Lax: Undefeated Road Swing
No MCLA program in the country had as a difficult start to their 2010 season as the Michigan Wolverines. With true road games against the #22, #5, and #6 teams in the country, there were never going to be any claims of Michigan padding the schedule with soft opponents. Despite playing without a number of starters in one of the contests (more on that later), the Wolverines emerged unscathed, and are ready to take on yet another top opponent this weekend.
In each game (against Arizona, Arizona State, and BYU), Michigan got off to a slow start, but managed to come back for the win. This isn't exactly a sign that they will be as dominant in the 2010 season as they were in 2009, but if they can work out the early-season jitters, an undefeated run isn't out of the question, especially with the toughest stretch of the schedule out of the way. Part of those mental mistakes - namely numerous offsides violations - can be attributed to the offseason loss of Goalie Coach Brad Gigliotti, who had been running the substitution box for the Wolverines the past several seasons.
On another note, I'm hearing potentially positive rumblings on the lacrosse team's annual quest to gain varsity status. More info as it becomes available to me, but I'm obviously in support.
Up Next
The Wolverines welcome Simon Fraser University into the friendly confines of Oosterbaan Fieldhouse on Friday at 7:00 PM for the home opener. The Clan was ranked #3 in the nation last week, but dropped non-competitive games to Colorado State and Colorado (17-7) - both upcoming Wolverine opponents. Against the Rams, Fraser led 5-4 at the half, before allowing five consecutive goals in the third quarter on their way to a 12-6 loss. Since 3rd-quarter runs have been a strength for Michigan through three games, that bodes well.
On Saturday, the Wolverines "travel" to Ypsilanti to take on Eastern Michigan in a cross-county CCLA Conference Matchup. The Eagles went 3-4 against MCLA Division 1 opposition last year (6-5 overall), including a 33-8 pounding at the hands of their conference brethren very slightly to the west. This season, they have started with a 1-3 record, defeating only CCLA D-2 squad Calvin College.
Arizona
Michigan held just a 5-3 advantage at halftime, but exploded in the second half for a 15-5 victory in Tucson. Junior Goalie Andrew Fowler got the start in net, and went the distance for the Wolverines. Reigning CCLA scoring champ Trevor Yealy put in 6 goals, and faceoff specialist David Reinhard won 62.5% of his 24 draws. Every healthy field player saw action for the Wolverines in the blowout.
Arizona State
The Wolverines took a 1-goal advantage after a period in Tempe, and matched the Sun Devils goal-for-goal for the remaining three quarters to come away with the 11-10 victory over ASU. The goalies each played a half, with Andrew Fowler getting the start, and Mark Stone making a last-second save in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Trevor Yealy had a relatively quiet game for the maize-and-blue, scoring only two goals (tied with David Rogers and Freshman Thomas Paras for most on the team). Reinhard was again exceptional, winning 84% (!!!) of his 25 faceoff attempts.
Official Site recap. PDF Boxscore.
BYU
Against rival BYU, the Wolverines were shorthanded, with six players suspended for violating team rules. Captain Svet Tintchev, along with fellow seniors Kevin Zorovich, Clark Mcintyre, and Josh Ein joined juniors Steve Levitt and Matt Asperheim on the bench. All except Levitt are starters, and their absence was a huge blow to the Michigan effort, also forcing midfielder Jamie Goldeberg to play out of position at attack. Now that the scene is set, take a look at the freakin' awesome setting for BYU's field:
Trevor Yealy was back to form, leading MIchigan with four goals, tied again with Paras for most on the team. As just a freshman, it's clear Paras has a great future ahead of him for this team. Mark Stone went the distance in net for Michigan, and Reinhard again dominated faceoffs, winning 70.1% of his 24 opportunities. Michigan again had some mental mistakes, committing 33 turnovers along with 2 offsides penalties. However, it's the final score that counts, and Michigan's 13-9 victory kept them undefeated on the season.
Stevenson, who’s in his 40th year with the athletic department, said he envisions a smaller athletic department 10 years from now. Michigan currently sponsors 25 varsity sports, among the most in the NCAA. “To sustain the economic model that we have, we’re probably going to have to be smaller, which doesn’t mean that we’d have to drop sports necessarily, but it may mean that you can’t afford to give the maximum NCAA scholarships in every sport,” Stephenson said. “I think that’s going to be the one thing that’s a huge issue all across the country.” Brandon said there are no plans to eliminate any programs and he likes that the university offers so many sports. “There are a number of universities that are cutting sports as a way to make their numbers work,” Brandon said. “Right now there isn’t any indication that that is necessary or a strategy that we need to embrace.” As for his 10-year outlook, Brandon said only, “it’ll look a lot different than it does today.” “I’ve never been one who’s been really big on 10-year planning because the world tends to change a little faster than that,” he said. “But I definitely am one of those guys that always kind of is looking out three to five years, trying to do the best I can of seeing what’s the road going to be like and trying to get there first."
[Brandon will] set the course for Michigan’s next round of facility upgrades. A Crisler Arena renovation project and basketball player development center are in the works, but Michigan still wants to add an indoor rowing tank, golf practice facility and upgrade its indoor track building.Indoor rowing tank is interesting. Presumably that will be on campus and augment the rowing team's current facilities, allowing them to train during the winter months. Given the investment, I suppose it might give more impetus to adding men's rowing for the next men's sport. But that's pure speculation on my part.
March 10th, 2010 at 11:30 AM ^
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