10/10/2009 3:33:46 PM
Led by freshmen Chris Nemes (Novi, MI/Detroit Catholic Central) and Joel Matthews (St. Catharines, ON/Holy Cross Secondary), who each netted six points on the day, the Detroit men’s lacrosse team concluded its fall practice by splitting a pair of scrimmages at the 3rd Annual Nick Colleluori Classic on Saturday.
“Overall, we accomplished what we came here to do,” said head coach Matt Holtz. “We were able to get everyone in and get a good evaluation of our strengths and weaknesses.”
UDM opened the event by defeating new MAAC rival St. Joseph’s, 9-7.
The Titans jumped out to an early lead in part to great face-off play by freshmen Brian Carr (Baltimore, MD/Calvert Hall), Tyler Corcoran (South Lyon, MI/South Lyon) and Brandon Davenport (Grosse Pointe Woods, MI/GP North), who won nearly 80 percent of the face-offs in the game. Nemes and Matthews each tallied two markers in the contest, while assisting on three other goals.
Sophomores Jon Bemben (Hartland, MI/Hartland) and John Nowicki (Clinton Twp., MI/De La Salle Collegiate) along with rookies Mike Fields (Columbia, MD Wilde Lake), Tyler Staruch (Brighton, MI/Brighton) and West Steen (Columbus, OH/Olentangy Liberty) also found the back of the net.
Freshman goalkeeper AJ Levell (Columbus, OH/Dublin Scioto) made the score stand up with 16 saves in the game.
“I was very impressed with our play in goal and at the face off position,” said Holtz. “Those are two areas where we've asked freshmen to step into key roles and they came up huge for us.”
Detroit had a quick turn around playing Lafayette right after game one concluded, falling to the Leopards, 16-8.
Levell, who played every minute in goals for Detroit on the day, stopped 12 shots in the contest. Nemes and Matthews once again provided a pair of goals along with sophomore Scott Harris (Saline, MI/Saline). Nowicki and Staruch also added scores.
“We came out slow, but fought back, but penalties plagued us in the second game,” added Holtz.
With fall practice all over, UDM will now take some time off before practice resumes for the 2010 season. Check back with DetroitTitans.com in the near future for the release of the 2010 schedule.
Key Stats
Levell - 28 saves
Matthews – 4 g, 2 a
Nemes – 4 g, 2 a
Harris - 2 g, 1 a
Nowicki - 2 g, 1 a
Staruch - 2 g
Steen - 1 g, 1 a
Bemben - 1 g
Fields - 1 g