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May 7, 2005
Michigan Men’s Lacrosse
2005
Weekly Release #10
Upcoming Schedule
● Tuesday, May 10 – USL-MDIA
National Championship Tournament First Round – vs. #14 Northeastern –
4:00 pm CST – Blaine, Minnesota (National Sports Center)
This Week – The Final
Stretch Begins
The #3 seed University of Michigan men’s lacrosse team begins their run
at a National Championship on Tuesday, May 10 in an opening round
match-up vs. the #14 seed Northeastern Huskies. The Wolverines were
originally scheduled to take on #12 Lindenwood, but an academic
ineligibility violation against the Colorado State Rams bumped most of
the field up one spot, changing the brackets. As the next highest rated
team in the final polls, Utah will step into the 13th spot.
With a victory over Northeastern on Tuesday, the Wolverines will take on
the winner between #6 Oregon and #11 Arizona in the quarterfinals on
Wednesday at 1:30 pm CST. Michigan has played both squads in ’05,
defeating Arizona by a score of 12-1 on March 2, and winning an overtime
matchup, 8-7 vs. Oregon on March 26.
Last Week
The Wolverines won their sixth CCLA Championship in seven years last
weekend with a 9-7 victory over rival Oakland University in the Finals
on Sunday, May 1. After dropping a double-overtime 12-11 contest to
Oakland in the 2004 CCLA semi-finals for their first conference loss in
56 games, Michigan exacted their revenge on the Golden Grizzlies in ’05,
defeating them twice in the season including the Finals victory. U-M
opened a 3-1 first quarter lead, a 6-1 halftime lead and held on down
the stretch en-route to the 9-7 victory.
After multiple possessions for both teams to open the game, Michigan
struck first on a goal from senior captain Anthony Ragnone II
(Flint, Mich./Flint Powers). Oakland had an answer in two-time
All-American Billy Binge, who evened the game just over a minute later
on a near-side shot that skipped past senior goaltender Dan Webber
(Weston, Mass./Weston) and off the far-side post for a goal.
Michigan re-gained the lead at 6:09 after a lengthy possession. After
working the ball around the top of the box, senior captain Ryan Clark
(Summit, N.J./Summit) received the pass on the goal-line
extended and fired a pass across the crease to an open Matt Hudson
(Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) who faked high and then
beat Oakland goaltender Chris Wood on a low shot.
Grand Rapids native, Peter Krauss (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest
Hills Central) couldn’t be denied on the next Wolverine opportunity,
as the freshman dodged in on the left side after an Oakland turnover in
the midfield. Krauss spun off his defender and deked the goaltender
with a head-fake before finishing with a low shot to give Michigan the
3-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
It took only seven seconds for the Wolverines to score first in the
second period, with a faceoff win and the subsequent groundball by
senior Trevor Broad (Grosse Pointe, Mich./University Liggett)
and a quick pass to Peter Krauss who fired from the top of the zone.
Krauss’ high shot beat Wood over his right shoulder for the 4-1 lead.
After multiple possessions for both teams, Michigan was able to extend
the lead on a transition goal as senior captain Paul Passino
(Houston, Texas/Episcopal) received a long clearing pass from senior
defenseman Brian Anderson (Lansing, Mich./Waverly).
Passino found Ryan Clark open behind the net, as David Silverman snuck
in on the near side and received the pass from Clark and found himself
one-on-one with the goaltender. Silverman faked and used his long-stick
reach to drop the ball over the top of Chris Wood for the 5-1 lead.
Junior Jim Constantine (Troy, Mich./Seaholm) added another
goal right before the break for the Wolverines as U-M entered half-time
with the 6-1 lead.
Michigan continued to ride the momentum coming out of the half, scoring
first at 9:29 on a goal from Evan Fox. Dodging in from the near-side,
Fox fired a high shot over Wood’s right shoulder to extend the Wolverine
lead to 7-1. The goal was the first of the game for Michigan’s leading
scorer.
