Detroit 13, VMI 9

Detroit 2-5 (1-0 MAAC).

The Titans got back into the win column yesterday afternoon by knocking off VMI in the MAAC conference opener. UDM got balanced scoring, with 9 different players finding twine.

The win give the Titans a good start in conference play, and keeps NCAA Tournament hopes in the "realistic possibility" category.

Tempo-Free

From the box score, your tempo-free breakdown.

VMI
VMI		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	20	Faceoff Wins	4
Clearing	11-17	Clearing	13-17
Possessions	41	Possessions	29
Goals	9	Goals	13
Offensive Efficiency	.220	Offensive Efficiency	.448

As I predicted in the game preview, the Titans were killed on faceoffs by a very good VMI faceoff man in Stephen Robarge. Brandon Davenport actually didn't take the majority of the draws for UDM, as Joe Maclean went 3/15.

The Titans sliiightly made up for the struggles on faceoffs by doing a pretty good job on the ride, holding the Keydets to a 65% success rate. However, Detroit didn't win this game because they were able to have about the same number of possessions.

They won it, in fact, because they were brutally efficient on offense, scoring on almost half of their possessions. Considering VMI had 59% of the possessions in the game, holding down their efficiency (they scored on fewer than a quarter of the possessions) was a big key as well.

Notes

As noted above, the scoring was spread across several UDM players. Chris Nemes led the team with 3 goals, and Ty Maruyama and Shayne Adams had two apiece - with Adams also contributing a pair of assists to lead the team with 4 total points. Scott Harris had a goal and a pair of assists.

Jamie Hebden and Brad Janer led the team with 3 caused turnovers, and LSM Jordan Houtby was the GB king with 6 ground balls. In goal, AJ Levell went the distance saving 14 shots and allowing 9 goals.

As noted above, I predicted Detroit would struggle on faceoffs, and they came through for me. Brandon Davenport went 1/9 and Joe Maclean won 3/15 draws. Without seeing the action, it's tough to say whether wing play or the faceoff specialists are behind the struggles.

Elsewhere

The official site's recap lives here, and the boxscore is here. A couple postgame videos. Coach Holtz:

Player of the game Ty Maruyama

Usually such videos aren't posted until much to late to make the recap. Hopefully this new trend will hold up.

Up Next

The Titans will travel to Jacksonville to take on the Dolphins on Saturday. JU is 3-5 on the year, and opened conference play with a 12-8 victory over Canisius.

Detroit Weekend Preview: VMI

The Titans return to action tomorrow, opening up conference play against Virginia Military Institute. Everybody is 0-0 in MAAC play, so an NCAA Tournament bid is still possible for the Titans, despite a disappointing start to the season.

VMI

Saturday 1PM, Titan Field
Record: 2-4 (0-0 MAAC)
Rankings: #46 (Computer).
Common Opponents: Mercer (W 15-3), Bellarmine (L, 8-9).
Previous Meeting: 2010 Regular Season (11-8 UDM win).

Schedule

The Keydets have started 2011 2-4, with the lone wins coming over a pair of completely hapless programs in Mercer and Presbyterian. Most of their losses, on the other hand, have come against very good competition (aside from an 8-9 loss to Bellarmine).

The problem is, aside from the Bellarmine loss, the Keydets haven't really been competitive in any game. They lost 8-14 to Navy, 6-12 to Army, and 6-22(!) to Virginia. Based on what we've seen out of this team so far, they are not very good.

Personnel

Keith Long is by far the most important player to the VMI offense. He has 20 points, leading the team in both assists (11) and goals (9). Tied atop the goal standings is Leonard Drew, with 9 of his own, but only 3 assists. The team's third-leading point-getter is Mickey Hofmeister, who only has 2 goals, but has dished out 9 assists - in only 3 games.

Defensively, Rory Dillon is a key player for VMI. He leads the team with 10 caused turnovers this season, though he only had 12 ground balls to go along with that. Kyle Hofstetter and Chris Kitchen have also started every game. Hofstetter is something of an enforcer, leading the team in penalties committed.

In goal, Kelly McMinn has started every game, and played all but about an hour between the pipes. He sports a .521 save percentage, and allows 11.5 goals per game.

Faceoffs are a strong point for VMI, as everybody who's taken even a single draw for the Keydets has won more than half of his attempts. Stephen Robarge has taken the most faceoffs, and has won nearly 65% of them.

Predictions

Detroit hasn't been a terribly inefficient team with their possessions this year, and it seem like VMI is a pretty weak squad defensively, and just OK offensively. There should be the opportunity for Shayne Adams and Scott Harris (the conference's reigning Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively) to find twine a few times. The defense should be able to, at the very least, keep a non-potent offense in check enough to give the team a chance to win. While we're talking Adams and Harris, check out a Titans video interview with Scott:

It's not efficiency that's killed UDM in most games this year, however, it's getting possession. VMI is an excellent faceoff team, though they haven't yet faced a team winning at a greater than .500 clip this season (nor will they against the Titans). That makes the ride/clear game very important, and the Keydets are bad on the ride, and quite good on the clear.

Taking advantage of the clearing game and not getting obliterated on faceoffs are going to be huge keys for Detroit in this game. Finishing the opportunities they do get shouldn't be an issue with the talented offensive players.

I think Detroit will emerge victorious, 13-9.

Lacrosse Waxing, Waning

Be forewarned: Some of this is only tangentially related to the state of Michigan.

If you've ever been around a lacrosse community on the internet (or even in real life), you're well-aware that most people firmly believe lacrosse is on the upswing at the varsity level in college. Well, that's not always the case. Within the past week, two schools have announced that they'll be shuttering their NCAA programs soon.

Going Down

I'll go in reverse chronological order, with NCAA Division-2 Grand Canyon ending its lacrosse program. The problem for the 'Lopes (yes, the abbreviated version is their official team name) is that they're between divisions:

The decision to eliminate men's lacrosse came amid discussions by the university to initiate a transition to the NCAA Division I level... "There is just really nothing out west in the Division I market besides the University of Denver and the Air Force Academy, so there was a really depleted field of competition for us," said Baker.

It's a shame that a school trying to go Division-1 would cause them to have to drop a lacrosse program, but it is what it is until there are more programs west of the Mississippi, much less the Rockies. As a new entrant to the lacrosse community (first season: 2008, as an MCLA program), hopefully a smooth transition to Division-1 will be followed by another shot at lax - as of now, they're exploring fielding a partially-funded MCLA program.

The other school dropping its lacrosse program is Division-1 Presbyterian. Though most lacrosse fans are focused on D-1 expansion, contraction is a real factor as well.

Presbyterian College is a member of the Big South Conference, which does not include men's lacrosse as a conference sport and, according to officials, is not expected to add it in the future. This was the overriding reason that the college decided to drop men's lacrosse as a varsity sport, Reese said.

That's disappointing, especially since there had been lots of recent talk about restructuring conferences in Division-1 to form a sort of Southern Conference, with the likes of Jacksonville, Mercer, High Point, Bellarmine, and VMI combining with Presbyterian to form a geographically-sound league (High Point and VMI also happen to be Big South-affiliated schools).

Presbyterian's current players will continue to receive their grants-in-aid until the end of their now-hypothetical NCAA eligibility, or they will be free to transfer to another Division-1 institution without penalty.

Coming Up

On the other end of the spectrum, there is still expansion happening (i.e. Marquette) and possible (Nobody in particular) in Division-1. The coach of one of Division-1's most recent additions, Detroit's Matt Holtz, took part in an Inside Lacrosse podcast about program-building.

In it, he talks about what it was like for the Titans as they started their program, the response from the community, and how it feels to be the new kids on the block (Not Those New Kids On The Block). There's also some good discussion on growth in the midwest and Michigan specifically. I would be remiss not to mention what Holtz says about the potential of Michigan joining the ranks of Division-1 in the near future:

Holtz: "It'd be absolutely phenomenal for the sport in the State of Michigan. You're right, I am a Michigan State guy; I'd love to see Michigan State bring back their NCAA program, but [Michigan going varsity] is a first step."

"For us, we're excited: I think it'd be great. You know, I think Coach Paul's done a phenomenal job with his MCLA team down there, and you know, he deserves it, and it's just a matter of 'can they pull the trigger,' can they get the money together is the biggest issue right now. And obviously adding another... adding a BCS school would be phenomenal. The last BCS school to add was Notre Dame."

