Late Surge From #13 Michigan Downs Dolphins in Home Opener 13-10; Faceoff Differential Hurts
Maclay alum Sam Chase 1G/1A
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Facing the second ranked opponent in four days, the Jacksonville University men’s lacrosse team fell 13-10 to 13th-ranked Michigan in the home opener at The Rock Stadium. JU held the lead early, but a second-half surge by the Wolverines marked the difference in a tightly contested battle.
The Numbers
Ryan Della Rocco was a steady hand for the JU defense, earning 14 saves in the game to help give JU the lead in the first half. Five Dolphins finished with two points in the game, led by Ibrahim Pio, who finished with a team-high two goals.
Sam Chase, making his first career start, joined Pio in that group with one goal and one assist. Nicky Brown, Jack Taylor and Anthony Caputo added to the offensive production with one goal and one assist. Chris Darminio again led the team in ground balls, picking up four, followed by Connor MacDonald with three in the game.
How It Happened
Both sides traded goals early in the first quarter, with Michigan grabbing the lead with 14:12 left in the opening quarter before Anthony Caputo tied the game at one less than one minute later. Two goals, one for Michigan and another for JU by Marshall McGuire at the 11:19 mark locked the game into a 2-2 tie.
The Dolphins took its first lead of the game with a pair of goals by Jack Taylor (08:17) and Sam Chase (06:15) before Michigan tied it up with 3:12 left in the quarter. A last-second goal by Ibrahim Pio with four seconds left in the first handed the Dolphins the one-goal lead.
Michigan tied the game early in the second before a scoring drought began for both sides, with JU retaking the lead and extending it to two ten minutes later, making the most of a pair of man-up advantages as Daniel May and Nicky Brown found the back of the net.
The Wolverines would cut the deficit to just one with 3:04 left in the half before Pio answered with his second of the game, coming once again in the final moments of the half, scoring with 40 seconds left in the second quarter.
Ethan LaMond opened up the third quarter with his first goal of the game, extending the Dolphin lead to three 46 seconds into the third quarter.
Following the LaMond goal, Michigan began to grab momentum, scoring seven unanswered throughout the third and fourth quarters to take the lead and add some cushion, bringing the lead to as high as four. A Darminio goal with 40 seconds ended the scoring run, but it wasn’t enough as JU fell 13-10.
Head Coach John Galloway
“There are no moral victories, but tonight will serve as a meaningful moment in our season. From what happened on Friday to tonight, I couldn’t be more excited about the growth that our group showed. We just played one of the best offenses in the country and had every chance to win the game in the second half.
Credit to Michigan for making us pay for every mistake, but I walk out of our facility tonight excited about all the development ahead of our young team. In four days, we get to make another leap as a unit. I can’t wait to get back to the lab with this group.”
