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April 29, 2005
Michigan Men’s Lacrosse
2005
Weekly Release #9
Upcoming Schedule
● Saturday, April 30 - CCLA
Tournament – vs. #23 Michigan State – 5:00 pm – East Grand Rapids, Mich.
(East Grand Rapids High School – Memorial Field)
● Sunday, May 1 - CCLA Tournament
Championship Game – Noon – East Grand Rapids, Mich. (East Grand Rapids
High School – Memorial Field)
● Tuesday, May 10 – Saturday, May
14 – USLIA National Championship Tournament (Blaine, Minnesota)
This Week – The Stretch
Begins
The #4 University of Michigan men’s lacrosse team enters the final
stretch of the 2005 season with the upcoming CCLA Tournament, between
April 29 and May 1, in East Grand Rapids, Michigan at East Grand Rapids
High School. Grabbing the #1 seed with a perfect 6-0 conference record,
the Wolverines will be looking to avenge a 12-11 double overtime loss to
Oakland in the semifinals last season. The loss was the Wolverines’
first conference loss in 56 games. With wins on Friday, Michigan State
and Oakland moved on to the semi-final round. The Wolverines will take
on MSU, while Pittsburgh will take on Oakland in the other semi-final.
With either an automatic or at-large bid, the Maize and Blue will head
to Blaine, Minnesota for the USLIA National Championship Tournament in
two weeks. Last season, Michigan reached the quarter-final round before
falling to Colorado State. By winning the CCLA Tournament this weekend,
Michigan could enter the National Championship Tournament with one of
their highest seeds ever.
Last Week
The Wolverines closed out their regular season last week in East Grand
Rapids, with 10-3 victory over #23 Michigan State. Played under a
constant snow, the game started off extremely sluggish before both teams
managed to compensate.
It took almost 11 minutes for someone to open the scoring, with the
Wolverines tallying the first goal in the game. Senior captain Ryan
Clark (Summit, N.J./Summit) finished on a pass from sophomore
Matt Hudson (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) across the
front of the cage. Although the Wolverines dominated possession,
Clark’s tally would be the only goal of the period as both teams
struggled to find a rhythm in the wintry conditions.
Between quarters, Michigan freshman Peter Krauss (Grand
Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) was called for an illegal stick
penalty, resulting in a non-releasable, three-minute man-up advantage
for MSU. Michigan State took advantage, scoring just 13 seconds into
the period, knotting the game at 1-1 and seemingly giving the Spartans
the momentum to take control of the game with almost the entire 3 minute
penalty still remaining. It was the Wolverines who took advantage,
however, as the Maize and Blue scored seven seconds later, after senior
Trevor Broad (Grosse Pointe, Mich./University Liggett) won
the ensuing faceoff and immediately fed Matt Hudson for the man-down
goal.
Michigan extended the lead under two minutes later, on a tally from
freshman Evan Fox (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern), the Wolverines
second man-down goal of the illegal-stick penalty. Hudson tallied his
second goal of the game at the 9:39 mark, on an assist from Clark to
give the Wolverines a 4-1 lead. Neither team was able to find the back
of the net for the remainder of the first half, as Michigan entered the
locker-room leading 4-1.
Michigan opened the scoring in the second half, on Fox’s second goal of
the game, assisted once again by Ryan Clark. The Wolverines earned the
initial possession, and worked the ball up-field before Clark fed Fox
from behind the net to give Michigan the four-goal lead at 5-1.
The Spartans closed the gap to 5-2 at the 10:25 mark on a goal down
low. After six scoreless minutes, senior captain Paul Passino
(Houston, Texas/Episcopal) gave Michigan the four-goal lead again
at 6-2 at the 5:52 mark of the third. Passino cut in from the top of
the zone on a slow break and received a pass from Krauss before
finishing on a high blast for his first goal of the season. Senior
captain Kirk Kozel (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) added to
the Wolverines lead with his fourth goal of the season and the fifth of
his career. Clark added his fourth assist of the game on the play, and
it was the final goal of the period, putting U-M up 7-2 heading into the
final frame.
MSU notched the first goal of the fourth quarter, four minutes in to
once again close the gap to four. Just as they had done all game
however, Michigan answered back on freshman Bobby Morales’
(Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) first tally of the game.
Clark added the helper for his fifth assist of the game. Evan Fox and
senior attackman Paul Mans (Palo Alto, Calif./Gunn)
finished the scoring for the Wolverines with the final score 10-3 in
favor of the Maize and Blue.
