Colorado Stuns Michigan; Streak Ends at 49
from press release
BOULDER, Colo. – The No.-1 ranked University of Michigan men's lacrosse dropped its first game in nearly three years Friday night, falling to No. 22 Colorado, 12-10.
Michigan fell behind early and eventually trailed by seven goals
in the fourth quarter before going on a five-goal run to draw
within two. The Wolverines were unable to draw any closer, however,
in the final minutes of the game, as the Buffs held on in the
end.
The teams traded possession in the opening moments of the game,
with Colorado opening the scoring at the 11:42 mark to earn the
early 1-0 lead. The Buffs made it 2-0 three minutes later on
a dodge and fire from 10 yards out front.
The Wolverines got on the board at 6:39 when senior attackman
Kevin Zorovich (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) fed fellow senior
attackman Clark McIntyre (Little Silver, N.J./Rumson – Fair
Haven) from behind the cage as Michigan drew within one.
Colorado rebuilt its two-goal lead immediately following the goal,
winning the faceoff and racing into the zone at 6:28 of the first.
The Buffs continued to out-work the Wolverines early, thwarting a
UM clear attempt and scoring off the turnover to make it 4-1 at the
end of the first quarter.
Colorado increased its lead to 5-1 with the first goal of the
second quarter, under two minutes in on a shot from just outside
the crease. The Wolverines finally answered at 9:21 on another
McIntyre – Zorovich connection, this time with McIntyre
feeding Zorovich out front for the quick-stick goal to cut the lead
to three.
UM scored again at 3:35 of the second quarter, as Zorovich fed
junior attackman Trevor Yealy (Pittsburgh, Penn./Upper St. Claire)
right out front on the Wolverines’ first man-up attempt to
make it 5-3 Colorado. Michigan controlled possession for the
remainder of the quarter but it was the Buffs that were able to
score with just five seconds left in the period following a clear
and timeout, as Michigan trailed going into the half for the first
time this season.
Colorado scored first in the third quarter to retain the momentum,
and to increase its lead to 7-3 at the 13:54 mark. The Buffs kept
rolling, scoring again two minutes later on a nice cross-goal feed
and finish from just outside the crease to build its largest lead
of the game at that point at five.
Colorado scored again at 8:10 on a broken ride, but Michigan
answered at 7:05 as freshman midfielder Joe Hrusovsky (Lake Forest,
Ill./Lake Forest) cut across the front of the cage and fired low to
cut the lead to 9-4. The back and forth action continued as
Colorado scored immediately following the ensuing faceoff to regain
the six-goal lead.
After possessions for both teams, senior attackman Josh Ein
(Potomac, Md./Bullis) scored on a low screamer from the right wing
on the man-up to cut the lead to 10-5. The Buffs immediately
answered however on another broken ride and one on one with
Michigan goaltender, junior Mark Stone (Greenwood Village,
Colo./Cherry Creek). Michigan earned another man-up right
before the quarter break, but failed to score despite two quality
chances, as UM trailed 11-5 entering the final
frame.
The Buffs scored again to open the fourth quarter, winning the
faceoff and racing in for the goal just 16 seconds into the period.
Zorovich notched his second of the game five minutes later, as
Michigan cut the lead to 12-6 with time slowly running out.
Zorovich added another just 36 seconds later on a blast from the
right wing, before senior midfielder Michael Bartomioli
(Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville/Providence) made a 30-yard pass
on a Wolverine clear attempt to McIntyre who was parked right
outside the crease for his second of the game.
UM scored its fourth unanswered at 6:18, as senior captain David
Rogers (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) drove down the right wing and cut
in front to cut the lead to 12-9. Rogers was on the other end
the next time down, feeding senior midfielder Anthony Hrusovsky
(Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), as Michigan cut the lead to 12-10
with 3:23 left in the game.
It was too little too late, however, as the Wolverines
weren’t able to create another scoring opportunity in the
final moments of the game. The Buffalos ended Michigan’s
49-game winning streak and rebuilt their own postseason
hopes.
Despite the loss, statistically, Michigan won every
category. UM outshot the Buffs 48-33, and scooped up 46
ground balls compared to 26 by CU. UM was 18-of-26 on faceoffs, and
cleared the ball at a rate of 20-for-27, while the Buffs cleared
the ball successfully 19 times in 29 attempts.
Michigan held Colorado scoreless on two man-up attempts while
going 2-for-4 itself. Colorado goaltender Bradley Macnee was very
strong in net, stopping 18 shots, including 14 in the second half
alone.
The Wolverines will have a day off before heading to Fort Collins
to take on No. 2 Colorado State on Sunday at noon.
