Michigan Continues Mastery of Chapman
by Jac Coyne
| Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive |
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| Anthony Hruvosky and the Wolverines managed to thwart Chapman in the MCLA tournament again. |
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – It's less of a rivalry and more of
a May MCLA tradition.
While this year's meeting between Michigan and Chapman came in the
semifinals after two consecutive years of occurring in the
championship contest, it didn't lack any of the excitement that
comes with this annual 60-minute drama.
Like the last two seasons, it was Michigan that emerged at the end
of the affair with the victory, this time a 12-10 triumph at Dick's
Sporting Goods Park. The win allows the Wolverines to defend their
title in the MCLA title game, where they'll
meet Arizona State on Saturday evening.
The standout for the Wolverines in this game was goalie Mark
Stone, who recorded 15 saves – many of them off his shins,
helmet and torso.
"Whatever it takes to keep the ball out," said Stone with a chuckle
after the game. "If you get the stick to it, great, but Chapman has
great shooters and half the time I was screened, so I was just
trying to get my body out there and have a good game."
"I thought our poise on offense was key, but then on the other end
Stone locked down, which was important," said Michigan coach John
Paul.
The combination of Stone and Michigan's ability to maintain the
ball on offense helped avoid the kind of start that the Wolverines
suffered in the previous two tournament meetings – falling
way behind early and having to battle back.
"I thought we possessed the hell out of the ball," said Paul.
"That's why we got so many more opportunities."
Instead of chasing the game, Michigan took a 4-1 lead into the
second quarter. Svet Tintchev accounted for two of the goals in the
run.
"In the first quarter we didn't have the ball," said Chapman coach
Mike Wood. "We had one shot."
The Panthers finally found their legs in the second half, and they
were attached to an unlikely player.
LSM Matt Walrath brought Chapman within two after performing a
one-man clear off a turnover and then beat Stone with a bounce
shot. Walrath lined up to take the ensuing face-off, which he won
and converted into another goal five seconds later, cutting the
Michigan margin to 4-3 early in the second.
Chapman had another chance on the doorstep just minutes later, but
Stone came up with the stop off his leg, allowing Thomas Paras to
convert an unassisted goal to push the lead back to two, 5-3, with
9:31 left in the first half.
The Panthers would get no closer.
"We were down 4-1 and then we got the two quick ones," said Wood.
"Every time we thought we were making a little bit of a run on
them, we'd make a mistake. They are a good team, so I'm not going
to take anything away from them."
Chapman was effective in keeping Trevor Yealy, the Wolverines' top
gun, off the scoresheet, but Michigan was able to compensate
through a balanced offensive effort. Nine different Michigan
players scored at least one goal, let by Clark McIntyre, David
Rogers and Tintchev, who all had a pair.
The difference, however, was Stone, who was able to put a past
demon behind him early in the game to guide Michigan to the
win.
"I had some of those rookie first-game jitters," said Stone, a
junior. "The last time I played Chapman, I got pulled out of the
game in the first quarter. I was not seeing the ball. The first
three shots were kind of nerve-racking, but I told to myself, 'What
are you doing out here? You know you can do this.' I just started
seeing the ball and reading better."
Now Stone and the Wolverines will get a chance to form another
tourney rivalry, this time against the Sun Devils.