While I'm on my podcast-linking game: of course Michigan coach John Paul talking about the potential for the very same thing (relevant portion transcribed here). In other IL podcasts relating to nascent programs, the head men of Jacksonville and High Point Universities talk about what it's like to be new programs - not unlike Holtz's interview.

Don't forget, of course, that Marquette will expand the sport's footprint in the midwest, starting with the 2013 season.

Robert Morris 14, Detroit 13

The Titans continue to show serious signs of a breakthrough, with a pair of 1-goal losses (including one to ranked Ohio State) on the season. However, as they say, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. You don't play for the moral victory, you play to win the game. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it out to this game, although I had been planning to do so.

The Titans almost pulled off the feat against Robert Morris, coming from three goals behind in the fourth quarter to tie the game with more than seven minutes to go. However, they squandered opportunities to end the game in regulation (including a 2-man advantage), and allowed a Colonial goal with 1:35 left in overtime to end the contest.

I get the feeling that this is going to be a particularly painful tempo free section...

Tempo-Free

From the official box score, your tempo-free breakdown:

Robert Morris
Robert Morris		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	14	Faceoff Wins	16
Clearing	16-24	Clearing	18-22
Possessions	42	Possessions	46
Goals	14	Goals	13
Offensive Efficiency	.333	Offensive Efficiency	.283

Actually, that wasn't truly painful at all. Where the Titans have been getting owned on possession all year long, they managed to have the advantage both at the faceoff X and in the clear/ride game. The only place they lacked was efficiency, but in a 1-goal game, the small-ish sample size is going to make the stats look much more skewed than they actually are. Had the Titans gotten the goal in overtime, they would have had an efficiency advantage.

In such an evenly-matched game, nothing is going to jump out from the raw efficiency numbers (aside from from the fact that Detroit didn't get destroyed in a few of the metrics), but the pace of the game was pretty quick, especially since both teams had pretty good success on the clear.

Notes

Scott Harris and Shayne Adams (predictably) led the team in scoring, along with Tim Lehto. All had 4 points, with Adams and Lehto doing it on 3 goals, whereas Harris had 3 assists. A much more well-rounded offensive production than we've seen in the past couple weeks. 7 other Titans had a single goal each.

Defensively, Jordan Houtby caused the most turnovers for UDM, which we're accustomed to seeing by this point. He caused 4 Colonial turnovers, and scooped up an outstanding 10 GBs. Harris was the only other Detroit player to cause multiple turnovers, with a career-high 3.

AJ Levell went the distance between the pipes, making 11 saves and allowing 14 goals in 62:25 for the overtime loss.

The Titans should continue riding Brandon Davenport on faceoffs, as he was a pretty good (for the low expectations, at least) 16/29. He's going to keep struggling when he faces top competition, but there probably won't be too much of that from here on out.

Elsewhere

Official site recap. Box score. Robert Morris site recap.

Up Next

The path becomes much easier for Detroit from here on out, as they enter MAAC play. They'll take on VMI on Saturday at home to kick off conference play.

Mount St. Mary's 12, Detroit 8

Detroit 1-6. Photo from Official Site.

The Titans went down early, but showed moxie to mount (no pun intended) a comeback on the road, bringing the game to a 6-all tie in the third quarter at The Mount yesterday afternoon.

However, it was all Mountaineers from there, as they closed out the third with three straight goals, and outscored UDM 3-2 in the fourth to earn their first win of the season.

As MSM hadn't won a game on the year, and is far behind Detroit in Laxpower's computer rankings even AFTER the win, this can be qualified as nothing less than a bad loss at this point in the season.

Without further ado,

Tempo-Free

From the official box score, your tempo-free breakdown:

Mount St. Mary's
Mount St. Mary's		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	18	Faceoff Wins	4
Clearing	10-15	Clearing	12-19
Possessions	40	Possessions	28
Goals	12	Goals	8
Offensive Efficiency	.300	Offensive Efficiency	.286

By now, you know the story. Especially in recent games, the Titans have been adequate or better on the efficiency margins, but have been absolutely destroyed in terms of possession.

The faceoff spot, which looked like it would be at least decent to start the year, has devolved into a horrorshow against competent competition. Prior to this game, Mount St. Mary's was winning at a .521 clip. They won 81.8% against Detroit. That is not good enough to win lacrosse games.

The clear game is also a weakness for UDM, particularly lately. That needs to turn around if they want to get wins against competent opposition (and I imagine they do).

Fortunately, good competition will be scarce for the rest of the year, so there's a good chance to pad the win column, especially in-conference against MAAC teams.

Notes

Scott Harris did the Shayne Adams thing, pouring in goals (4), and also notching an assist. For his own part, Adams scored a single goal on 8 shots. Matt Gregson and Tim Lehto each scored a goal and an assist for multi-point performances.

Brandon Davenport got killed on faceoffs, but unlike the other four guys who took a draw, at least he won 1 (all the way up to 4!). Something is just not right with faceoffs. They've tried cycling through a few FOGOs, does something need to be done on the wings? Anything?

Jamie Hebden led the team defensively with four caused turnovers and 6 ground balls. Jason McDonald caused 3 turnovers and picked up 1 GB. Jordan Houtby tied for the team lead with 4 caused turnovers, but also led the team with 4 penalties for 4:00. I've never seen anyone foul out of a lacrosse game, but he was close.

No surprise, AJ Levell went the distance between the pipes. He made 7 saves and let in 12. I imagine he wasn't getting a ton of help on D - especially considering 3 Mount St. Mary's goals came on the man-up.

For the opposition, Andrew Scalley had a 6-point day, split half-and-half between goals and assists. 5 other Mountaineers had multi-point games.

Elsewhere

Detroit recap. Mount St. Mary's Recap. Box Score.

Up Next

As mentioned above, the rowing gets a little easier for UDM going forward. They face another Northeast conference team on Sunday, but this time at home. It's another Sunday doubleheader for the Titans, as the women face off at 2.

After Sunday, all of UDM's remaining games are against MAAC competition.

Lehigh 13, Detroit 9

Detroit 1-5.

This game happened more than a couple days ago, so I won't preface it too much: The Titans lost to Lehigh in their home opener. We'll figure out why by starting with the...

Tempo-Free

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

Lehigh
Lehigh		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	18	Faceoff Wins	6
Clearing	9-12	Clearing	10-26
Possessions	46	Possessions	35
Goals	13	Goals	9
Offensive Efficiency	.283	Offensive Efficiency	.257

The Titans seem to have found some things that work on the offensive and defensive ends of the ball. They're improving in efficiency, and doing so against teams that are not only competent, but actually good.

So, it's the possession that sucks. Detroit got pasted at the faceoff X, and put up what is probably the worst clearing rate I've seen in a single game (Michigan games against the Purdues of the world notwithstanding). They managed 11 fewer possessions in a game played at only slightly above-average pace.

As previously noted, they did almost as well with those possessions as Lehigh did. You can't win games if you can't control the ball.

Notes

Brandon Davenport was pretty bad on faceoffs, winning only 5 of 16... but that made him the best of the 6 guys who took one (aside from maybe Matt Gregson, who won 1 of 3, but sample size definitely comes into play there). I think it might have been a mistake to go away from him, and almost certainly a mistake to cycle through so many guys instead of trying to let your #1 play into form.

Shayne Adams has emerged as an excellent scoring threat, putting in 4 goals against Lehigh. Having a regularly dangerous offensive threat will help the Titans pull themselves out of the depths of terrible efficiency.

Defensively, Jamie Hebden and Max Zwolan each caused 2 turnovers, but Hebden more made up for it by committing 4 of his own. It seems like he was a big part of UDM's troubles clearing.

A lot of the reason the game was close had to do with Lehigh taking its foot off the gas (the Titans scored 5 of the final 6 goals), so don't read toooo much into an ultimately competitive score.

Elsewhere

Detroit Recap. Lehigh Recap. Box Score. Also: I recently noticed this, so apologies for not doing so quicker. UDM has a Youtube channel. NO highlights from this game up yet, but there is an interview with Jordan Houtby and Shayne Adams after their MAAC player of the week honors from a week ago.

Up Next

The Titans next played Mount St. Mary's (last night). Recap forthcoming ASAP.

