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April 20, 2005
Michigan Men’s Lacrosse
2005
Weekly Release #8
Upcoming Schedule
● Saturday, April 23, 7:30pm EST
– vs. #23 Michigan State – East Grand Rapids, Mich. (East Grand Rapids
High School – Memorial Field)
● Friday, April 29 – Sunday, May
1 – CCLA Playoffs – East Grand Rapids, Mich. (East Grand Rapids High
School – Memorial Field)
This Week – Season
Finale
The #5 University of Michigan men’s lacrosse team will be traveling to
East Grand Rapids this Saturday, April 23 to take on the #23 ranked
Michigan State Spartans in a neutral-site game at East Grand Rapids High
School at 7:30pm EST. The Wolverines will be looking to finish their
CCLA season with a 6-0 schedule and a #1 seed heading into the CCLA
playoffs.
The Wolverines will then return to East Grand Rapids to compete in the
CCLA Playoffs the following week. Michigan will be looking to bounce
back after last year’s CCLA double-overtime semi-final loss Oakland.
Last Week
The Wolverines grabbed two CCLA victories last week, defeating #8
Oakland, 11-1 on Wednesday, April 13, and winning an 18-4 contest vs.
Central Michigan on Friday, April 15.
In the first contest of the week, the Wolverines jumped out to a 4-0
lead vs. Oakland and never looked back. Michigan opened the scoring as
senior captain Ryan Clark (Summit, N.J./Summit) was able
to get open on the doorstep and banged home the first goal of the game,
giving the Wolverines the early 1-0 lead.
After multiple possessions for both squads throughout the first,
Michigan was able to net three goals within three minutes, starting at
the 3:34 mark from freshman attackman Evan Fox (Suffern,
N.Y./Suffern), followed by a goal from Clark for his second goal of
the game to give the Maize and Blue a 3-0 lead. Sophomore Matt
Hudson (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) finished the scoring
in the first on a blast from the top of the zone after a penalty call.
Freshman Bobby Morales (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice)
gave Michigan the 5-0 lead early in the second period, before Oakland
finally broke through, late in the second at 2:00 even, on a goal from
junior Nate Reynolds. The Wolverines quickly answered back right before
the end of the half, with 17 seconds remaining, as Jim Constantine
(Troy, Mich./Seaholm) found an open Fox sitting on the left
post. Michigan scored two more times in the third on goals from Morales
and fellow freshman Peter Krauss (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest
Hills Central).
All season long, the Wolverines have clamped down when they had to in
the fourth, and Wednesday’s game was no different. The senior foursome
of Mike Roth (South Orange, N.J./Montclair Kimberly),
David Silverman (Potomac, Mich./Churchill), Kirk Kozel
(Barrington, Ill./Taft Ct.) and Brian Anderson
(Lansing, Mich./Waverly) once again did their job throughout the
entire second half on defense and especially in the fourth. The
Wolverines didn’t sit back though, and U-M continued to pour it on,
scoring the first goal in the fourth period on Krauss’ second tally with
Hudson adding his second to close the deal – making the final score 11-1
in favor of the Maize and Blue.
Dan Webber finished with eight saves in the contest, making the key
stops when called upon, and shutting the Grizzlies down during the
man-up run in the second, and during their solid play coming out of the
half.
Statistically, the Wolverines won every major category, firing 34 shots
to only 21, scooping up 42 groundballs to 28, and finishing 11 for 15 on
faceoffs. The Wolverines cleared the ball at a rate of 18-26, lower
than their average, with Oakland successfully clearing the ball 14 of 21
times. The Maize and Blue was very successful in the man-up department,
netting three goals on four chances, while holding Oakland off the board
on their eight man-up opportunities, including three kills in a row
during a key stretch of second quarter.
In their home-finale and Senior Night, Michigan's 12 seniors, playing in
their final home game at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse, played a big role, with
six of them scoring goals. As usual this season, the Wolverine defense
shut down the Chippewas, allowing only ten shots and holding an opponent
under 5 goals for the 10th time.
The Wolverines opened the scoring just under a minute into the game on a
turn-around shot by senior captain Ryan Clark. Senior Mike
O’Leary’s (St. Louis, MO./Clayton) 15th goal of
the season gave Michigan the 2-0 lead just over two minutes into the
game.
Senior attackman Paul Mans (Palo Alto, Calif./Gunn)
extended the Maize and Blue lead to 3-0 at the 6:01 mark before CMU
notched their first goal on the ensuing possession. Not a minute later,
U-M rebuilt the three-goal lead on a tally from senior captain
Anthony Ragnone (Flint, Mich./Flint Powers). Freshman
attackman Evan Fox added his team-leading 39th goal to finish
the scoring in the first period.
