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April 12, 2005
Michigan Men’s Lacrosse
2005
Weekly Release #7
Upcoming Schedule
● Wednesday, April 13, 7:00pm EST
– at #8 Oakland – Rochester, Mich. (Notre Dame Prep HS)
● Friday, April 15, 7:00pm EST -
vs. Central Michigan – Ann Arbor, Mich. (Oosterbaan Fieldhouse)
This Week – Midweek
Classic
The #5 University of Michigan men’s lacrosse team will be taking on #8
Oakland University in one of the most anticipated games in CCLA history
this Wednesday, April 13 in Rochester, Michigan at Notre Dame
Preparatory High School at 7:00 pm.
The Wolverines will return home on Friday, April 15 to continue their
CCLA stretch and play their last home game of the season. U-M will take
on Central Michigan at 7:00 pm at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse in Ann Arbor.
Next week the Wolverines will take on rival Michigan State in Grand
Rapids, at East Grand Rapids High School on Saturday, April 23 at 7:30
pm.
Last Week
The Wolverines grabbed two CCLA victories last week over Indiana on
Friday, April 8 and vs. #24 Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, April 9. In the
first contest, Michigan defeated the Indiana Hoosiers by a score of
15-6.
Michigan opened the scoring at the 8:55 mark of the first on a goal from
freshman Peter Krauss (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills
Central) who received a clearing pass from senior defenseman
Brian Anderson (Lansing, Mich./Waverly). Leading 1-0,
Michigan struck again just under a minute later on a goal from freshman
attackman Evan Fox (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern), and once more
at 7:01 on Krauss' second tally to give Michigan the 3-0 lead mid-way
through the first period.
The Wolverines scored first in the second period on a goal from senior
captain Anthony Ragnone (Flint, Mich./Flint Powers), the
fifth of the season for Ragnone giving Michigan the 5-2 lead. Krauss
added his third three minutes later at 11:15, before Indiana scored
their lone goal of the second period at the 6:03 mark. The Wolverines
then rattled off three more goals in the final five minutes of the
period on two more goals from Fox and one from senior Mike O'Leary
(St. Louis, MO./Clayton), with the Wolverines entering the
locker-room leading 9-3.
The Hoosiers scored first in the second half before Michigan answered
back under two minutes later on a shot from freshman Bobby Morales
(Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice). Sophomore Matt
Hudson (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) notched his first
goal of the game at the 3:48 mark on a set up from Evan Fox.
Senior Paul Mans (Palo Alto, Calif./Gunn High) notched the
first goal of the fourth quarter, just over five minutes in at 9:52,
before Matt Hudson notched his second goal of the game under a minute
later at 9:04. Freshman Doug Bell (Troy, Mich./Troy)
assisted on the play. Mans added another under a minute later at 8:22
to give Michigan the 14-5 lead midway through the final quarter. Both
teams would add an additional goal, with the final score 15-6.
Senior goaltender Dan Webber (Weston, Mass./Weston)
finished with seven saves and four goals allowed during his three
quarters of play, while sophomore Ryan Kaufman (Olney,
Md./Magruder) stopped two shots and allowed two goals in his quarter
of relief.
Statistically, U-M won every category, finishing with 41 shots to the
Hoosiers’ 18 and scooping up 55 groundballs compared to 31. The
Wolverines were 16-24 in faceoffs and cleared the ball at a better rate
than IU, finishing 17-22 while Indiana posted 13-24 totals. The Maize
and Blue notched four man-up goals on six attempts while holding Indiana
scoreless in three tries.
In their second game of the weekend, the Wolverines took on #24 Miami
(Ohio), shutting out their opponent by a score of 16-0, the Maize and
Blue’s first blanking off the season. The Wolverines scored first on a
goal from freshman Peter Krauss after a long possession to give
the Wolverines the early 1-0 lead.
Michigan broke out in the second just as they had the previous night,
scoring seven goals in the period. U-M extended their lead to 2-0 on a
goal from senior captain Anthony Ragnone on a blast from the top of
box. Ragnone fired a low shot that beat Miami Schirmang five-hole.
Freshman Bobby Morales extended the lead to 3-0 on a set-up from senior
captain Ryan Clark (Summitt, N.J./Summit). Just moments
later, Krauss notched his second goal of the game giving the Wolverines
a 4-0 lead midway through the second period.
Michigan notched back-to-back goals within 30 seconds of the 6:00 mark
to extend their lead to 6-0. Ragnone tallied the fifth, his second of
the game, tying a career high, while senior long-stick midfielder
David Silverman (Potomac, Md./Churchill) notched the sixth
goal of the game. Silverman then notched his second goal of the game
four minutes later at 1:39 with Krauss finishing the scoring in the
first half with his third goal of the game giving Michigan the 8-0 lead
entering halftime.
The Wolverines struck first coming out of the half on back-to-back goals
from freshman attackman Evan Fox, the second of which was assisted by
Ragnone.