Detroit Weekend Preview: Lehigh

The Titans open their stadium against Lehigh tomorrow at 2:00, the second half of a double-header (and part of a can drive organized by team parents), as the women take on UC-Davis at 11AM. The Titans technically had a home game in their 19-3 win over Mercer last weekend, but it took place at Ultimate Soccer in Pontiac.

Following the game against Mercer, freshman attack Shayne Adams and sophomore LSM were named the MAAC offensive and defensive player of the week, respectively.

The Schedule

The Mountain Hawks have started out 2-1, losing the game they were expected to, and winning the two games against lesser competition. Alas, there are very few schools out there for whom Detroit does not qualify as "lesser competition."

Lehigh started off with a 16-7 victory over St. Joe's (winless on the season), before falling on the road at Villanova, by a narrow 8-9 score. Villanova is a pretty strong team out of the Big East, so the close margin is encouraging for Lehigh.

In their most recent game, the Mountain Hawks beat a 1-3 Navy team at home, by a 14-10 score. The Midshipmen's three losses are all against good competition, and all by close scores.

Players to Watch

Lehigh is led in scoring by sophomore attack Dante Fantoni, with 7 goals and 6 assists on the year. Not far behind is senior midfielder Jonathan Stmupf, with 5 goals and 4 assists on the season.

Next, the Mountain Hawks have a trio of players who are primarily finishers, in junior attack Adam Johnston (7 goals, no assists), sophomore attack David DiMaria (6 goals, 1 assist), and junior midfielder Cameron Lao-Gosney (5 goals, 1 assist).

Defensively, Lehigh is led by senior Richard Bradley and sophomore Baxter Lanius, tied for the team lead with 3 caused turnovers. Bradley is joined by junior Blaise Fullen and Freshman Ty Souders on the starting D.

Sophomore Dan Carr is the primary starter between the pipes. He has a .469 save percentage on the year, and has played all but 44 seconds for the Mountain Hawks.

Lehigh is an excellent faceoff team, with sophomore Ryan Snyder (not that Ryan Snyder) winning an incredible 73.9% of his draws. He should abuse UDM's faceoff men all game.

Predictions

Though the on-campus home opener might provide an emotional boost for the Titans, the competition they're facing is much better in almost every facet. They will get destroyed on faceoffs, and perform worse than the Mountain Hawks in the clear/ride game, too.

On top of that, Lehigh has some very skilled players on offense, as well as a solid defense. They should be a more efficient team than the Titans as well.

In the end, I see Detroit doing well early in the game, but as the excitement of the home opener wears off, they'll struggled, and eventually be dominated. 14-6 in favor of Lehigh.

High School Pre-Previews Drop

Lax.com recently published "Midwest Maturing," a mini-preview post of high school lacrosse in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio (HT: 412 Lax). Of course, part of this is relevant to us. Their top three teams in the state:

Brother Rice

Can anyone in Michigan stop the Warriors? In 2010 Brother Rice cruised to an 8th straight state title and are the front-runners once again. The Warriors’ dominance in their home state alone is quite an accomplishment in itself, but don’t forget that the 2010 season also brought them another Midwest Scholastic Lacrosse Association championship, a conference which includes some of the best teams from Michigan, Ohio, and western Pennsylvania. The rest of the state will have to step their game up, considering no one in Michigan has beaten Brother Rice since 2002.

Detroit Central Catholic

The Shamrocks are heading into 2011 after finishing last season with a loss to Brother Rice in the state championship. While Brother Rice might be the best tem in Michigan right now, Central Catholic has the best chance at upsetting the Warriors this season. The Shamrocks will be tested early on in the season with match ups against Western Reserve Academy of Ohio and Culver Academy from Indiana.

Forrest Hills Eastern

The Hawks close out the pre-season top three in the state of Michigan. An early exit in last season’s state playoffs will still be lingering as they try to climb to the elite ranks of Michigan high school lacrosse. While a lighter schedule should favor them when it comes down to playoff seedings, the Hawks will need to stay focused to avoid another disappointing finish this season.

They go further than that, also pointing out a trio of players to watch:

Bennet Packer, M, Brother Rice MI, Committed to Delaware, Sr.

Alex Van Slyke, A, Forest Hills Eastern MI, Not Committed, Sr.

Mitch Burgin, A, Detroit Central Catholic MI, Not Committed, Sr.

"Bennet" Packer thinks Lax.com needs to invest in some proofreading staff, for what it's worth. As does Detroit Catholic Central. And anyone who's ever been near a forest.

Without taking alllllll of Lax.com's content, here are the top three teams in each state:

Ohio - Upper Arlington, Worthington Kilbourne, Dublin Jerome.

Indiana - Culver Academy, Saint Joseph's South Bend, Indianapolis Cathedral

Illinois - New Trier, Loyola Academy, Stevenson

Michigan teams will have a few chances to prove their mettle against these teams, and earn respect across the midwest. Brother Rice, Catholic Central, and Country Day all have games against some of this competition.

From another publication, Inside Lacrosse's preseason Midwest Power Rankings have Brother Rice #1 and Detroit Country Day (!?!?!?!?!) at #9. I'm somewhat new to following high school lacrosse in the state, but judging by the minor meltdown on the MLive forums, something's wrong with the Jackets that high.

Special thanks to Clark Bell for the oh-so-appropriate photo. If you're interested in in purchasing lacrosse photos from him, you can do so at his smugmug site.

Poll Watchin' - March 1, 2011

Detroit is (rather obviously) not included in the Division 1 polls (Nike/Inside Lacrosse and USILA Coaches'), but a couple opponents are:

Team	Nike/IL	USILA
Ohio State	14	12
Maryland	3	3

UDM lost to the Buckeyes by a slim 3-4 margin, and Maryland blew the Titans out 4-16. Those are the only opponents, past or future, listed, so UDM will likely have an easier go of things as the season goes on.

Onto the MCLA polls. This is a little kinder to teams from Michigan. The adidas MCLA Lax Mag poll has the Wolverines at #1 and Michigan State at #7. The Prodigy MCLA Poll (the one used to determine the field for the MCLA tournament) has the teams in the same order.

There's some (legitimate) griping about Oregon's inclusion on 412 Lax. The Ducks moved into the top-25 thanks to losing competitive game to Michigan and Chapman - probably not the way things should work.

The Next Level - Feb 28, 2011

Your weekly roundup of how players from Michigan performed in Division-1 lacrosse.

Air Force 6, Vermont 9

• Tommy McKee (Holt) - Played but did not accrue any statistics.

Bellarmine 10, Delaware 11 (OT)

• Ted Avendt (Brother Rice) - Took 2 Shots.
• Andrew Bulgarelli (Troy Athens) - Won 5 of 10 faceoffs and and picked up 2 GBs.
• Patrick Ellis (UD Jesuit) - Caused 1 turnover and picked up 1 GB.
• Devin Peurach (Brother Rice) - Scored 1 Goal on 1 Shot and picked up 1 GB.

Mercer 4, Jacksonville 24

• Recorded 3 Shots and picked up 1 GB.

Detroit 19, Mercer 3

• Nick Garippa (Notre Dame Prep) - Caused 1 turnovers and picked up 1 GB. Also committed one penalty for 1 minute.
• Scott Harris (Saline) - Started and scored 2 Goals on 9 Shots. Also added 2 assists. Picked up 3 GBs.
• Adam Nolan (AA Pioneer) - Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
• Matt Lining (Troy Athens) - Scored 1 Goal on 2 Shots. Also picked up 1 GB.
• John Nowicki (De La Salle) - Picked up 1 GB and took 3 Shots.
• Tyler Corcoran (South Lyon) - Won 4 of 5 faceoffs.
• Brad Janer (Detroit Catholic Central) - Won 0 of 1 faceoffs and picked up 1 GB. Also committed 1 penalty for 0:30.
• Joe McLean (Country Day) - Won 5 of 7 faceoffs, picking up 4 GBs. Also took 1 Shot.
• Tim Shoemaker (Rochester) - Started and scored 1 Goal on 2 Shots. Also picked up 3 GBs.
• Adam Parrottino (De La Salle) - Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
• Jamie Hebden (Brother Rice) - Started, picked up 4 GBs, and took 1 Shot. Also caused 1 turnover, and committed 1 penalty for 0:30.
• Danny Kransberger (Forest Hills Central) - Played 28:06 in goal. Saved all 6 Shots on goal he faced.
• Matt Gregson (Flint Powers) - Started and scored 1 Goal on 4 Shots. Also recorded 1 Assist.
• Mike Brown (Troy Athens) - Played 1:54 in goal, and made 1 Save.
• Nick Schesnuk (De La Salle) - Took one shot on goal.
• Tim Lehto (North Farmington) - Started and took 3 Shots, all on goal. Also picked up 1 GB.
• Brandon Davenport (Grosse Point North) - Won 7 of 11 faceoffs, picking up 3 GBs. Also scored 1 Goal on 3 Shots (all on goal).
• Max Zwolan (Ann Arbor Pioneer) - Played but did not accrue any statistics.
• John Dwyer (Detroit Catholic Central) - Caused 1 Turnover.
• Drew Schupbach (Orchard Lake Saint Mary's) - picked up 1 GB.
• Chris Nemes (Detroit Catholic Central) - Scored 2 Goals on 2 Shots.

