FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – University of Minnesota Duluth Lacrosse

Duluth, MN (October 13, 2009) – The University of Minnesota Duluth Men’s Lacrosse Team traveled to Carthage College for their first taste of competition this school year.  The coaches split the team into two squads for Saturday’s games, with each squad playing 3 games on Saturday.  Noted Assistant Coach Sam Litman, “We really wanted to see all of our players in game situations.  We have been working on general game concepts and game intelligence, and wanted to make sure those had been understood prior to moving on to sets and schemes.”  The games were a good test for the young Bulldog squad and the teams went 6-1 for the weekend.

The UMD Maroon team started out the day with back to back games against Milwaukee School of Engineering (a new NCAA D3 program) and University of Illinois.  The experience gap between MSOE and UMD showed, but MSOE played with poise and pride all game.  UMD’s attack and face-off unit kept the ball in the offensive end, and manufactured numerous scoring chances and goals.  UMD’s defense held MSOE to one goal.

Next up for the Maroon team were the Illini.  A strong program, with young energetic coaching, the Illini started out strong, notching the first three goals.  But the Bulldogs came roaring back and won 12-5.  Head Coach Rob Graff commented, “The change from MSOE to Illinois was a big shock, but our team never doubted itself.  Our senior captains did a great job of staying positive and leading.”

The UMD White team took the field next, with back to back games against Marquette and Lindenwood’s freshmen and sophomores.  The UMD white team sprang out to a quick lead on Marquette, with numerous transition goals in the first quarter.  Converted Midfielder, now LSM, Scott Stark (Prior Lake, MN) was a leader, hustling on ground balls, leading transition and scoring 1 goal and an assist.  Freshman LSM Bryan Schmitz (Champlin Park HS, MN) also scored a goal in this game.  Coach Sean Pearce commented on the defense, “Marquette has some really good, but young, offensive players, including Minnesota HS AA T.J. Gallus. But our defense did a great job moving their feet and creating transition opportunities after putting the ball on the ground, or forcing lower percentage scoring chances”.  The UMD White team won the game comfortably.

Next up for the White team was the Lindenwood “Young Guns”.  The coaches for both programs focused this game on their freshman and sophomores, with a few upper classmen “sprinkled in” for leadership. In one of the most entertaining games of the day, the UMD White team rallied from a halftime deficit to a 2 goal win.  Freshman Bjorn Nilsen (Rosemont HS, MN) scored an important goal, and defensively, freshmen Mark Scott (Chaska HS, Mn) and Kevin Soderholm (Eastview HS, MN) raised their game.   But it was Eric Johnson, showing off his offensive game, that was a crucial element of the comeback, scoring 2 big goals during the comeback.  Coach Graff commented, “Our White team was really tested, and I was pleased to see them act with purpose during the comeback.  Coach Litman – who supervised the comeback – also did a great job!”

The UMD team then moved over to the Carthage College campus, to play the last two games of the day.  The Maroon team faced off against the host, Carthage College, a 2nd year NCAA D3 program, well coached by Dave Neff.   The Bulldogs sprinted out to a lead, and held it, winning 14-4.  “Carthage is young, but they have some strong players, ” commented Coach Graff, “Especially #6, Keegan Bowman. He was very strong against us.  I was really pleased with our team defense and face off units in this game.”

The UMD White team followed with a game against Michigan State’s younger players.  And while the White team played with heart, the Michigan State team took a big lead early.  The Bulldogs came storming back in the 4th, but fell short, and the White team lost by 3

The next day, the Spartans and Bulldogs met again.  With both sides starting their stronger position players, the Bulldogs held a 4-0 lead at halftime.  Coach Pearce noted, “Our attack did a great job controlling tempo.  As an example, MSU had a long possession to start the game, but our offense recognized that and played a smart possession game also, ending our first possession with a goal.  That’s the type of smart play that we need.”  After 3 quarters, the Bulldogs led 9-2 (including a goal from Goalie Matt Rodstein [Eagan HS, MN]).    At that point, Coach Graff put the younger freshman and sophomores in to start the 4th quarter.  All healthy players played in the game.  The Spartans also began to substitute, and scored 4 goals to close the gap to 9-6. The Bulldog younger players did generate some quality scoring chances but the Spartans goalie played well, shutting out the Bulldogs in the 4th quarter.

The team returned home that day, and is eagerly looking forward to this coming weekends Alumni Game.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 9:09 pm and is filed under MCLA News, UMLL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.