Rematch: Michigan Crushes Colorado
by Jac Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
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| Riley Kearns scored three goals and set up two others,
helping Michigan put away Colorado in the second MCLA Division I
semifinal and setting up a rematch with Chapman. © Cecil Copeland |
DENVER - Michigan will defend its title.
After dispatching Colorado in the second MCLA Division I semifinal
game, 17-7 that at no point was as close as the scoreboard showed,
the Wolverines will play in the national championship game on
Saturday evening against the same Chapman team they defeated last
year for their first title.
The Buffaloes, the fifth seed in the tournament, managed to force
the boisterous Michigan fans on hand to wait a little bit before
feeling comfortable with the outcome as the Wolverines led
just 6-4 in the early minutes of the second quarter.
However, despite the relatively narrow score, the staff of the
top-ranked program had a good grasp on what was happening.
"It was just one of those games where you felt everything was going
your way except for the scoreboard," said Michigan head coach John
Paul. "We felt that if we kept playing like we were playing and cut
down on a couple of defensive mistakes, things were going to start
rolling our way. That's exactly what happened."
Still, even though Colorado was limited to converting on just seven
of its 14 clearing attempts and had negligible time of possession
in the first 30 minutes, Michigan led only by an 8-4 margin heading
into halftime.
It wasn't until the first 4:32 of the third quarter when the
Wolverines rattled off four unanswered goals that the Buffaloes
were officially tamed.
"We try and make the third quarter our third quarter every time,"
said Michigan senior attackman Riley Kearns, who finished with
three goals and two assists. "We came out in the second half and
scored a couple of goals and they just kind of died."
Michigan ended up scoring nine of the first 10 goals in the second
half before calling off the dogs and coasting to the 10-goal
win.
"I thought we were okay going into halftime only down 8-4," said
Colorado coach John Galvin. "If we could execute some things we'd
be back in the game, but our guys just couldn't turn the corner.
Michigan is an excellent team."
With Colorado and the rest of the MCLA in its rearview mirror, the
Wolverines now turn their sites on the last obstacle between them a
repeat.
"They are really talented and really fast," said Kearns of Chapman.
"Faceoffs are going to be important, but I think we have all the
momentum right now."
"I look forward to playing Chapman because it is a challenge," said
Paul. "They put so much pressure on you in so many ways, and we
haven't had that in a while."
But like last year, as you watch and listen to the Wolverines,
there's an air of inevitability to their quest.
"We're playing our best lacrosse and this is when you want to be
playing your best lacrosse and I still think our kids are on a
mission," said Paul.
