Ann Arbor, Mich. – The #1 ranked University of Michigan Men's Lacrosse team finished off a strong weekend on Saturday night (April 4) in Ann Arbor, defeating #8 Colorado State by a score of 16-3 in front of 327 fans at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse. Michigan dominated possession throughout the game, and the defense stepped up when tested as U-M improved to 11-0.

Early on the Wolverines struggled to hit the cage against the CSU zone defense, with the majority of the shots coming from the far wings and the top of the box. Michigan finally broke through at 5:17 on a tough angle shot from junior attackman Kevin Zorovich (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa). After notching the first goal, the Wolverines started rolling, with sophomore Trevor Yealy (Pittsburgh, Penn./Upper St. Claire) and junior transfer Michael Bartomioli (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) scoring back-to-back goals within eight seconds as Michigan extended the lead to 3-0 late in the first quarter.

Senior attackman Riley Kearns (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) then scored what might be the highlight goal of the season so far for the Wolverines, dodging from behind the goal, rolling off his defender and firing behind his back as Michigan took a 4-0 lead into the second quarter.

Senior attackman Anthony Hrusovsky (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and Zorovich got Michigan going in the second quarter, notching back-to-back goals in the first two minutes of the period as Michigan continued to build momentum, leading 6-0. Senior midfielder Aaron Hodari (Bloomfield, Mich./Detroit Country Day) was next for the Wolverines, taking a feed from Hrusovsky and burying the shot as Michigan continued to dominate early.

Yealy added his second of the game at 6:29 of the second, dodging from the left wing and shoveling the ball into the cage for the 8-0 lead. On Michigan's next possession, Yealy scooped up a ball in front of the Ram goal after an initial save and fired high for his third of the contest.

CSU finally got on the board at the 4:46 mark to close out the scoring in the first half, as Michigan held a dominating 9-1 going into the half-time break.

Colorado State got on the board first in the third quarter, but U-M responded on a nice feed from Zorovich from the left GLE to find a cutting Peter Vasher (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) for the 10-2 lead.

After a Ram goal cut the lead to 10-3, junior Clark McIntyre (Little Silver, N.J./Rumson – Fair Haven) dodged from behind the cage to help Michigan regain the eight-goal lead mid-way through the third quarter. Yealy added his fourth of the night on a quick stick goal after receiving the feed from Zorovich as Michigan took a 12-3 lead into the fourth quarter.

After a faceoff win from junior faceoff specialist David Reinhard (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) to open the fourth, the third-year player fed a wide open Wes McGowan (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) on the edge of the crease for the 13-3 lead. Vasher got his second just under three minutes later, dodging in on the left wing before firing for the goal.

Michigan kept their foot down mid-way through the quarter, with a transition goal from junior midfielder Jamie Goldberg (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown Heights) who was set up by sophomore goaltender Andrew Fowler (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Hotchkiss, CT) followed by junior attackman Josh Ein's (Potomac, MD./Bullis) first of the game to close out the scoring with 9:09 left.

Statistically, Michigan won every major category. U-M out-shot their opponent 52 to 20, and won the groundball battle, 51 to 29. The Wolverines were 14 of 22 on faceoffs, and finished a solid 20 of 24 on clears, while riding CSU to 17-27 totals. The Maize and Blue finished 2-8 on the man-up, while the Rams failed to score in four opportunities.

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2009-04-05