Michigan scored first coming out in the second period, with freshman
Peter Krauss’s 23rd goal of the year. The goal was set up by a
beautiful cross-field pass from senior captain Kirk Kozel
(Barrington, Ill./Taft Ct.), his first career assist. With Michigan
cruising, senior goaltender Dan Webber was replaced by sophomore Ryan
Kaufman (Olney, Md./Magruder) on the fly mid-way through the
period.
Fox added his second goal of the game just over a minute later, on an
assist by junior Jim Constantine, his second of the contest. With the
back-to-back goals in the first half of the second period, Michigan led
7-1.
Mans added his second of the game at 1:48 before Central Michigan scored
the final goal of the first half to bring the score to 8-2 in favor of
U-M. Michigan didn’t slow up coming out of the half, notching the first
goal of the third period just over a minute in at 13:59 on Fox’s third
goal of the game.
Central notched the next goal of the game, drawing CMU within six at
9-3. It was the closest the Chippewas would get, as Michigan quickly
answered back just over a minute later on Ryan Clark’s second goal of
the game at 6:50. O’Leary added his second of the game at 3:08,
assisted on the play by Ragnone, before Clark added his third at 1:57,
and Kirk Kozel added his third of the year on a rush into the zone. The
teams entered the final frame with Michigan leading by a score of 13-3.
Freshman Graham Townsend (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville
East) began the fourth period between the pipes for the Wolverines
and freshman Tim Peters (Chappaqua, N.Y./Horace Greeley)
notched his first career goal at the 10:30 mark of the fourth. Fellow
freshman Mike Shearman (Madison, N.J./Seton Hall Prep)
added his fourth goal of the season midway through the period, while
freshman Lawrence Okwali (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook)
added his second career goal. Senior faceoff specialist Trevor Broad
(Grosse Pointe, Mich./University Liggett) finished the
scoring for the Wolverines dodging in from midfield after a turnover on
the ride and scoring his first goal of the season.
In net, Dan Webber finished with two saves, while backups Ryan Kaufman
stopped two shots, and Graham Townsend recorded a lone save.
Statistically, U-M dominated every category, finishing with 56 shots to
the Central Michigan’s 10 and scooping up 67 groundballs compared to
26. The Wolverines were 20-26 in faceoffs and cleared the ball at a
better rate than CMU, finishing 16-26 while Central Michigan posted
12-27 totals. In a relatively penalty-free game, the Wolverines scored
one goal on two man-up attempts, while stopping Central’s lone chance.
Scouting the Opponents
#23 Michigan State – One of the Wolverines most storied rivals,
the Michigan State Spartans enter this weekend’s contest with a record
of 10-1 and 4-1 in the CCLA. Michigan State is coming off a 15-7 loss
to #8 Oakland on April 19, 2005 in East Lansing. Last week, the
Spartans defeated #24 Miami (Ohio) by a score of 9-7 in Oxford, Ohio on
April 13.
The ’05 Spartans are led by sophomore attackman Brian Baines who has
posted 14-19-33 through 10 contests. First in goals and second in total
points is senior attackman Steve Timmreck with 20-12-32. Junior
midfielder Mark Ehrenberger rounds out the top three in scoring with
19-9-28. Senior long-stick midfielder Alex Gannes paces the squad with
71 groundballs, while Brian Baines is second with 57. Sophomore
defender Chris Zolkower is in third with 56. On defense, MSU is led by
seniors Jeff Alingham and Scott Ryda, junior Scott McNabb and freshman
Bryan Findling. Between the pipes, senior Jon Dean has allowed 32
goals, and has recorded 53 saves for a .624 save percentage.
Head Coach George Counes enters his second season as head coach of the
Spartans. Counes spent his freshman year at MSU before the varsity
program was cancelled, and Counes chose to transfer to Rutgers where he
was a goaltender. Counes then returned to Michigan State as an
assistant coach for a year, before becoming the program’s head coach
last season.
http://www.msu.lax.net/index.php
Injury Update
The Wolverines were dealt a serious blow to
the midfield corps 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 is doubtful for Saturday's game.
Sophomore Matt Hudson is recovering from
pneumonia and is probable for the weekend.
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 ‘05
· With
1-1-2 vs. Central Michigan (April 15), senior captain Kirk Kozel
recorded his first career multi-point game and his first career assist
in his final home game. Kozel has notched 3-1-4 this season, all career
highs after totaling a lone goal and no assists in his first three
seasons.
· With
nine groundballs vs. Central Michigan (April 15), David Silverman broke
the single-season personal record he set last season at 103. Silverman
currently has 112.
· Silverman
tied a career high with 11 gb’s vs. Oakland (April 13).
