 6-6-12. Two goaltenders have seen significant time for Arizona
this season with Greg Abdouch leading the way having seen 55 shots and
recording a .564 save percentage. In their most recent win however over
BYU it was Charles Salemi who finished with 17 saves to help secure the
win for the Wildcats. Salemi has posted a .680 save percentage this
season.
Last season, the Wolverines and Wildcats squared off in a classic game
at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse in Ann Arbor on March 13 that saw the Maize and
Blue rally from a one-goal deficit with just over two minutes left.
Michigan would eventually tie the game and take the lead on a goal from
senior Justin Gal with just over a minute remaining.
The Wildcats are coached by Ken Broschart.
http://www.laxcats.com/
#3 Brigham Young - A representative of the Rocky Mountain
Lacrosse Conference, the #3 Brigham Young Cougars are officially 0-1 on
the 2005 season following a loss to Arizona by a score of 9-8 on
February 23. Brigham Young has also competed in three scrimmages this
season, most recently dropping a 14-9 decision to NYiT (Division II) on
Friday, February 25. Last season, BYU finished 13-6 and advanced to the
semi-finals in the USL-MDIA national championships.
In 2005 the Cougars will feature a range of experience throughout the
depth chart with a solid mix of veterans and youth battling for a RMLC
championship. Up front, sophomore Mark Davis and Pete Stevenson lead
the way. At midfield, junior Walker Bateman, freshman Zach Austin and
senior Mark Tschaggeny combine for a talented group. On defense, Cam
Archibald will be called on to lead the group, while a battle between
junior Glen Makechnie and freshman Chris Powers for time between the
pipes should push both goaltenders.
Last season, BYU came out on top on an 8-6 decision against the
Wolverines in Orlando, Florida on February 28. Trailing by a score of
7-3 with just under four minutes left in the contest, the Wolverines
stormed back with a goal from Ryan Clark at the 3:58 mark, and with two
minutes left senior Mike O’Leary (St. Louis, Mo./Clayton)
netted back to back goals just under a minute apart to draw the
Wolverines to within one goal with just under a minute remaining.
Michigan was able to gain possession of the ball and called a timeout
but a turnover in the Wolverines’ zone led to BYU’s eighth, and final
goal of the game.
Entering his 11th year as head coach of the Cougars is Jason
Lamb. Lamb has compiled a 133-46 record through last week.
http://www.byulacrosse.com/
Injury Update
The Wolverines were dealt more bad news on
the injury front over the past week with two starters succumbing to knee
injuries during practice. Ryan Clark and senior Brian Vincent
(Farmington Hills, Mich./Univ. of Detroit Jesuit) will both
receive MRI’s this weekend to determine the extent of their knee
injuries. Both players are considered doubtful for this week’s action.
Clark had been tied with freshman Evan Fox for the team scoring lead
with nine points. Vincent was tied for second on the team with three
goals.
Sophomore attackman Matt Hudson
(Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) is continuing to rehab from an
ankle injury suffered during fall practices and will be sidelined for
another month. Hudson was the team Rookie of the Year in 2004 after
finishing with 20-6-26 totals, first amongst freshman and fifth
overall.
Junior midfielder Jim Constantine
(Troy, Mich./Seaholm), another crucial element to the Wolverine’s
2005 offensive plans, suffered a separated shoulder two weeks ago in
practice and will be out for 2-3 more weeks. Constantine finished with
9-3-12 totals last season.
Three other Wolverines are banged up but should return to play this
week. Freshman Mike Shearman is recovering from a concussion, while
both Brian Anderson (Lansing, Mich./Wavery) and David
Silverman (Potomac/Churchill) are working through ankle
injuries.
Starting off at Home
Unlike the last four seasons in which Michigan has begun playing the
majority of their games on the road, the 2005 campaign opened with two
home games, a win vs. Missouri 18-1, and 9-8 loss to St. Vincent. In
2001 and 2002 U-M played three of their first four on the road, while
the 2003 Wolverines played their first six contests on the road. Last
season, Michigan opened up with three contests away from home, finishing
2-1 with wins over Central Florida, and Florida, and a loss vs. BYU.
Career Highs in 2005
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Brian
Vincent recorded a career-high six groundballs in the contest and a
career-high eight shots vs. Missouri (Feb. 18).
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Senior
long-stick midfielder David Silverman (Potomac,
Md./Churchill), the team’s leading groundball man last year
showed his offensive prowess vs. Missouri (Feb. 18), registering a
career high two goal effort. His two goals were only the second and
third of his career.