Michigan didn’t slow down, continuing the onslaught with goals from
junior Jim Constantine (Troy, Mich./Seaholm) and Ryan
Clark. Clark’s goal was assisted by David Silverman, giving him a
career-high three points on the night. Mid-way through the third period
the Maize and Blue had emptied the bench and led 12-0. Sophomore Matt
Hudson added his first goal of the game to close out the period with
Michigan leading 13-0.
In the fourth the Wolverines continued to play everyone as freshman
Brekan Kohlitz (St. Clair Shores, Mich./N.D. Harper Woods)
and sophomore Thomas Groenke (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier)
each notched their first career goals. Hudson finished the scoring for
the Wolverines making the final score, U-M 16, MU 0.
In the contest, all three Wolverine goaltenders played, with senior
goaltender Dan Webber playing just over a half and recording a save on
the only shot on goal he faced. Sophomore Ryan Kaufman played over 10
minutes in the third and posted five stops, while freshman Graham
Townsend (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) played the
fourth quarter and also recorded five saves.
Statistically, the Wolverines completely dominated every category
registering 56 shots to the Redhawks 14, and scooping up 53 groundballs
compared to Miami’s 24. U-M won 13 of 20 faceoffs, and cleared the ball
at a rate of 25-30, with MU posting 21-28 totals. Miami finished 0-1 on
the man-up, while Michigan scored twice on three attempts.
Scouting the Opponents
#8 Oakland – CCLA rival, #8 Oakland enters the contest vs. the
Wolverines with a 10-1 record and are currently 3-0 in conference play.
The Grizzlies have defeated common opponents Indiana (9-3), Texas
(12-10), Texas A&M (11-4), and most recently Eastern Michigan by a score
of 18-13, the most goals allowed by the Grizzlies this year. Last year,
the Wolverines split two games with Oakland defeating by a score of 16-7
in Ann Arbor at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse on March 20. In the CCLA
semi-final game, Michigan dropped a 12-11 double-overtime contest to OU,
snapping their 56-game CCLA winning streak.
The ’05 Grizzlies are led by two-time All-American, senior Billy Binge
up front. Binge has registered a team-lead in points with 26-27-53.
Junior Joseph Opron III leads the team with 35 goals (35-10-45), while
junior Jayme Brams is currently third in points with 27-17-44. Senior
captain Matt Kosek and junior captain Nick Stenson are the team-leaders
in the midfielders. On defense, senior captain Nick Panza leads the
back line. Junior goaltender Chris Wood protects the pipes for
Oakland.
Guiding the Grizzlies, in his fifth year, is head coach Dwayne Hicks.
http://www.oaklandlacrosse.com/
Central Michigan – Another member of the CCLA, the Central
Michigan Chippewas enter the weekend with a 6-7 overall record, but are
a game above .500 in the CCLA at 3-2. CMU lost to fellow opponent,
Florida, by a score of 15-8 earlier this year, but are coming of a 17-5
victory over West Virginia on April 10.
In 2005, Central Michigan is led by junior captain Pat Copus who has
notched 25-48-73 through 13 games. Senior captain John Bartoy is
currently second place in points and first in goals with 38-17-55.
Senior captain Joe Vandermeulen
leads a young group of midfielders, while senior captain Jared
Venia will do his role to command an equally young group of defenders.
The Chippewas also have two young goaltenders in sophomore Patrick
Calzone and freshman Jake Wolny.
The Chippewas are coached by Luke Griemsman.
http://eteamz.active.com/cmulax/index.cfm
Injury Update
The Wolverines were dealt a serious blow to
the midfield corps after just two games as senior Brian Vincent
(Farmington Hills, Mich./Univ. of Detroit Jesuit) will be
side-lined for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Vincent tallied
3-0-3 before falling to injury.
Senior midfielder Brian Ray
(Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Seaholm) will miss the remainder of the
season due to personal reasons.
Freshman Tom Lehman (Beverly Hills,
Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) is suffering from shin splints
and will be re-evaluated throughout the week.
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.
Highs in 2005
· Senior
captain Anthony Ragnone II recorded a career-high three points and a
career high two goals (2-1-3) vs. Miami. Ragnone previous point-high
was 1-1-2 at Pittsburgh on March 27, 2005. With the three-point effort,
Ragnone also topped his season-high in goals, assists, and points with
7-5-12 totals. Last season, Ragnone finished with a then-best, 6-3-9.
· David
Silverman set a career high in points in a game with his 2-1-3 effort.
It is the second time this year Silverman has scored two goals in a game
after only posting one goal in the previous three seasons. Silverman
has recorded more points this season (5-2-7) then he scored in his
previous three seasons combined (1-4-5).
· Sophomore
defenseman Brad Ferriell scored his first career goal vs. Texas A&M on
April 2.
·
Sophomore attackman Matt Hudson
tied a career-high with four goals vs. Texas (April 1).
Hudson previously recorded four goals
at Miami (Ohio) on April 11, 2004.
