Maryland 16, Detroit 4

Detroit 0-4. Photo from Detroit Website.

Detroit's 3-game head start on Maryland paid dividends early for the Titans, as they scored the game's first goal and even carried a 2-1 lead into the second quarter. After that, it was all Terps, as Maryland scored all seven goals in the second quarter, and outscored UDM 8-2 in the second half to emerge with a comfortable 16-4 victory.

This outcome was... well, not that far off expectations. Maryland is an established program in a hotbed for talent, and we're all familiar with where Detroit is as a program. The Terps eventually dominated in nearly every statistical measure, and that's one way to win a ballgame.

Tempo-Free

From the box score, here's your tempo-free breakdown.

Maryland
Maryland		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	18	Faceoff Wins	6
Clearing	20-20	Clearing	15-18
Possessions	41	Possessions	24
Goals	16	Goals	4
Offensive Efficiency	.390	Offensive Efficiency	.167

So. When you get dominated on faceoffs, and don't have a single successful ride all game, you're going to have maaaaany fewer possessions than the opponent. When they're a team as talented as Maryland, they're going to take advantage of them. The Terps scored 16 goals on just 36 shots, while the Titans used 17 shots to score just 4.

As we saw against another top-25 team in Delaware, the majority of Detroit's scoring production came on the man-up, with UDM's first two goals scored on the man advantage. Their other two were at even strength, but both came with the game well in hand for the Terps.

Notes

Four different Titans scored, with Scott Harris, Alex Maini, Matt Gregson, and Chris Nemes each finding twine. Only one goal was assisted, as Chris Nemes's game-opener came from Wes Steen. On the other side, 14 of Maryland's 16 goals were scored. That speaks to not only talent but a smooth-functioning offense. In fact, I'd say the less-talented team should have MORE assists per goal, as they are unlikely to have the athletes to dodge and score.

The Titans had their naughtiest game yet, with 6 penalties for 5:00. Their previous high was 5 infractions for the same amount of time against Ohio State. Elsewhere in sloppy play, they committed 20 turnovers, though most of them (14) were forced by Maryland.

LSM Jordan Houtby was the Ground Ball champion of Detroit with 4. A pair of Terps tied his GB total.

Freshman goalie Danny Kransberger got his first action as a Titan, playing the final 7:59 and allowing 1 goal with 0 saves.

As noted above, Detroit played well in the first quarter before Maryland overpowered them. They were even in shots (6) and almost even in GBs (8-10) in the first frame, but Maryland dominated nearly every stat from there to the end.

Up Next

Detroit will likely get their first win of 2011 on Saturday, and they host Mercer at Ultimate Soccer in Pontiac. Mercer is a first-year program, and the Bears have been on the wrong side of three grisly games, with an average score of 5.6-18.3. If the Titans don't come away with a win (maybe even if they don't come away with a BIG win), that doesn't bode well for this season.

Elsewhere

Detroit recap. Maryland recap.