Oakland scored three minutes later to draw the game within five at 7-2
with 6:23 remaining. The goal was Oakland’s first since the opening
minutes of the game. Michigan answered back just over a minute later on
Jim Constantine’s second goal of the game to rebuild the lead to six
goals at 8-2. But unlike the first game this year between the teams,
Oakland didn’t back down, and kept firing, finding the back of the net
at the 4:00 minute mark on a goal from Joe Opron.
Oakland scored again with under a minute left in the third period to
draw the game within four at 8-4 and the tide turning heading into the
final frame.
With the momentum in Oakland’s favor, and their backs against the wall
looking for a birth to the National Championships, the Golden Grizzlies
earned a two-minute man-advantage to open the final period after a
penalty on Trevor Broad following the opening faceoff of the fourth
quarter. Michigan killed the penalty, but about halfway through, during
a scrum in front for a loose ball, senior goaltender Dan Webber (Weston,
Mass/Weston) was injured and had to leave the game. Sophomore
Ryan Kaufman (Olney, Md./Magruder) came in and helped kill
the rest of the penalty, but Oakland scored on him shortly after, before
the Wolverines had a chance to get Webber back in the game, to make the
score 8-5 with twelve minutes to go.
Four minutes later at 7:43, Oakland continued their climb back into the
game on a goal at the top of the zone from Billy Binge to draw Oakland
within two at 8-6, the closest they had been since the first quarter.
Michigan extended the lead to three goals with 4:14 left after forcing
an OU turnover at midfield as Paul Passino scooped up the loose ball,
spun off his defender and carried the ball into the Oakland zone.
Passino kept the remaining defender off him by faking a pass and fired a
low shot the beat Wood five-hole.
Oakland didn’t back down, answering a minute later to bring themselves
within two again with three minutes left in the contest. After
regaining possession, the Golden Grizzlies called a time-out with 1:32
remaining to set up their final push. OU ended up turning the ball over
however and Michigan was able to clear the ball up field before calling
a timeout to set up what they hoped would be the final possession of the
game. Their plan worked and U-M worked down the clock to capture their
sixth CCLA Tournament Championship in seven years.
Statistically, the game was fairly even, with Oakland outshooting the
Wolverines 35-24 and recording more groundballs 37 to 33. Michigan
cleared the ball at a better rate than OU finishing with 14-21 totals,
while Oakland was successful on 11 of 22 attempts. The Wolverines were
also successful on special teams, scoring on both man-up attempts and
holding the Grizzlies scoreless on their three opportunities. The teams
split in the faceoff circle, each finishing 10-20.
Webber was outstanding at times, stopping 12 shots in the contest
including a number of chances on OU’s man-up opportunities.
Scouting the Opponents
#14 Northeastern – The Rams of Northeastern University enter
the contest with a 15-2 record, and a 9-1 conference record in ’05. NU
earned the opportunity to play in the USL-MDIA National Championships by
defeating New Hampshire by a score of 15-12 for their first Pioneer
Collegiate Lacrosse League.
The Rams are led by a pair of sophomore attackman in Chris Cook and
Foster Malcom. Cook has paced NU with 29-66-95 totals, while Malcom
leads the team in goals with 41-18-59. Two finishers round out the
top-four in scoring as junior midfielder John Maydick has posted
37-8-45, while sophomore midfielder Jason Aloma has posted 21-5-26.
Senior captains, midfielders Ross Valentino and Chris Colello are the
top two-way players for NU while on defense, junior captain and
long-stick midfielder JP Bichun and sophomore captain, defender Joe Lang
lead the way. In net, sophomore Craig Sini has recorded 163 saves while
allowing 91 goals for a save percentage of .642.
The Rams are coached by Tim Gray, a former member of the NU lacrosse
program.
http://www.nulax.com
Injury Update
The Wolverines were dealt a serious blow to
the midfield corps when senior Brian Vincent (Farmington
Hills, Mich./Univ. of Detroit Jesuit) was side-lined for the rest of
the year with a torn ACL after the 2nd game of the season.
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.
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
·
Dan Webber’s 12 saves vs. Oakland (May
1) ties a season high, set earlier this year vs. BYU on March 5.
·
Senior captain Ryan Clark finished with
1-6-7 vs. Michigan State on April 30, tying a career high in total
points and assists set last season vs. Central Florida (Feb. 28, 2004)
when Clark also finished with 1-6-7.