Mercer 3, Detroit 19

• Anthony Seling (Detroit Catholic Central) - Took 2 Shots, and recorded 1 Assist. Picked up 4 GBs, and committed 1 penalty for 1:00.

Georgetown 8, Maryland 20

• Stu Shannon (Country Day) - Picked up 1 GB.

Mount Saint Mary's 6, Virginia 22

• Brendan Rooney (UD Jesuit) - Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
• Jonathan Marsalese (UD Jesuit) - Won 1 of 4 faceoffs.

Notre Dame 6, Penn State 2

• Jake Marmul (Detroit Catholic Central) - Won 1 of 4 faceoffs.

Ohio State 9, UMass 11

• Conor David (Brother Rice) - picked up 1 GB.

Penn State 2, Notre Dame 6

• Nick Dolik (Brother Rice) - Started, and took 5 Shots (3 on goal). Also picked up 2 GBs.
• Danny Henneghan (Brother Rice) - Started, and won 7 of 12 faceoffs. Picked up 2 GBs.

Sacred Heart 9, Marist 8

• Tom Sardelli (ND Prep) - Recorded 3 Shots and 1 Assist. Also picked up 1 GB.

Stony Brook 10, Virginia 11 (OT)

• Graham Adams (Brother Rice) - Played but did not accrue any statistics.

If you have any suggestions for improving the format, or if I've missed on any Michigan native who played in the past week, drop a line in the comments.

Detroit 19, Mercer 3

Detroit 1-4. Photo from Official site.

As I said in the preview, this game ending in anything other that a Titan win would have been very bad news for UDM. They did me one better though, blowing out first-year program Mercer at Ultimate Soccer in Pontiac.

It was a day of many records for UDM. Freshman Shayne Adams set a Detroit record with 7 goals in the game, and the team's 19 scores were the most in the program's brief history. Mercer's 3 goals were the fewest ever allowed to an opponent. Sophomore LSM Jordan Houtby set a program record with 11 ground balls.

It was an all-around pasting, so let's get straight to the...

Tempo Free

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

Mercer
Mercer		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	10	Faceoff Wins	16
Clearing	19-24	Clearing	19-22
Possessions	37	Possessions	43
Goals	3	Goals	19
Offensive Efficiency	.081	Offensive Efficiency	.442

Before looking at the box score, I had assumed that the Titans completely dominated possession, both at the faceoff X and in the ride/clear game. So, to look up the stats and see that this was not the case (they had only a slight advantage in possessions), but rather the Titans were ridiculously efficient in both ends of the field is a surprise.

Of course, just like it's expected for a nascent program to have problems in the possession game, poor efficiency is also a common characteristic of young teams. So, Mercer... yeah, they had that. Even as inefficient as Detroit was, they never even approached an efficiency of .100, much less well below that.

Notes

I mentioned the record-setting day in the opening paragraphs, but it's important to give credit where it is due: Shayne Adams and Jordan Houtby both had excellent individual days, leading to the best game ever played by a Detroit team. But yes, strength of competition plays a big role in that as well.

Aside from Adams, multiple-goal scorers for the Titans included Alex Maini (3), Scott Harris (2), and Chris Nemes (2). The Titans continue to score a lot of their goals unassisted, as only 8 of their 19 tallies came on a helper. Harris and Ty Maruyama were the only multiple-assist guys with 2 apiece.

The Titans broke out of a poor shooting streak by putting 37 of their 51(!) shots on the cage, and scoring on 19 of those, for a very good .373 shot percentage.

Remember, the Titans are without their best two offensive players from last season, who are sitting out this spring to focus on academics. If Joel Matthews and Tyler Staruch were available... would this actually be a kinda-good team? A horrifically inefficient performance against Ohio State probably could have swung the Titans' way with a couple more weapons.

Three goalies saw time in net for UDM, with AJ Levell getting the start and the win, allowing all three Mercer goals. Danny Kransberger came in at halftime, saving all 6 shots on goal he faced, and Mike Brown had 1 save in the 2 minutes of the game.

Up Next

The Titans are in action again next Sunday in their true home opener. They'll face Lehigh at 2PM, the second part of a double header, as the women take on UC Davis at 11AM. Lehigh beat Detroit 21-9 last season.

Detroit Weekend Preview: Mercer

The Titans have started 2011 0-4, and look to turn things around against first-year Division-1 program Mercer at Noon Saturday at Ultimate Soccer in Pontiac. The Bears have had struggles of their own early this season, as they've lost lopsided games to Ohio State, VMI, and Bellarmine, no titans of the sport themselves (though the Buckeyes impressed in a victory over North Carolina last weekend).

All told, this should be the easiest win of Detroit's entire season (fingers crossed). Neither team is particularly good at lacrosse, but Mercer is far, far worse.

Personnel

The Bears are led offensively by Alex Baird (4G), Cole Branch (3G, 2A), Brett Eisenmann (3G), and John Avent (2G, 1A). Branch has scored his 3 goals on 16 shots (.187 shooting percentage) which is pretty awful, but much better than teammate Joey Ugast who has just one goal on the same number of shots (.062).

On faceoffs, the Bears are terrible. Shockingly bad. They are winning a god-awful 22% of their draws. I... I can't even describe how bad that is. Jake Polo has emerged as their best man at the X, winning 40% (he also leads the team with 13 GBs). With Detroit's competence on faceoffs, they should win a comfortable number against Mercer.

Justin Bateman has gotten the lion's share of time between the pipes, but Dillon Volk is coming on strong, and has better numbers than Bateman three games into the year. He played the entire second half against Bellarmine, and don't be surprised if he gets his first start on Saturday.

Predictions

So, in case I haven't made it clear, Detroit should win this game. If they don't, they're getting deeeeep into "fire the coach" territory, and I'm very much not a "fire the coach" kind of guy. That's how embarrassing this loss would be. Titans should earn their first victory of the season, and I think they'll do it by a 12-7 score.

The Next Level - Feb 21, 2011

Your weekly roundup of how players from Michigan performed in Division-1 lacrosse.

Mercer 9, VMI 15

• Anthony Seling (Detroit Catholic Central) - Recorded 1 Shot and picked up 1 GB.

Bellarmine 20, Mercer 6

• Ted Avendt (Brother Rice) - Scored 1 Goal on 2 Shots. Caused 1 Turnover and picked up 1 GB.
• Andrew Bulgarelli (Troy Athens) - Scored a Goal on 2 Shots. Went 6-7 on Faceoffs, collecting 5 GBs. Caused 1 turnover.
• Patrick Ellis (UD Jesuit) - Played but did not accrue any statistics.
• Devin Peurach (Brother Rice) - Scored 2 Goals on 3 Shots. Caused 2 Turnovers and recorded 2 GBs.

Mercer 6, Bellarmine 20

• Anthony Seling (Detroit Catholic Central) - Played but did not accrue any statistics.

Detroit 4, Maryland 16 - Game recap.

