Detroit 13, Manhattan 7

Detroit Titans Manhattan Jaspers LacrosseDetroit 4-8 (3-1 MAAC)

I managed to make it out to my first Detroit Mercy game of the season on Saturday, and was rewarded by witnessing a 13-7 victory for the Titans on a gray, cool day.

Before getting into the details, let’s check out the…

Tempo Free

FromĀ the box score, your tempo-free breakdown:

Manhattan
Detroit Manhattan
Faceoff Wins 10 Faceoff Wins 13
Clearing 18-27 Clearing 14-17
Possessions 40 Possessions 39
Goals 13 Goals 7
Offensive Efficiency .325 Offensive Efficiency .179

So, for the majority of the year, I’ve been saying thins like “Brandon Davenport has the highest win% on faceoffs, he should be taking nearly all of them except in garbage time.” Some commenters disagreed with that, but the stats are what they are. Well, now I think I’m starting to understand where I was wrong. Sure, he was just 2/7 on the day, which doesn’t help, but he also lost a lot of draws cleanly, or almost cleanly, giving the Jaspers some good 6-on-5 chances. If I recall correctly, both of his wins were on procedure violations by Manhattan’s faceoff specialist.

The faceoffs for Detroit’s team on the whole were sketchy (as I’ve been talking about all year), even though they managed to pull close to within 50% on the game. Without knowing too much about the backgrounds of the players, it seems like a lot of them just aren’t that experienced at the position. Manhattan’s specialists knew the tricks of jumping just before the whistle (without getting called), and seemed all-around more comfortable. As Detroit’s program develops a bit more, it shouldn’t be a long-term problem.

In the clearing game, Detroit had some bad plays, but I was still shocked to see 9 failed clears, while Manhattan had only 3. Some of those were late in the game with the score out of reach, so the numbers may not be as bad as they looked.

In all, a slightly higher number of possessions with a considerable advantage on the final scoreboard is going to mean a much better efficiency number, and the calculations bear that out.

Notes

This is more of a general thought, but Detroit was a much, much better team than Manhattan was. The players were more skilled, the defense more capable of getting 1-on-1 stops, and overall the talent level didn’t even seem close. For that reason, it was frustrating to see possessions wasted, because the pure talent difference between the teams was more than the 13-7 score indicated. Going forward, I think a solid foundation for the program has been built, and Detroit will be ready to take big steps in coming years.

I already mentioned faceoffs above, so I won’t go into too much detail, but I was impressed by the Titans’ #13 Joe MacLean. He seemed more willing to scrap for the ball than either of the other UDM players who took draws, and also had the most consistent sustained success.

It should come as no surprise given some of the accolades they’ve gotten this year, but from my vantage point, it seemed like AJ Levell, Jordan Houtby, and Shayne Adams were the best three players on the field. Although Alex Maini had a career day, Adams seemed to be more smooth offensively, which I guess is what you expect from a Canadian player.

When the UDM athletics site posted last week that the Titans lead the NCAA in caused turnovers, I was a little skeptical, especially given the team’s overall record at the time. Level of competition, differences in record keeping, etc., could have been the cause. However, I was really impressed by their ability to play on-ball defense, and get some key checks.

AJ Levell was credited with an assist on a Scott Harris goal, but I’m a little skeptical about the stats there. He threw the ball downfield on a Gilman clear, and Harris got it maybe 10 yards past the half line and took it into the goal, beating at least one defender on the way. Can’t fault giving credit to a goalie for an offensive play though.

When the Titans were up 10-4 late in the third, and then let Manhattan get within 11-7, I started to get a little nervous. However, they managed to put in the game’s final two goals and shut the door on a comeback bid.

One final observation in the “general” category: Detroit’s players seem to have pretty inaccurate shots. They have plenty of power, but even their time-and-room attempts seem more likely to miss the cage than not, once they get out of the are right in front of the net. If they had more shooting accuracy, this could be a potent offensive team (or at least one that forces the goalie to make more saves).

Elsewhere

Official site recap. Postgame with UDM coach Matt Holtz. Postgame with Alex Maini:

Jim Davenport’s photos.

Up Next

Detroit hosts Canisius on Saturday at 3:00PM. This is UDM’s senior day, and will take place as the second part of a double-header on Titan Field.

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6 Responses to Detroit 13, Manhattan 7

  1. Pingback: The Next Level April 11, 2011 | Great Lax State

  2. Joe Smith says:

    After seeing UDM play for the first time, how do you compare them to U of M?

    • Tim says:

      Much better goalkeeper play (not that Michigan’s aren’t good, just not on the same level), their offensive players might have a bit better stick skills, but they’re not quite as athletic. Also, even with Michigan’s struggles on faceoffs, they’re nowhere near as bad as Detroit.

      I think if the two teams played, it would be a really competitive game, but UDM would probably come out on top 6 or 7 times out of 10.

  3. Joe Smith says:

    What are your thoughts on the defensive side for both teams?

    • Tim says:

      I would say Michigan’s Harrison Freid and Austin Swaney are probably the two best defensemen out of the whole bunch. Detroit’s 5th or 6th defenseman, however, is probably as good as Michigan’s 3rd (who, to be fair, is just a sophomore, though Detroit’s probably aren’t much more experienced).

      I’m not counting LSMs in that, by the way. I would say Detroit’s Houtby is an excellent defenseman, and what UM’s Matt Asperheim lacks in pure defensive ability (comparatively), he more than makes up for in being outstanding going forward in transition. His stick skills are as good offensively as almost all D-1 LSMs’ I’ve seen, either on TV or in person.

      • Tim says:

        As an addendum, I don’t pay that much attention to short-stick defensive middies. Not because they’re not important (which they are, perhaps moreso than almost any other position on the field aside from the keeper), but because I’m dumb. I can’t say a whole lot positive or negative about those players for either team.

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