Detroit 12, Marist 11

The Titans put together a strong performance when they needed it, something that they’ve been able to do in conference play to date, but have struggled with in the non-conference. That’s a step toward doing what UDM seems to do each year: finish strong.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-frxee stats:

Detroit was very poor in two areas that we’ve come to expect: faceoffs and clearing. Those two alone got them destroyed in the possession game, even though an OK ride helped keep things from getting too out of control.

The possession game didn’t matter too much in this one, though. The Titans’ offense was humming at full power, and good goalkeeping prevented the Red Foxes from achieving to the same level. Game, set, match.

Notes

There are two notable areas to discuss. Since the offense was outstanding, I’ll look to Shayne Adams first. He broke loose for one of the first times this season, putting up six goals (on just seven shots) and adding an assist. While it’s clearly too soon to say any and all knee injuries are fully in the rearview mirror, this was the first time in a while that that Shayne Adams has been seen at Titan Field.

Tom Masterson was the No. 2 scorer with three goals and two assists. Alex Maini (a goal and three assists) and Brandon Beauregard (two goals and two assists) had four points apiece. Between that trio of high scorers, there were only three total turnovers – one from Adams and two from Maini – so the valuing of the ball from offensive players was likely the difference in the game.

It wasn’t all great, though. Mike Birney had four turnovers, and put only three of six shots on the cage (scoring on none of them). Scott Drummond had two turnovers of his own, but contributed an assist.

The other excellent player (besides Adams) for the Titans Saturday was goalie Jason Weber. He’s been rounding into form since the first couple games of the season, and has been playing at a very high level for a few weeks now. He made 23 saves on 34 shots on goal, potentially his best game to date. Marist’s offense has been pretty good, so it’s not like he was doing this against Monmouth, either. Simply an outstanding performance.

That Marist got 34 shots on the cage (and 50 total!) is something of an indictment of the defense, however. Compare that to 27 shots and 20 on goal for the Titans. It’s clear whose goalie – and shooting accuracy – made the difference in the game. D-mid Troy Dennis led the way with two caused turnovers, and only faceoff specialist Damien Hicks and goalie Weber reached four ground balls to tie for the team lead.

Speaking of Hicks… not his day. As I’ve mentioned in recent weeks, wing play for the Titans is not good, so only so much of the struggle falls on Hicks’ shoulders. He won the GB on three of his seven wins (in 24 attempts), and caused a turnover on one other. If he’s not getting the win to himself, Detroit has a very, very limited likelihood of helping him out.

The clear game was terrible (no surprise) against a team that has hardly used its ride all year. The Titans managed to escape with a win despite it, but they won’t be able to get away with that level of clearing through the remainder of the MAAC schedule if they’re hoping to put themselves in position to return to the NCAA Tournament.

Three different starters for Marist put up three points, but nobody exceeded that. Given the usual high scorers’ shots taken – Drew Nesmith and Mike Begley combined for 26 shots, 15 on goal, scoring only four total goals – it’s clear that Weber won this game for UDM.

Elsewhere

Detroit recap. Box score. Photo gallery. Only semi-relevant, but Troy Dennis is up for an award. Vote for him. Postgame video interviews with Matt Holtz and Shayne Adams/Jason Weber:

Marist recap.

Up Next

Detroit’s home stand (and season) has one more game left, with the Siena Saints coming to Detroit Saturday. As per tradition, Siena is atop the MAAC standings at this point in the year. Detroit currently sits No. 3, and a win would be huge for the Titans’ conference tournament seeding.

That said, the Saints’ high ranking also implies the obvious: they’re a tough out for UDM, regardless of whether the game is at Titan Field or not. While this isn’t the same team it was a couple years ago, it should be good enough to stay atop one of the country’s weakest conferences.