• Tyler Corcoran (South Lyon) - Won 1-6 faceoffs, and collected 1 GB.
• Brandon Davenport (Grosse Point North) - Won 4-17 faceoffs. Picked up 1 GB, and committed 1 Penalty for 1:00.
• John Dwyer (Detroit Catholic Central) - Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
• Nick Garippa (Notre Dame Prep) - Caused 1 Turnover and picked up 3 GBs.
• Matt Gregson (Flint Powers) - Started, and scored 1 Goal on 1 Shot.
• Scott Harris (Saline) - Started and took 4 Shots. Also picked up 1 GB.
• Jamie Hebden (Brother Rice) - Started, and caused 2 Turnovers. Also picked up 3 GBs.
• Brad Janer (Detroit Catholic Central) - Won his only faceoff, and committed 1 Penalty for 1:00.
• Danny Kransberger (Forest Hills Central) - Played 7:59, and gave up 1 goal. Picked up 2 GBs.
• Tim Lehto (North Farmington) - Started, and took 2 Shots. Also picked up 1 GB.
• Matt Lining (Troy Athens) - Took 1 Shot.
• Joe MacLean (Country Day) - Caused 1 Turnover.
• Chris Nemes (Detroit Catholic Central) - Scored 1 Goal on 3 Shots.
• Adam Nolan (AA Pioneer) - Played but did not accrue any statistics.
• John Nowicki (De La Salle) - Took 1 Shot and collected 1 GB.
• Tim Shoemaker (Rochester) - Started and picked up 1 GB. Also committed 1 Penalty for 1:00.
• Max Zwolan (Ann Arbor Pioneer) - Picked up 1 GB.

Sacred Heart 6, Hofstra 10

• Tom Sardelli (ND Prep) - Took 2 Shots and picked up 1 GB.

Ohio State 13, North Carolina 8

• Conor David (Brother Rice) - Caused 1 Turnover and picked up 2 GBs.

Penn State 9, Binghamton 7

• Nick Dolik (Brother Rice) - Scored 1 Goal on 8 Shots. Also picked up 8 GBs.
• Danny Henneghan (Brother Rice) - Won 16-19 faceoffs, collecting4 GBs. Took 2 shots.

Villanova 9, Lehigh 8

• Joe Payne (Brother Rice) - Committed 1 penalty for :30.

Air Force 6, Siena 10

• Tommy McKee (Holt) - Started and took 2 Shots. Also picked up 4 GBs.

Notre Dame 12, Duke 7

• Jake Marmul (Detroit Catholic Central) - Won 6 of 11 faceoffs and picked up 1 GB.

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.

The Next Level - Feb 14, 2010

Weekly roundup the performances by Michigan natives in D-1 ball.

Detroit 5, Delaware 13 - Game Recap.

• Tyler Corcoran (South Lyon) - Won 1/5 faceoffs and collected 1 GB.
• Brandon Davenport (Grosse Point North) - Won 5/16 faceoffs, and picked up 2 GBs.
• John Dwyer (Detroit Catholic Central) - Caused 1 turnover.
• Matt Gregson (Flint Powers) - Started and scored 1 Goal on 3 Shots.
• Scott Harris (Saline) - Started, and scored 1 Goal on 3 Shots. Also recorded 2 Assists, and picked up 1 GB.
• Jamie Hebden (Breother Rice) - Started and caused 2 turnovers. Picked up 2 GBs.
• Brad Janer (Detroit Catholic Central) - Picked up 1 GB.
• Tim Lehto (North Farmington) - Took 5 Shots and picked up 2 GBs.
• Matt Lining (Troy Athens) - Played, but did not accrue any statistics.
• Joe MacLean (Detroit Country Day) - PLayed but did not accrue any stats.
• Chris Nemes (Detroit Catholic Central) - Started and took 3 Shots.
• Adam Nolan (Ann Arbor Pioneer) - Played but did not accrue any statistics.
• John Nowicki (De La Salle) - Took 3 Shots and picked up 3 GBs.
• Tim Shoemaker (Rochester) - Started and caused 2 turnovers, and picked up 2 GBs.
• Max Zwolan (Ann Arbor Pioneer) - Caused 1 turnover and picked up 1 GB.

Detroit 3, Ohio State 4 - Game Recap.

• Brandon Davenport (Grosse Point North) - Won 5/11 faceoffs and collected 4 GBs. Took 1 Shot.
• John Dwyer (Detroit Catholic Central) - Picked up 1 GB.
• Nick Garippa (notre Dame Prep) - Committed 1 penalty for 1:00.
• Matt Gregson (Flint Powers) - Started and scored 1 Goal on 3 Shots.
• Scott Harris (Saline) - Started and took 3 Shots.
• Jamie Hebden (Brother Rice) - Caused 3 turnovers and pick up 3 GBs. Committed 1 penalty for 0:30.
• Brad Janer (Detroit Catholic Central) - Picked up 1 GB.
• Tim Lehto (North Farmington) - Started and scored 1 Goal on 3 Shots. picked up 1 GB and committed 1 penalty for 0:30.
• Matt Lining (Troy Athens) - Played but did not accrue any statistics.
• Joe MacLean (Detroit Country Day) - Played but did not accrue any statistics.
• Chris Nemes (Detroit Catholic Central) - Took 1 Shot.
• John Nowicki (De La Salle) - Played but did not accrue any statistics.
• Tim Shoemaker (Rochester) - Started and committed 1 penalty for 2:00.
• Max Zwolan (Ann Arbor Pioneer) - Started and picked up 2 GBs.

Ohio State 4, Detroit 3 - Game Recap.

• Conor David (Brother Rice) - Caused 1 turnover and and picked up 2 GBs.

Bellarmine 9, Detroit 6 - Game Recap.

• Ted Avendt (Brother Rice) - 2 Goals on 3 Shots
• Andrew Bulgarelli - won 3/9 faceoffs, collecting 3 GBs. Took one shot.
• Patrick Ellis (UD Jesuit) - Started, but but did not accrue stats

Detroit 6, Bellarmine 9 - Game Recap.

• Brandon Davenport (Grosse Point North) - Won 11/19 faceoffs, and picked up 4 GBs.
• John Dwyer (Detroit Catholic Central) - Committed one penalty for 0:30.
• Nick Garippa (Notre Dame Prep) - Played, but did not accrue stats.
• Matt Gregson (Flint Powers) - Started and scored 1 Goal on 6 Shots. Also collected 1 GB
• Scott Harris (Saline) - Started, recorded 1 assist and 0 G on 7 shots. Picked up 3 GBs.
• Jamie Hebden (Brother Rice) - Started but did not accrue any stats.
• Brad Janer (Detroit Catholic Central) - Picked up 2 GBs.
• Tim Lehto (North Farmington) - Started and took 3 Shots. Caused 1 Turnover and picked up 1 GB.
• Matt Lining (Troy Athens) - Scored 1 Goal on 1 Shot.
• Chris Nemes (Detroit Catholic Central) - Scored 1 Goal on 2 Shots.
• John Nowicki (De La Salle) - Tallied 1 Assist and 1 Goal on 1 Shot. Picked up 1 GB.
• Tim Shoemaker (Rochester) - Started and picked up 2 GBs. Also caused 1 Turnover. Committed 1 penalty for 1:00.
• Max Zwolan (Ann Arbor Pioneer) - Played but did not accrue any stats.

Ohio State 20, Mercer 2

• Conor David (Brother Rice) - Caused 1 turnover and picked up 1 GB.

Mercer 2, Ohio State 20

• Anthony Seling (Detroit Catholic Central) - Picked up 2 GBs.

If you have any suggestions for improving the format, or if I've missed on any Michigan native who played in the past week, drop a line in the comments.

Bellarmine 9, Detroit 6

Detroit 0-3.

Well, this one is going to sting. Detroit held an early 2-1 lead, but gave up a three-goal run to Bellarmine and never led again. The Titans kept the game close late into the third quarter at 6-5, but Bellarmine scored the first three goals of the fourth, and a last-minute Detroit goal only served to keep the score respectable at 9-6.

In my season preview for the Titans, I classified this game as a toss-up, and honestly, I expected Detroit to come away with the win, even on the road. Playing Ohio State close only upped that confidence, but at the end of the day, UDM will have to wait another couple weeks (4 weeks into their season) for their next realistic shot at a victory.

Tempo-Free

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

Bellarmine
Bellarmine		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	8	Faceoff Wins	11
Clearing	12-13	Clearing	9-14
Possessions	26	Possessions	26
Goals	9	Goals	6
Offensive Efficiency	.341	Offensive Efficiency	.231

In a very slow game, Detroit did very well at the faceoff X to level up the number of possessions despite some struggles in the clearing game.

