It’s been almost all-Michigan for the past week (and rightfully so), but Detroit Mercy has come in for a couple honors in the Division-1 lacrosse world for the 2011 season.
First, from the official UDM site, the Titans were the nation’s leader in caused turnovers per game, at 11.63. The Titans also played a pretty fast brand of ball – partially because of that aggressive defense, rather than playing “negatively” (as soccer fans would say; essentially playing not to lose) – so they’re almost certainly the nation’s tempo-free leader in caused turnovers.
Secondly, from my friends over at CollegeCrosse, the Titans were the most-improved team in the country from an efficiency standpoint. Overall, they went from a deficit of 9.87 goals per 100 possessions when compared to the opposition, to just under a goal below opponents per 100 possessions.
They were 2010’s 53rd-most efficient offensive team at 22.60 goal per 100 possessions, and in 2011 they moved up to 46th-best at 25.34 – despite losing two of their leading scorers from the previous season. Defensively, they went from 51st-best (32.48 goals allowed per 100 possessions) to 19th-best at 26.22 – a leap of 32 places!
So what does all this improvement mean? The Titans are in store for a bright future. They lost only 2 seniors from the 2011 team (one was removed from the squad mid-season), so should be more experienced, and likely even more efficient next season. If they can improve on faceoffs, they should be able to make another run at the MAAC title.