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.