HOWEVA, it's the efficiency, stupid. Detroit's defense was terrrrrrrrrrible, allowing goals on nearly 35% of Bellarmine possessions. The offense actually wasn't too bad, but when your defense is going to struggle to that level, the offense needs to step it up to compensate.

Notes

As hinted above, Brandon Davenport performed pretty well on faceoffs (don't forget, this Bellarmine team handled Michigan on faceoffs just a couple weeks ago), and I think he's probably locked down the starting job there for the remainder of the year.

The Titans had their first multi-goal performer on the year, with attackman Shayne Adams netting a pair (on nine shots, for a .222 shooting percentage). Junior midfielder John Nowicki matched his point total by notching a goal and an assist.

It was a poor shooting day for several Titans, as Matt Gregson found the back of the net once in six shots, while Tim Lehto, Scott Harris, and Dennis Troy all went 0-fer on multiple shots. Harris at least put up an assist to partially make up for his 0/7 shooting day.

LSM Jordan Houtby tied a program record with 10 ground balls on the game.

AJ Levell made 7 saves while allowing 9 goals. I assume a big part of the blame goes on a porous Titan defense, but without seeing the game, it's hard to say for certain.

Bellarmine's 9 goals came on just 27 shots (.333) and Detroit took 33 shots to score 6 goals (.182).

Elsewhere

Detroit recap. Bellarmine recap. Box Score.

Up Next

Detroit serves as a sacrificial lamb at Maryland next Saturday at 1, before likely earning their first win of the season the following week in Pontiac against first-year program Mercer.

Ohio State 4, Detroit 3

Detroit 0-2. Photo from Detroit website.

Coming off a big loss to Delaware on Saturday, Detroit looked to rebound last night against Ohio State. My preseason prediction was a likely loss, so going down by a single goal may be something of a moral victory, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and allowing a late winner on the road is heartbreaking.

Whereas all five of their goals against Delaware came on the man-up, UD's extra man unit was shut out in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, and the clearing game was a bugaboo for the Titans.

Tempo-Free

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

Ohio State
Ohio State		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	6	Faceoff Wins	5
Clearing	20-22	Clearing	14-21
Possessions	35	Possessions	28
Goals	4	Goals	3
Offensive Efficiency	.114	Offensive Efficiency	.107

With such a small sample size, it's hard to say Detroit was thaaaaat much less efficient than were the Buckeyes, and the number of possessions was a bigger factor in the loss for the Titans.

Both teams had a lot of struggles offensively, as Ohio State couldn't hit the broad side of a barn (their .173 shot percentage was lower than any team's season total last year, and only half their attempts were on net), and Detroit couldn't even generate shots in the first place (they only generated a shot on 57.1% of their possessions).

Per Ohio State's stats, Detroit committed 11 turnovers in the 4th quarter, when it mattered most, and that lack of poise in the clutch could have helped cost them the game.

Notes

Faceoffs were NOT a problem for Detroit on this day. Brandon Davenport was shut out in the third quarter, but managed to finish one draw short of .500 at 5-11. It's too early to say the struggles in Delaware were an aberration against a very good opponent, but there's definitely evidence that may be the case.

On offense, it was a dodging day for the Titans, as they had no assists on their three goals. Midfielders Tim Lehto and Alex Maini and freshman attack Alex Maini got on board.

In goal, it's hard to say whether AJ Levell had an excellent day saving 8 of 12 shots, or if the poor offensive play helped by giving him easy looks. I'll side on the side of optimism for the Columbus native, and say WOOO LEVELL.

Elsewhere

Highlights from Ohio State (requires Microsoft Silverlight):

Detroit recap. Ohio State recap.

Delaware 13, Detroit 5

Detroit 0-1. Photo from Delaware photo gallery.

So. I certainly wasn't expecting a win in this game, but a 13-5 smackdown probably wasn't in line with my prediction of an improved Detroit squad this season, either.

Delaware was up 2-0 before UDM even got on the board, and led 12-2 before a late Titan rally made the final score look closer than the game actually played out. The Titan's even-strength and man-down teams struggled, as the Titans scored all five of their goals on the man-up.

Tempo-Free

From the box score, let's bust out the first-ever(!) individual game tempo-free breakdown:

Delaware
Delaware		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	15	Faceoff Wins	6
Clearing	22-27	Clearing	21-30
Possessions	51	Possessions	41
Goals	13	Goals	5
Offensive Efficiency	.255	Offensive Efficiency	.122

First things first, this was a blistering-fast game with 92 possessions between the two teams. Last year's Robert Morris (100 possessions) and Wagner (92 possessions) games were the only ones to reach that pace. According to Orange:44, the home of tempo-free lacrosse stats, 70 total possessions is about average for NCAA Division-1 games. Considering Delaware was playing backups and likely slowing things down in the second half, this was a very up-and-down game.

The Titans were pretty good defensively, with a much better efficiency number than their average last year (.309). Offensively, the performance was pitiful, especially considering the only UDM goals came in 6-on-5 offense.

Like we learned all about looking at least year, Detroit got pummeled on faceoffs, and did poorly in the clearing game, which led to a significant advantage in possessions by the opponent.

Individuals

Ah, the faceoffs. This was a horrible area for Detroit last year, and it looks like it might not be a huge improvement this year (boding ill for the rest of the season). Brandon Davenport went a poor 5-16 and Tyler Corcoran was a dismal 1-5 in the third and fourth quarters.

Offensively, the unexpected loss of last year's offensive leaders is likely to be a theme throughout the year, but attack Scott Harris made an early play for filling the void by notching a goal and two assists, while freshman attack Shayne Adams was the team finisher with three of the five Titan goals. Adams had a .500 shooting percentage with his goals coming on six shots, and Harris and midfielder Matt Gregson each shot .333.

On defense, LSM Jordan Houtby led the team with 9 ground balls and six turnovers forced. Sophomore goalie AJ Levell faced 30 shots on goal and made 17 saves. For an offensive comparison, the Titans didn't even have 30 shots total, and only 18 of their 27 shots were on goal.

The Other Side

Out of curiosity, I took a look at Delaware's faceoff man, Dan Cooney. He went 14-17 on Saturday, for a ludicrous .823 success rate. Cooney went .547 last year, so he's a pretty good faceoff man, but that's a terrible performance no matter what. Brandon Davenport took both draws against Delaware's backup, Andrew Rohacik, splitting the pair.

The Blue Hens had rather even scoring, with three different players notching a pair of goals, but nobody scoring a hat trick. That means seven other guys had a lone goal, for 10 different players putting the ball in the back of the net.

Delaware committed plenty of penalties (6 for 4:30), which led to every single Detroit goal. Nobody committed more than one no-no.

Delaware's backup goalie, Ryan Smith, played the final 3 minutes of the game, and allowed 2 goals on 3 shots faced. If you were to (unwisely) extrapolate that over an entire game, it would mean 40 goals on 60 shots faced.

Elsewhere

Delaware site recap. Photo gallery.

Detroit site recap.

University of Detroit-Mercy Season Preview

As the only Division-1 lacrosse team in the state, the University of Detroit carries the torch for the State of Michigan in the lacrosse world. Sadly, that hasn't gone so well over the past few years, as the Titans have failed to come within spitting distance of a .500 record in their first two season of existence (even going winless in their 2009 debut).

2011 should represent another step forward for UDM. In the program's third year, the Titans have a chance to hit new heights, with plenty of returning players just about everywhere except the attack.

That means the attack should be a weakness in 2011, as a couple of sophomores won't participate this spring. Midfield, defense, and goalie, on the other hand, should improve markedly as there's another year of seasoning in most of the lineup.

Personnel

Goal

Key Returners: AJ Levell, Mike Brown

Losses: Vince Diana

AJ Levell started almost the entire 2010 season as a true freshman, before he was spelled against Canisius by Vince Diana, who went on to start the final two games of the year. It's unclear whether the replacement was performance or injury based, but Levell was between the pipes for the first two victories in program history, and should be improved in his second year at the college level.

Mike Brown is a career backup who has played other positions in his time at UDM, and the Titans also added Danny Kransberger from Forest Hills Central. He may see some playing time as a true freshman.

Official site goalies preview.