· Jim
Constantine recorded a career high three assists vs. Oakland (April
13). His previous high was two, set earlier this year vs. Florida
(March 27). Constantine has blown away his previous season-high in
points of 12, with 11-9-20 so far in ’05.
· 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 306-387 clear totals for a conversion rate of .791.
After 14 games last season the Wolverines totaled 217-320 (.678). With
a successful effort vs. Oakland and Central Michigan, Michigan’s rate of
defending clears totals 234-396 (.591) in ’05.
Team Leaders
Through 15 games freshman Evan Fox leads the team in goals, is
second in assists and leads the team in points with 41-22-63 totals.
Fox also leads the team with 93 shots and 12 man-up goals. Leading the
team in assists, second in total points, and third in goals is Ryan
Clark who has posted 20-23-45 totals. Second in goals is Peter Krauss
who has notched 23-14-37 in ’05. 2004’s leading groundball man David
Silverman once again paces the squad with 112 groundballs. Senior
faceoff specialist Trevor Broad (Grosse Pointe,
Mich./University Liggett) is currently second with 59 while senior
captain Kirk Kozel (Barrington, Ill.Taft Ct.) is third
with 56.
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 20-23-43. In his last four games,
Clark has totaled 7-7-14.
Webber Posting Career
Highs
Through 15 games, senior goaltender Dan Webber is posting career numbers
with a 3.74 goals per game average and a .659 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 3.85 goals per
game.
Contributing Quickly
To say the freshman class is contributing would have to be considered an
understatement with three of the top five scorers playing their first
seasons with the Wolverines. Evan Fox leads the team with 41-22-63
totals, while Krauss is third in total points with 37 and Bobby Morales
is currently fifth on the team with 14-8-22 totals.
O’Leary Closes in on
Season Highs
After finishing 2004 with a five-game run that included 9-3-12 totals,
senior Mike O’Leary has built off it, pursuing career highs during his
final campaign. O’Leary is currently fourth on the squad with 16 goals
and is only two points away from breaking his season-high of 20, set
last year. O’Leary tied his career high in goals with a three goal
effort vs. Arizona State (Feb. 28) and also tied his career high in
assists with two vs. Arizona (March 2).
Silverman Doing it All
Quietly, senior long-stick midfielder David Silverman has become one of
the dominant long-pole players in the USLIA, and with a nine groundball
effort vs. Central Michigan, Silverman surpassed his season-high of 103
set last season. With 112 gb’s currently, Silverman has also shown his
offense prowess this season, posting 5-2-7, two more points than he
scored in the previous three years combined.
Senior Scoopers
Two Wolverines recently broke career highs in groundballs, with senior
face-off specialist Trevor Broad breaking his old mark of 55 set
in 2003 with 59 so far in ’05. Senior captain Kirk Kozel, currently
third on the team with 56, destroyed his old record of 43 set last
year. As a team, Michigan has dominated in the category this season,
scooping up a total of 680 groundballs compared to their opponents 408.
Stringing Them Together
With the win vs. Central Michigan on April 15, the Wolverines have won
10 straight games. The last time Michigan accomplish such a feat was in
2003, when they won 10 in a row between March 2 and April 11. The
overall record stands at 15, set between March 8, 2002 and April 9,
2002. With one remaining regular-season game, the CCLA Playoffs, and
the USLIA National Championships still to come, the Maize and Blue have
a shot of breaking their old mark in ’05.
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 fifth
poll of the regular season, Michigan gained a spot with two victories
last week, moving to #4. The final regular season poll will be released
on Monday, May 2 on
www.uslia.com. Polls are released every two weeks throughout the
season.
Current USL MDIA Top 25 Poll Presented by Shamrock Lacrosse (Poll #5)
1. Colorado State (29 1st place votes) –
749 pts
2. Sonoma State (1 1st place vote) – 720 pts
3. Brigham Young University – 679 pts
4. Michigan – 659 pts
5. Univ. of California, Santa Barbara – 642 pts
6. Colorado – 593 pts
7. Oregon – 522 pts
8. Univ. of California, San Diego – 496 pts
9. Florida State – 480 pts
10. Arizona – 455 pts
11. Virginia Tech – 430 pts
12. Oakland University – 409 pts
13. Utah – 403 pts
14. Boston College – 392 pts
15. Lindenwood University – 332 pts
16. Georgia Tech – 305 pts
17. Chico State – 292 pts
18. New Hampshire – 195 pts
19. Cal Poly SLO – 186 pts
20. Chapman University – 180 pts
21. Minnesota-Duluth – 171 pts
22. Pittsburgh – 119 pts
23. Michigan State – 107 pts
24. Washington – 71 pts
25. Minnesota – 52 pts
Contact: Joe Hennessy (734) 276-8493 – jjhennes@umich.edu
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