Show Me Game vs. Show
Me State
In the February 18 contest vs. Missouri, a total of seven Wolverines
notched their first career points for the Wolverines. Missouri native,
Mike O’Leary recorded 2-1-3 totals in the contest, one point shy of his
career high. Paul Kang (St. Louis, MO./Parkway Central),
another player from Missouri scored his first career goal. The
+17 margin of victory was the largest for the Wolverines since last
year’s season opener vs. Central Florida in which Michigan won 24-0, and
other than that game, the last time the Wolverines held someone to only
one goal in a game was in 2003 vs. Illinois on March 28 when U-M won
11-1.
Facing the Challenge
Through two games, senior face-off specialist Trevor Broad
(Grosse Pointe, Mich./Univ. Leggitt) has won .878% of his faceoffs
with a 29-4 record. After the Wolverine’s three-game opening road trip
last season season, Broad held a record of 16-21 for a .432 win
percentage.
Pre-Season Q&A with
Head Coach John Paul
With the strength of the team on defense, and considering some of
the losses up front to the offense, where are you looking for the bulk
of the scoring to come from?
It will be pretty spread this year. I'd be surprised if we have one or
two guys who emerge as our clearest threats. We're fairly deep
offensively, but we don't have any real superstars, which is kind of
similar to last year.
The Wolverines will face another difficult regular season
schedule, taking on a number of top-25 opponents throughout the year.
How do you think a difficult schedule like this prepares the team for
the USL-MDIA Championships?
Of course, it helps. We aren't playing UCSB or CSU this year, which is
disappointing, but we have some other outstanding teams on the schedule,
about half at home and half on the road. We have to become a better
road team, and this spring trip and our Texas trip later in the year
will go a long way toward showing if we can do that.
With an interesting combination of 12 seniors and 17 freshman,
which “unexpected" player from each class do you think might step up and
surprise everyone?
It's a unique mix for us. I think anyone who steps up for us on the
offensive end, other than maybe Ryan Clark, will be a surprise to anyone
not familiar with our program. We've graduated the "name" guys. We
have some guys I fully expect to step up, but I'd like to hold off on
naming names until they emerge on their own.
Having two full seasons under his belt, what can we expect from
Dan Webber in his last shot at a championship?
Dan has consistently improved every year. His confidence is very high
right now. He started to get some recognition at the end of last
season, so I don't think he'll surprise anyone. We expect him to make a
real difference for us this year. If he plays with consistent focus,
he's going to be hard to score on. One of the key areas he's really
improved is his clearing. He's deceptively fast, and he's worked hard
on his outlet and
passing skills. He's also worked hard on his strength. Dan is going to
be a real key for us this year.
Which team(s) do you think might be able to take the next step this year
and become a legitimate national power?
I think Arizona is poised to take that step. Our game there on March 2
is pretty big. We beat them here by one last year in a come from behind
win, and they beat us down there by one three years ago. They are well
coached and talented. Colorado, who we play here March 25, is also
right there. There are other teams like Oregon, Florida, Georgia Tech
and Florida State that are getting close, but getting there and staying
there for awhile are two different things - and all of those teams have
yet to prove themselves over a long haul. I also think Oakland has a
real shot a making some noise nationally this year. If they're going to
do it, this is their best chance. Our game with them on April 13 is
probably going to be the most anticipated CCLA contest ever. A lot of
people question our ability to go farther than we have, so I guess you
can lump us in there as well. I like our chances, but it's early to say
how we match up.
Michigan in the Polls
The Wolverines, who were ranked second behind Oakland in the pre-season
CCLA poll (six votes to five), were ranked #6 in the USL-MDIA pre-season
poll, ahead of #10 Oakland. In the first poll of the regular season,
Michigan jumped one spot to #5. The next poll will be released on
Monday, March 7 on
www.uslia.com. Polls are released every two weeks throughout the
season.
Current USL MDIA Top 25 (Poll #1)
1. Univ. of California, Santa Barbara (25 1st place votes) - 745 pts.
2. Colorado State (5 1st place votes) – 725 pts.
3. Brigham Young - 681 pts.
4. Sonoma State - 663 pts.
5. Michigan - 627 pts.
6. Arizona - 600 pts.
7. Florida State University - 547 pts.
8. Oregon - 535 pts.
9. Colorado - 528 pts.
10. Oakland University - 479 pts.
11. Boston College - 416 pts.
12. Minnesota-Duluth - 381 pts.
13. Cal Poly SLO - 353 pts.
14. Simon Fraser University - 319 pts.
15. Georgia Tech - 288 pts.
16. Virginia Tech - 268 pts.
17. Miami University - 246 pts.
18. Univ. of California, San Diego - 203 pts.
19. Texas A&M - 200 pts.
20. Utah - 170 pts.
21. Florida - 143 pts.
22. Chico State - 122 pts.
23. Texas Tech - 121 pts.
24. Texas - 115 pts.
25. Chapman University - 60 pts.
Contact: Joe Hennessy (734) 276-8493 – jjhennes@umich.edu
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