Defense

Key Returners: Jason McDonald, Adam Nolan, Jamie Hebden

Losses: Chris Butts, Matt Clugston, Andrew Khalil, Nick Hoye

Junior Jason McDonald and sophomore Jamie Hebden started every game last year, and junior Adam Nolan was also a letterwinner for the Titans, and that trio should form a solid defensive unit that is improved from last year.

The only returning backup is sophomore John Dwyer, but there are three incoming freshmen (Nick Garippa, Max Zwolan, and Brian Smith) hoping to compete for playing time.

Official site defense preview.

Midfield

Key Returners: Matt Gregson, Tim Lehto, Ty Maruyama, LSM Tim Shoemaker, LSM Jordan Houtby

Losses: Austin Keefer, Mike Fields, Joshua Summers, Jon Bemben, John Hogan, Vince Wigdahl

Matt Gregson and Tim Lehto return from the top offensive midfield line, but the third spot will likely fall to a freshman, per the official site. The second line is a pair of juniors, Ty Maruyama and John Niwicki, along with sophomore Chris Nemes (whose older brothers played at Syracuse and Michigan State).

Tim Shoemaker is a returning starter at LSM, and had XXX last year. Other defensive midfielders include Brad Janer, a team captain whose younger brother Jeff is a freshman at Michigan.

There are plenty of other midfielders on the roster, and it looks like midfield depth should be one of the strengths of the roster.

Official site midfield preview. LSMs covered in defensive preview.

Attack

Key Returners: Scott Harris

Losses: Joel Matthews, Tyler Staruch, Matt Arb.

The Titans are going to be without the services of their only All-Conference performer from 2010, as sophomore Joel Matthews will sit out the season to focus on academics, as will his classmate Tyler Staruch. Matthews led the team with 37 goals and also chipped in 11 assists, so his loss is a substantial one.

Junior Scott Harris is the lone upperclassman in the attack unit, and one of the few returning players with much experience. Chris Nemes might play some in the attack with the lack of returning playmakers, because the other options are almost exclusively freshmen. Ty Maruyama also played both attack and midfield last year.

Attack should be an area of weakness with little proven talent on the roster with the loss of last season's leading scorer and leading assist man.

Official site attack preview.

Faceoff

Key Returners: Brandon Davenport, Tyler Corcoran

Losses: None

Brandon Davenport and Tyler Corcoran took the majority of Detroit's faceoff draws last year, with mixed results. Redshirt sophomore Danny Preston wasn't much better in 2009, and he missed last season with injury.

The addition of experience and healthy bodies should improve the faceoff percentage in 2011, which could be a big boon to the team overall. As I mentioned in the Tempo-Free Breakdown, faceoffs were often a big weakness in UDM's game last year, even playing a big role in a few losses. For the Titans to improve this year, they'll have to do better at the centerfield X.

Official site faceoff preview.

The Schedule

@ Delaware

Feb. 5, 1PM. Newark, DE

2010: 10-7 (4-2 Colonial) #16 LaxPower

The opening game of the season should be a very tough one for the Titans. On the road against a top-25 team is not a pleasant situation for a program still trying to find its feet. Inside Lacrosse #24 Delaware preview.

Prediction: Auto-loss.

@ Ohio State

Feb. 10, 7PM. Columbus, OH

2010: 7-8 (3-4 ECAC) #28 LaxPower

The Titans stay on the road, and face another tough opponent as Ohio State is also ranked in the top-25 by some experts. Though Detroit was nearly doubled up by the Buckeyes last season, I think the Titans are the more improved team. Inside Lacrosse #23 Ohio State preview.

Prediction: Likely Loss.

@ Bellarmine

Feb. 12, 1PM. Louisville, KY

2010: 9-6 (3-4 ECAC) #47 LaxPower

Bellarmine's team is rebounding from the loss their long-time coach Jack McGetrick, but the Knights should be improved from last year. Their scrimmage victory over Michigan (after getting pasted by the Wolverines last year) shows that they're moving in the right direction. Still, Detroit is improved at well. Last year, the teams played a 4-goal game in the season opener. Inside Lacrosse #37 Bellarmine preview.

Prediction: Toss-up.

@ Maryland

Feb. 19, 1PM. College Park, MD

2010: 12-4 (1-2 ACC) #4 LaxPower

Maryland is a consistent power, and the Terrapins are expected to continue their string of successful seasons in 2011. Detroit's program is a long way from beating ACC opponents on the road. Inside Lacrosse #6 Maryland Preview won't come out until next Friday.

Prediction: Auto-loss.

Mercer

Feb. 26, Noon. Pontiac (Ultimate Soccer Arenas)

New to Division-I

If Detroit wants to prove its team belongs on the biggest stage, winning a home(ish) opener against a team that's in its first year of varsity lacrosse is absolutely necessary.

Prediction: Auto-win.

Lehigh

Mar. 6, 2PM. DH

2010: 8-7 (2-4 Patriot) #44 LaxPower

By playing their first "home" game outside of Detroit, the Titans get the benefit of two home openers. However, the true home opener matches them up against a team that handed them their worst loss of last season, a 21-9 drubbing. That game was marked by horrible defensive efficiency, and the improved Detroit D should hold down the offense a bit. Inside Lacrosse #36 Lehigh preview.

Prediction: Toss-up.

@ Mount St. Mary's

Mar. 9, 1PM. Emmitsburg, MD

2010: 12-5 (7-1 MAAC) #32 LaxPower

Struggles on the faceoff (.333) against Mount St. Mary's last year helped lead to a 3-goal Titans loss. With an improved team (especially on faceoffs), Detroit should perform better. However, this game is on the road, and I'm not sure UDM is ready to compete with a team like the Mount. Inside Lacrosse #33 Mount St. Mary's preview.

Prediction: Likely Loss.

Robert Morris

Mar. 13, 11AM. DH

2010: 10-5 (Independent) #31 LaxPower

Robert Morris got the best of Detroit last year, as the Titans turned in a remarkably bad .120 offensive efficiency. RMU should be a pretty solid team this year, so this will be a tough win for UDM. Inside Lacrosse #21 Robert Morris preview.

Prediction: Likely loss.

VMI

Mar. 19, 1PM.

2010: 2-13 (0-8 MAAC) #57 LaxPower

When your program has only won three games in its existence, and one of them came against VMI, you have to expect that your improved 2011 squad will be able to repeat the deed at home.

Prediction: Likely win.

@ Jacksonville

Mar. 26, 1PM. Jacksonville, MI

2010: 6-7 (Independent) #33 LaxPower

Jacksonville was a first-year program in 2010, and still managed to be much, much better than second-year Detroit. Now that Jacksonville's players have two years in the system, it's likely that they'll be even more improved than the Titans.

Prediction: Likely loss.

@ Siena

Apr. 2, 1PM. Loudonville, KY

2010: 12-5 (8-0 MAAC) #37 LaxPower

The Titans lost a 1-goal heartbreaker to Siena last year, partially because they had slightly worse performance on faceoffs and clears (although their efficiency was actually higher). Since Detroit is so improved, I think they stand a decent chance on the road. Inside Lacrosse #40 Siena preview.

Prediction: Toss-up.

Manhattan

Apr. 9, Noon.

2010: 7-9 (5-3 MAAC) #50 LaxPower

Detroit played Manhattan close last year, but a slight disadvantage in possessions and efficiency led to a defeat. With a greatly improved Detroit team, and this game at home, it should be a strong chance for a Titan win.

Prediction: Likely win.

Canisius

Apr. 16, 3PM. DH

2010: 6-7 (5-3 MAAC) #54 LaxPower

Detroit lost to Canisius in a 1-goal game last year, as a last-second shot for the Titans hit the pipe. Faceoff struggles were the name of that game (shockingly), and an improved Detroit team should be able to come away with a win at home.

Prediction: Likely win.

@ Marist

Apr. 30, 1PM. Poughkeepsie, NY

2010: 8-7 (5-3 MAAC) #51 LaxPower

Marist took UDM behind the woodshed last year, more than doubling up the Titans. With an advantage in possessions, Detroit couldn't make the most of them (while allowing Marist to do just that) led to an ugly loss. Though the Detroit defense should be improved, it probably won't be enough to get a road victory.

Prediction: Likely loss.

The Total

In 14 games, that's one auto-win, three likely wins, three toss-ups, five likely losses, and a pair of auto-losses. With the toss-ups, let's err on the side of optimism, predicting a 2-1 record in those games. That adds up to a 6-8 record prediction for Detroit in 2011.

