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.

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.