Michigan won the majority of the statistical categories, registering
more than twice as many shots as Spartans did, 38-18, and earning more
groundballs, 40-35, when they could find them in the snow. The
Wolverines won 12 of 16 faceoffs and cleared the ball at a better rate
at 21-25 to 18-24. Both teams finished 1-4 on man-up attempts.
Michigan did register two man-down goals in the contest. Senior
goaltender Dan Webber (Weston, Mass./Weston) recorded four
saves in the contest in a full 60 minutes of play.
Scouting the Opponents
#23 Michigan State – The Spartans of Michigan State bring a #23
national ranking and a #4 seed into the CCLA Playoffs, after posting a
10-2 overall record and a 4-2 conference record. MSU opened their
season with 10 straight victories before dropping their final two games
of the regular season against Oakland, 15-8 and vs. Michigan, 10-3.
Michigan and Oakland represent the only two CCLA Playoff teams MSU has
faced in ’05.
The ’05 Spartans are led by sophomore attackman Brian Baines who has
posted 19-25-44 through 10 contests. First in goals and second in total
points is senior attackman Steve Timmreck with 21-13-34. Junior
midfielder Mark Ehrenberger rounds out the top three in scoring with
20-11-31. A mix of youth and experience is found in the midfield with
senior long-stick midfielder Alex Gannes paces the squad with 98
groundballs, while Brian Baines is second with 80. Sophomore defender
Chris Zolkower is in third with 75. 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 62 goals, and
has recorded 97 saves for a .610 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 he 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
#12 Oakland University - The #12 Oakland University Golden
Grizzlies enter the weekend with a 13-2 overall record, a 5-1 conference
record and a #3 seed. Oakland has played every team that will be
playing in this weekend’s tournament, winning 16-4 over Buffalo, 9-8 vs.
Pittsburgh, a 19-6 win over Oakland, and 15-8 vs. Michigan State. Their
only conference loss was vs. Michigan, 11-1. The Grizzlies grabbed
three straight CCLA victories after the loss to U-M to close out their
regular season.
The ’05 Grizzlies are led by two-time All-American, senior Billy Binge
up front. Binge has registered a team-lead in points with 43-32-75.
Junior Joseph Opron III is tied for the team-lead with 43 goals
(43-11-54), while junior Jayme Brams is currently third in points with
31-19-50. Senior captain Matt Kosek and junior captain Nick Stenson are
the team-leaders in the midfielder. On defense, senior captain Nick
Panza leads the back line, supported by junior Paul Mikaila. Junior
goaltender Chris Wood protects the pipes for Oakland.
Guiding the Grizzlies, in his fifth year, is head coach Dwayne Hicks.
www.oaklandlacrosse.com
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 will be re-evaluated throughout the week.
Sophomore Brad Farriell
(Cockeysville, Md./Dulaney) is suffering from ankle injuries before
the Tournament.
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 his fourth goal of the
season and the fifth of his career vs. MSU (April 23), senior captain
Kirk Kozel has recorded goals in back-to-back games for the first time
in his career. Kozel posted 1-1-2 vs. Central Michigan on April 15.
· 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 327-412 clear totals for a conversion rate of .794.
After 14 games last season the Wolverines totaled 217-320 (.678). With
a successful effort vs. Michigan State and a little help from the
weather, Michigan’s rate of defending clears totals 252-420 (.600) 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 42-22-66 totals.
Fox also leads the team with 97 shots and 13 man-up goals. Leading the
team in assists, second in total points, and third in goals is Ryan
Clark who has posted 21-28-49 totals. Second in goals is Peter Krauss
who has notched 23-15-38 in ’05. 2004’s leading groundball man David
Silverman once again paces the squad with 118 groundballs. Senior
faceoff specialist Trevor Broad (Grosse Pointe,
Mich./University Liggett) is currently second with 65 while senior
captain Kirk Kozel (Barrington, Ill.Taft Ct.) is third
with 60.
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 five games,
Clark has totaled 8-12-20.
Webber Posting Career
Highs
Through 15 games, senior goaltender Dan Webber is posting career numbers
with a 3.68 goals per game average and a .655 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 3.80 goals per
game.
Contributing Quickly
To say the freshman class is contributing would have to be considered an
understatement with three of the top four scorers playing their first
seasons with the Wolverines. Evan Fox leads the team with 44-22-66
totals, while Krauss is third in total points with 38 and Bobby Morales
is currently tied for fourth on the team with 15-8-23 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 118 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 65 so far in ’05. Senior captain Kirk Kozel, currently
third on the team with 60, 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 720 groundballs compared to their opponents 443.
Stringing Them Together
With the win vs. Michigan State on April 23, the Wolverines have won 11
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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