·
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.
·
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 357-454 clear totals for a conversion rate of .786.
After 15 games last season the Wolverines totaled 235-347 (.677). With
a successful effort vs. Michigan State and Oakland in the CCLA Playoffs,
Michigan’s rate of defending clears totals 281-471 (.597) in ’05.
Team Leaders
Through 18 games freshman Evan Fox leads the team in goals, is
second in assists and leads the team in points with 49-23-72 totals.
Fox also leads the team with 105 shots and 15 man-up goals. Leading the
team in assists, second in total points, and third in goals is Ryan
Clark who has posted 22-37-59 totals. Second in goals is Peter Krauss
who has notched 26-16-42 in ’05. 2004’s leading groundball man David
Silverman once again paces the squad with 134 groundballs. Senior
faceoff specialist Trevor Broad (Grosse Pointe,
Mich./University Liggett) is currently second with 74 while senior
captain Kirk Kozel (Barrington, Ill.Taft Ct.) is third
with 63.
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 22-37-59. In his last five games,
Clark has totaled 7-18-25. With his 59-point senior season effort so
far, Clark has bested his previous season high points, set during his
freshman campaign when the senior attackman finished with 27-27-54.
Clark has also moved into third place all-time on the Wolverines with 86
career assists. Clark is five assists short of second place, behind
Adam Denenberg’s 91 career assists.
Webber Posting Career
Highs
Through 18 games, senior goaltender Dan Webber is posting career numbers
with a 3.86 goals per game average and a .648 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 4.10 goals per
game.
Consistent Constantine
After missing the first five games of the regular season, junior
midfielder Jim Constantine has posted career numbers in ’05, scoring in
every game but two this season. With 18-11-29, Constantine is fourth on
the team in total points and has scored more points this season than he
scored in his freshman and sophomore campaigns combined.
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 49-23-72
totals, while Krauss is third in total points with 42 and Bobby Morales
is currently fifth on the team with 16-9-25 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 on April 15, Silverman surpassed his
season-high of 103 set last season. With 134 gb’s currently, Silverman
has posted the second-most groundballs in a season for Michigan
surpassing Kevin Toller’s 131 in 2002 and with 300 career groundballs,
Silverman is now second all-time on the Wolverines, 41 shy of Dave
DiCamillo’s 341 career gb’s. Silverman has also shown his offense
prowess this season, posting 7-3-10, five more points than he scored in
the previous three years combined. With his combined effort this
season, Silverman earned the Team MVP award in ’05.
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 74 so far in ’05. Senior captain Kirk Kozel, currently
third on the team with 63, 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 814 groundballs compared to their opponents 519.
Stringing Them Together
With the win vs. Oakland in the CCLA Finals on May 1, the Wolverines
have won 13 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 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 sixth
poll of the regular season, Michigan held on to the #4 spot with their
sixth CCLA Championship in seven years. Michigan received one first
place vote.
Current USL MDIA Top 25 Poll Presented by Shamrock Lacrosse (Poll #6)
1. Brigham Young University (22 First Place Votes) – 741 pts
2. Colorado State (7 First Place Votes) – 721 pts
3. Univ. of California, Santa Barbara – 684 pts
4. Michigan (1 First Place Vote) – 656 pts
5. Sonoma State – 648 pts
6. Colorado - 589 pts
7. Oregon – 567 pts
8. Virginia Tech – 519 pts
9. Univ. of California, San Diego – 501 pts
10. Florida State – 442 pts
11. Oakland University - 438 pts
12. Arizona – 427 pts
13. Lindenwood University – 387 pts
14. Utah – 360 pts
15. Chico State – 309 pts
16. Northeastern University – 254 pts
17. Georgia Tech – 231 pts
18. Minnesota - 207 pts
19. Boston College – 181 pts
20. New Hampshire – 176 pts
21. Chapman University – 171 pts
22. Cal Poly SLO – 130 pts
23. Minnesota-Duluth – 109 pts
24. Georgia – 75 pts
25. Texas Tech – 57 pts
Contact: Joe Hennessy (734) 276-8493 – jjhennes@umich.edu
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