Detroit 8, Marist 7 (OT)

Joel Matthews is flattened as he scores the game-winning goal (photo by the author).

Detroit’s true home opener was well-worth the price of admission, including a bit of bonus lacrosse in the form of an overtime period. Perhaps more importantly, the Titans came away with a big win to move to 2-0 in MAAC play and 5-4 overall (the first time they’ve ever had a winning record).

Tempo Free

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

Detroit won this game, in part, by doing something they very rarely do: win faceoffs. They took home 2/3 of the draws on the day, and that allowed them to have an off day offensively and still come away with the win.

Good teams find ways to win when things aren’t going well, and Detroit is on the path to being considered a good team (though they still have lots more to accomplish before they can say they’ve arrived).

Notes

A switch on faceoffs made a huge difference. Brandon Davenport started the game, but Tyler Corcoran entered in the second or third quarter, and had much more success. Both performed well enough – against a decent faceoff specialist – but Corcoran won seven of eight draws, while Davenport “only” won half against a good FOGO in Matt Dugan. Corcoran also had a couple clean wins that led to unsettled possessions, though I don’t think any goals were scored immediately off the draw.

Offensively, the Titans looked out of sync for much of the day. Joel Matthews could hardly get anything going in regulation (and still managed to notch three assists, a testament to his ability as a player (a check of the boxscore only credits him with two, but I’m 90% certain he was responsible for the one credited to Adams)), and there were plenty of unforced turnovers. Speaking of Adams, he’s still playing more of a complementary role in recent games.

Speaking of Matthews, the game-winning goal was a thing of beauty:

Other multi-point scorers included Scott Harris (3G) and Alex Maini (1G, 1A).

Defensively, Detroit looked very strong. Marist had pretty good stick skills across the lineup, and although they made a few mistakes with the ball here and there, most of their trouble was caused (directly or indirectly) by Detroit’s players.

Both teams went through long stretches – most of the first three quarters, in fact – where they were generating decent shot opportunities, but getting off weak attempts that were directly off the keeper for easy saves. It was probably contagious to a degree, and I got the impression that if these two squads played again, you’d see more scoring.

When the intensity turned up a bit, A.J. Levell played pretty well. Again, he was only truly tested a few times, but he made nearly all the saves he should, and a couple that you wouldn’t expect him to make. Chalk that up a win.

This was only the third time I’ve seen UDM this season, and I was a little surprised, based on stats from prior contests, to see Troy Dennis get as much run with the first offensive midfield as he did – that is, until I saw him playing. He has the best stick skills of any midfielder on UDM’s squad (by a significant margin), and also the mass to go through/over defenders just as easily as around them. He didn’t get a chance to show off much from a shooting perspective, but I was impressed by his play.

Detroit – as they so often will, with their defensive style – took seven penalties, and allowed two man-up goals. It might be interesting to review some game film (obviously a luxury I do not have) and see the net benefit of playing the aggressive style they do. Of course, it pays off in lots of caused turnovers, but there is an big risk element involved, as well.

I made fun of Marist defenseman Zach Baddalucco for being tiny in the preview, but man, was that a little guy. He’s a good player, so I intend it as no insult, but it has to be tough seeing guys that are as much as a foot taller than him out there.

Elsewhere

Video festival from the UDM official site. Coach Holtz postgame:

Joel Matthews postgame:

Official site recap from UDM, and one from Marist. Game photos.

Up Next

On Saturday, UDM travels to Manhattan in the quest to maintain their perfect record in the MAAC.

Following the game in Riverdale, they’re home for three consecutive weeks before going to VMI to end the season.