Don't forget to check out yesterday's tempo-free post on the Titans.

Detroit Lacrosse 2010: Tempo-Free

Before going into the details, I missed out on a photo gallery from Carthage, who was one of the teams that scrimmaged Detroit last Saturday (HT: 412 Lax). Check them out if you're interested.

A reminder from the Michigan version of this same feature:

• Possessions = Faceoff wins + clearing attempts + opponent failed clears.
• Efficiency = Goals/Possessions.

Bellarmine
Bellarmine		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	16	Faceoff Wins	8
Clearing	8-10	Clearing	10-12
Possessions	28	Possessions	22
Goals	12	Goals	8
Offensive Efficiency	.423	Offensive Efficiency	.364

Bellarmine owned the faceoff 'x,' leading to many more possessions than the Titans had. They were also more efficient, and came away with a comfortable win.

Ohio State
Ohio State		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	11	Faceoff Wins	13
Clearing	20-24	Clearing	19-29
Possessions	45	Possessions	46
Goals	16	Goals	7
Offensive Efficiency	.356	Offensive Efficiency	.152

The Buckeyes didn't have nearly as many clearing opportunities, but had much more success on them, to draw just below even in number of possessions. There, they also made much more of their opportunities, more than doubling efficiency and score.

Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	14	Faceoff Wins	10
Clearing	11-13	Clearing	10-11
Possessions	28	Possessions	23
Goals	13	Goals	8
Offensive Efficiency	.464	Offensive Efficiency	.348

The Titans had a rather efficient day, but their struggles on faceoffs led to fewer possessions, and Quinnipiac took advantage of porous defense to come away with the comfortable win.

Robert Morris
Robert Morris		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	9	Faceoff Wins	16
Clearing	26-35	Clearing	19-25
Possessions	50	Possessions	50
Goals	15	Goals	6
Offensive Efficiency	.300	Offensive Efficiency	.120

In their fastest game to-date, the Titans had a dismal day offensively (this is a theme, you'll see), scoring on a mere 12% of possessions. Robert Morris emerged with the easy win.

Lehigh
Lehigh		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	23	Faceoff Wins	9
Clearing	14-17	Clearing	10-20
Possessions	50	Possessions	32
Goals	21	Goals	9
Offensive Efficiency	.420	Offensive Efficiency	.281

Bad defense? Check. Bad offense? Check. The anomaly here is that UDM got absolutely crushed in number of possessions, due to both a horrible day clearing the ball, and similarly-epic struggles on faceoffs.

Manhattan
Manhattan		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	12	Faceoff Wins	11
Clearing	22-24	Clearing	18-23
Possessions	41	Possessions	36
Goals	11	Goals	8
Offensive Efficiency	.268	Offensive Efficiency	.222

The Titans were sliiightly worse on faceoffs, a decent amount worse on clears, and less efficient. It's no surprise, then (necessary, given the definitions of the stats), that they were handed a loss by Manhattan.

Presbyterian
Presbyterian		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	14	Faceoff Wins	19
Clearing	16-21	Clearing	18-22
Possessions	39	Possessions	46
Goals	12	Goals	16
Offensive Efficiency	.308	Offensive Efficiency	.348

Ladies and gentlemen, are you sitting down? The University of Detroit-Mercy, for the first time in program history, left the field victorious - albeit over 1st-year program Presbyterian. A better day on faceoffs and a slightly better clear/ride game gave the Titans a handful more possessions, and they used them more efficiently than the opponent (for the first time all year) to get UDM's first-ever W.

VMI
VMI		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	15	Faceoff Wins	8
Clearing	13-16	Clearing	13-18
Possessions	36	Possessions	29
Goals	8	Goals	11
Offensive Efficiency	.222	Offensive Efficiency	.379

Can you say... win streak? Despite getting crushed on faceoffs, and having a worse clear/ride than the Cadets, Detroit turned in their most efficient offensive game of the year AND their second-best defensive game of the year en route to program victory #2.

Siena
Siena		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	12	Faceoff Wins	8
Clearing	19-20	Clearing	18-20
Possessions	34	Possessions	29
Goals	9	Goals	8
Offensive Efficiency	.265	Offensive Efficiency	.276

The Titans fell juuuust short of their third win, as they were more efficient than Siena, but were once again done in by struggles on the faceoff (and a clear/ride game that was slightly worse).

Yale
Yale		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	13	Faceoff Wins	10
Clearing	20-25	Clearing	19-21
Possessions	40	Possessions	36
Goals	12	Goals	8
Offensive Efficiency	.300	Offensive Efficiency	.222

Detroit lost the faceoff battle yet again, but performed better in the clearing game to stay close in number of possessions. The Bulldogs were more efficient though, and were able to get a comfortable win.

Mount St. Mary's
Mount St. Mary's		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	16	Faceoff Wins	8
Clearing	11-15	Clearing	15-21
Possessions	37	Possessions	33
Goals	12	Goals	9
Offensive Efficiency	.324	Offensive Efficiency	.273

Being on the wrong side of a domination at the faceoff X again contributed to a loss for the Titans. They also had a worse ride/clear game and were less efficient.

St. Joseph's
St. Joseph's		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	7	Faceoff Wins	13
Clearing	17-22	Clearing	10-18
Possessions	37	Possessions	36
Goals	10	Goals	7
Offensive Efficiency	.270	Offensive Efficiency	.194

The complete lack of consistency on faceoffs over the course of the season is such a question mark to me (and I'll have to do a bit more research writing the preview to figure out why). On this day, Detroit was on the good side of a domination. Their ride/clear game was bad, though, and their offensive efficiency was just pitiful.

Canisius
Canisius		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	11	Faceoff Wins	8
Clearing	17-20	Clearing	15-20
Possessions	36	Possessions	31
Goals	9	Goals	8
Offensive Efficiency	.250	Offensive Efficiency	.258

Detroit was slightly more efficient than Canisius, but still managed to lose based on having fewer opportunities. That's due to (say it with me now) slight struggles on faceoffs and a worse ride/clear game.

Marist
Marist		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	12	Faceoff Wins	11
Clearing	17-22	Clearing	19-22
Possessions	37	Possessions	38
Goals	13	Goals	6
Offensive Efficiency	.351	Offensive Efficiency	.158

A horrible day in efficiency both offensively and defensively led to a blowout loss on a day that Detroit actually had more possessions than the opponent.

Wagner
Wagner		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	13	Faceoff Wins	11
Clearing	20-28	Clearing	26-29
Possessions	44	Possessions	48
Goals	7	Goals	14
Offensive Efficiency	.159	Offensive Efficiency	.292

In their most dominant game in program history, Detroit overcame a worse faceoff percentage by riding Wagner to a 71.4% success rate on clears, while nearing 90% success on their own. With more possessions, they nearly doubled up in terms of efficiency, for a big win.

What it all Means

The Titans rotated between being horrible, merely bad, and decent. They had varying amounts of success in all three factors of efficiency, with good and bad days on faceoffs, ride/clears, and efficiency. Let's take a look at the season totals.

Season Totals
Opponents		Detroit
Faceoff Wins	198 (.548)	Faceoff Wins	163 (.451)
Clearing	251-312 (.804)	Clearing	239-311 (.768)
Possessions	582	Possessions	535
Goals	180	Goals	133
Offensive Efficiency	.309	Offensive Efficiency	.249
Final Efficiency Margin
-0.060

Aside from overall offensive efficiency, Detroit's most consistent struggle (despite occasional flashes of brilliance) was on faceoffs. That's also a much more discrete issue to fix than "hey put the ball in the goal when you have it," (though putting the ball ON the goal might be a good start - Detroit was in the bottom third of Division 1 in shot percentage) so improving on faceoffs is a simpler fix for improvement - if not necessarily an easy one.

The ride/clear game was fairly even throughout the year, though opponents got the best of the Titans there as well. You can't score on a possession if you can't bring it into the offensive restraining box (INCISIVE ANALYSIS!).

The overall story is... Detroit can improve all over. As a young program entering just its third year of existence, there's definitely a possibility that it can happen.

Coming Soon

Now that I have some baseline numbers to work with, I'll try incorporate this stuff into a season preview of the Titans. Look for that tomorrow, in advance of their regular season opener on Saturday at Delaware.