·
Freshman Evan Fox recorded a
career-high seven goals and eight points (7-1-8) vs. Florida on
March 27.
·
Senior Ryan Clark finished with a
season-high five assists and six points vs. Florida (1-5-6) on March 27.
·
Junior Jim Constantine finished
with a career-high in goals and points with a 4-2-6 effort vs.
Florida on March 27.
·
Brian Vincent recorded a
career-high six groundballs in the contest and a career-high eight shots
vs. Missouri (Feb. 18).
·
Silverman finished with a
season-high 11 ground balls vs. Colorado (March 25).
·
The five shots allowed vs.
Eastern Michigan marks the lowest game total so far in the ’05 season.
Michigan’s previous low was vs. Missouri which was eight.
·
Senior faceoff specialist
Trevor Broad (Grosse Pointe, Mich./University Liggett)
finished 10 for 10 in the circle vs. Eastern Michigan (March 18).
·
Michigan set a season-high with
61 groundballs vs. Eastern Michigan tied a season-high with 29 shots on
goal.
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.
Successful Transition
Michigan has been succeeding so far in ’05 gaining possession and moving
it up field posting 272-335 clear totals for a conversion rate of .812.
After eight games last season the Wolverines totaled 202-300 (.673).
With a successful effort last week at home, Michigan’s rate of defending
clears totals 208-348 (.598) in ’05.
Team Leaders
Through 13 games freshman Evan Fox leads the team in goals, is
tied for first in assists leads the team in points with 35-19-54
totals. Fox also leads the team with 79 shots and 12 man-up goals.
Tied for first on the team in assists, second in total points, and third
in goals is Ryan Clark who has posted 15-19-34 totals. Second in goals
is Peter Krauss who has notched 20-12-32 in ’05. 2004’s leading
groundball man David Silverman once again paces the squad with 92
groundballs. Senior faceoff specialist Trevor Broad (Grosse
Pointe, Mich./University Liggett) is currently second with 50 while
senior captain Kirk Kozel (Barrington, Ill.Taft Ct.) is
third with 48. Silverman and Broad are poised to break their career
highs set last year, while Kozel has bested last year’s total of 43.
Clark
Bouncing Back
After another scare to his knees early on in the season, senior captain
Ryan Clark has worked his way back into the line-up and currently is in
second place in total points with 15-19-34. In his last four games,
Clark has totaled 5-6-11.
Webber Posting Career
Highs
Through 13 games, senior goaltender Dan Webber is posting career numbers
with a 4.06 goals per game average and a .642 save percentage. Last
year, Webber finished with a 6.16 goals per game average and a .627 save
percentage. As a team, the Wolverines are allowing 4.06 goals per
game.
Contributing Quickly
To say the freshman class is contributing would have to be considered an
understatement with four of the top six scorers playing their first
seasons with the Wolverines. Evan Fox leads the team with 35-19-54
totals, while Krauss is third in total points with 32 and Bobby
Morales (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) is currently
fourth on the team with 12-7-19 totals.
O’Leary Building Off
Late ’04 Run
After finishing the 2004 season with a five-game run that included
9-3-12 totals, senior Mike O’Leary (St. Louis, MO./Clayton)
has started the 2005 campaign right where he left off. Through 13
games O’Leary is fourth on the team with 14 goals and had recorded a
nine-game scoring streak before coming up scoreless at Texas on April
1. With 14-3-17, O’Leary is only three points away from his season
high in points which is 20, tallied last season. O’Leary also tied his
career high in goals with a three-goal effort vs. Arizona State and also
tied his career high in assists with two vs. Arizona.
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 Division A
Shamrock Lacrosse pre-season poll, ahead of #10 Oakland. In the fourth
poll of the regular season, Michigan held on to the #5 spot with two
wins over Texas and Texas A&M. The next poll will be released on
Wednesday, April 20 on
www.uslia.com. Polls are released every two weeks throughout the
season.
Current USL MDIA Top 25 Poll Presented by Shamrock Lacrosse (Poll #4)
1. Colorado State (30 1st place votes) -
750 pts
2. Sonoma State - 708 pts
3. Brigham Young University - 694 pts
4. UC - Santa Barbara - 650 pts
5. Michigan - 647 pts
6. Colorado - 569 pts
7. Arizona - 563 pts
8. Oakland University - 501 pts
9. Boston College - 484 pts
10. Oregon - 444 pts
11. Univ. of California, San Diego - 440 pts
12. Florida State - 437 pts
13. Virginia Tech - 388 pts
14. Utah - 354 pts
15. Lindenwood University - 316 pts
16. Georgia Tech - 314 pts
17. Chico State - 282 pts
18. Chapman University - 208 pts
19. Cal Poly SLO - 196 pts
20. Minnesota-Duluth - 163 pts
21. Washington - 124 pts
22. Pittsburgh - 114 pts
23. New Hampshire - 89 pts
24. Miami University - 79 pts
25. Minnesota – 46 pts
Contact: Joe Hennessy (734) 276-8493 – jjhennes@umich.edu
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