Lacrosse loses close one, 10-7 vs Colgate at Citi Field
Another close one for Michigan today at the Metropolitan Lacrosse Classic at Citi Field, home of the Mets. Thanks to Mets owner and Michigan alum Fred Wilpon, Michigan was the home team.
Without a couple sloppy plays on defense by Michigan and the fatal colgate mistake of nearly scoring on themselves coming to fruition, Michigan could have very well won this game.
Saturday, 3/23, Michigan will get the defending national champion #10 Loyola (MD) at Michigan Stadium to open up the true home slate. Game will be on MGoBlueTV. This is Loyola's final season in the ECAC. They will be defecting to the Patriot League next season.
Stats- Michigan had a pretty good game and the stats don't lie. Shocking one was perfect on clears.
| Stat | U-M | COLG |
| Shots | 37 | 31 |
| Ground Balls | 21 | 33 |
| Faceoffs | 13-22 | 9-22 |
| Clears | 17-17(!) | 18-23 |
| Turnovers | 13 | 12 |
| Saves | 9 | 12 |
| Extra-Man | 0-2 | 0-1 |
ECAC Standings-
| Team | ECAC | Ovr. | Game | |
| 1. | #10 Loyola | 2-0 | 5-2 | 3/16 W 13-7 vs Air Force (in Denver) |
| 2. | #3 Denver | 1-0 | 5-2 | 3/16 L 12-13 OT vs Notre Dame |
| Hobart | 1-0 | 4-3 | 3/17 L 12-16 at Robert Morris | |
| Fairfield | 1-0 | 4-3 | 3/14 W 10-8 vs MICHIGAN | |
| 5. | Bellarmine | 2-1 | 6-1 | 3/16 W 12-5 vs Mercer |
| 6. | #12 Ohio | 0-1 | 5-1 | 3/16 W 11-10 at #11 Virginia |
| 7. | Air Force | 0-2 | 4-4 | 3/16 L 7-13 vs #10 Loyola (in Denver) |
| 8. | Michigan | 0-3 | 0-8 | 3/17 L 7-10 vs Colgate in (in Flushing) |
Can't count the number of times today we've seen a really nice individual move or effort to get free for a shot and then the shot itself is lousy.
Michigan will get defending national champion loyola Saturday to open up their Michigan Stadium home slate.
I still think this team is definitely showing improvement.
March 17th, 2013 at 11:56 PM ^
No question they are improving. My thoughts from today...
Meter is their best dodger at attack. But there is nobody there who can carry the offense (ie. no Trey Burke point guard type player). Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting.
That first midfield line is really talented and athletic. And they are all freshmen. They are putting the offense on their shoulders right now. Joseph is tiny, but he's fast and tough. Jackson is the best player on the team. Hernandez is a beast. They get free all the time, but they don't shoot well. If these three guys get their shots going over the next couple of years, look out.
There is no depth at midfield. The second line did nothing. They need Paras back. He barely played again.
Great to see the faceoff unit getting so much better. Colgate is a very good faceoff team, and Lott and his wings did a great job.
Logan had an off day by his standards. I thought he let in a couple of softies. He's very, very good though. A great goalie is the way you start building a program. He will win some games for them down the line.
Defense is missing a few starters still. Johnson, Swaney and Orr didn't play that I could see. They slide A LOT which makes for a confusing defense to play, but it also forces the offense to make plays. They make a lot of mistakes. They had trouble with picks today as well.
No problem clearing today. There is no doubt they are playing with more confidence. Where they really struggle is ground balls. They just look like they get muscled off a lot of ground balls when it was a scrum. Maybe that's all the freshmen who need to get tougher and stronger.
The event itself was just kind of weird. Horrible sight lines in a baseball stadium. That and I don't like the Mets. Decent crowd (they announced 15,000 and change), but it was spread throughout the stadium and I think a lot of people left after the first game.
I was at the game at Hopkins a few weeks ago and I went today. the improvement is certainly evident.
The faceoffs looked pretty good. Clears were way better. and it seems that between hernandez, joseph and jackson they have a few guys who can create on offense.
they are really frustrating to watch for two reasons though: 1)they are not physical. They had lots of opportunities to tune guys up and they didn't. Especially on unsettled plays in the midfield. If they are always going to be the less skilled team, they should at least throw their bodies around and let 'em know they're there.
2)They don't throw checks, which is infuriating. I don't understand the modern system of defense. So, if they're playing to set up the slides, they better get them right. And if you are sliding you have to take the body and be physical. Otherwise, the D will never be able to keep them in games.
Bu the last few games were really encouraging. I just hope they can start rolling and pick up some W's.