Orange, Calif. ¨C The #2 ranked University of Michigan Men's Lacrosse team wrapped up their annual Spring Break trip with an impressive win against #1 Chapman on Saturday night (Feb. 28) in Orange, California. Trailing 8-5 at the half, the Wolverines dominated play in the final thirty minutes with a combination of faceoff success, shut-down defense, and timely scoring. 2,704 fans packed Ernie Chapman stadium to witness the rematch of last season's MCLA National Championship Finals.

Chapman opened the scoring on their first possession after a dodge from the left wing, followed by an illegal stick penalty on senior defenseman Jim Petoskey (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) that resulted in a man-up opportunity for the Panthers. Chapman extended their lead on the resulting opportunity, dodging in from the left GLE and firing low for the early 2-0 advantage.

Michigan answered at 8:33 on a tally from sophomore attackman Trevor Yealy (Pittsburgh, Penn./Upper St. Claire) after the second-year player picked up his own rebound and shoveled in a shot to draw the Wolverines within one. Just over a minute later, Chapman turned the ball over in their own zone, followed by a transition attempt led by sophomore defenseman Justin Burgin (Farmington Hills, Mich./Catholic Central). Burgin fed junior attackman Kevin Zorovich (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) on the right wing before Zorovich fired high for his third goal of the season.

Another man-up opportunity for the Wolverines resulted in Michigan's third unanswered goal as senior midfielder Anthony Hrusovsky (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) found Zorovich parked on the crease for the easy goal and the 3-2 lead. Chapman won the ensuing faceoff however, and raced down field before junior Connor Martin fired and scored to tie the game at 3-3 with 5:02 left in the first.

Michigan responded just under three minutes later after Zorovich dodged from behind the cage and hit a cutting Yealy right out in front for the 4-3 lead as the back and forth action continued. Chapman answered right back with two goals in the final minute of the first to take a 5-4 lead into the second quarter. After giving up five goals in the first, the Wolverines made a goaltender change to open the second quarter with sophomore Andrew Fowler (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Hotchkiss CT) coming into the contest.

Early on it looked as though the swap wasn't going to make a difference as Chapman opened the scoring in the second quarter with back to back goals just 27 seconds apart with roughly nine minutes left in the period to take a 7-4 lead. The Panthers notched their fifth unanswered goal after a failed ride from Michigan gave long-pole Andrew Salcido a clear lane up the left side.

Senior captain Riley Kearns (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) helped slow the Chapman momentum, closing out the scoring in the first half, dodging around the cage and firing to cut the lead to 8-5 as the teams headed into the locker room.

The Wolverines clawed within two, notching the first goal of the third quarter as Rogers found Yealy parked just outside the crease for his third of the game. Hrusovsky kept the Wolverines rolling on the transition, receiving a clearing pass from senior defenseman James Payer (St. Louis, MO./MICDS) and darting down the middle before firing low to draw within one at 8-7 midway through the third.

Chapman answered at 5:59 to regain the two-goal lead on a dodge and fire from Corey Anderson. The teams then traded goals with Hrusovsky adding his second of the game as Chapman lead 10-8 with just under four minutes left in the third quarter.

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2009-03-01