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East Carolina Game Recap

Feb. 4, 2012

Clemson 15, East Carolina 3

The Tigers took 2/4/12 in Greenville, NC against the Pirates of ECU in another regional game. The coaches stressed consistency in this game; no on-again-off again efforts allowed. We were pretty confident heading into this game that we had the numbers, the talent, and the history to prevail over ECU. To the Pirates’ credit, they are much improved over past years, particularly over the 2010 edition when they were unable to field a team for our Parents Weekend Game.

The players responded to the challenge and posted a very workmanlike 15-3 win. Again, our 2 man inside sets were tough to match up against, and the Tiger offense showed admirable patience in working the ball around until creating a true quality opportunity. Clemson dominated possession throughout the game and would have gotten out to a bigger lead except for some heroic saves by the Pirate goalie.

The Tigers spread the wealth, with quite a few guys getting in on the scoring parade. Going into the 4^th period Clemson had a 13-0 lead and every player who made the trip had seen the field. ECU did finally break through the Clemson defense in the latter stages of the 4^th to notch 3 goals and avert the shut out.

The Tigers did suffer a tough injury when junior defenseman Mike Schwartz went down with a broken wrist in the 4^th quarter. It’s no consolation that he was doing his job when it occurred: he was involved in a back up slide with another Tiger hitting the ECU ball carrier, and Mike tried to break his fall by extending his arm. Unfortunately, he was trying to break the fall of 3 additional players which was asking a bit much of his wrist.

(Update: Mike spent about 5 hours in the Emergency Room inGreenville,NCand departed that night with a soft cast and instructions to see an ortho surgeon upon his return toGreenville, SC. Mike followed those instructions and had surgery on Valentine’s Day with all reports positive as to the outcome. Everyone in the Clemson Lacrosse Family is wishing Mike a speedy and complete recovery.)

Scoring by Quarter:

Clemson: 6 2 6 1 15

East Carolina: 0 0 0 3 3

Scoring:

Buechele (3g, 3a), McLoughlin (2g, 3a), Patch (3g, 1a), Brennan (2g), Kilbourne (1g, 1a), Conlon (1g), Dancy (1a), Long (1g), Reddish (1g), Haille (1a), Johnson (1a), Murphy (1a), Smith (1a)

Saves:

Murray: 5 saves / 0 goals allowed

Upton: 4 saves / 3 goals allowed

Face Offs:

Pontiakos: 18 of 21

Stinchcomb: 0 of 1

Notable:

- Team lost junior defenseman Mike Schwartz to a broken forearm in 4^th quarter. After a 4 ½ hour visit to the ER inGreenvilleNC (thank you Rick Hogue and Joe Matusek), Mike had surgery on return toGreenville,SC and prognosis is for complete recovery.

- James McLouglin’s 5 points look to be his final points for the 2012 season as his knee has not fully recovered from torn ACL suffered last season. On his doctor’s advice, James is opting to take a red shirt season this year and return to the field in 2013.

- Buechele’s 6 points give him 16 in two games, average 8 per game. Interesting that in both games his goals and assists have been equal (5 and 5 / and 3 and 3)

- Freshman JP Brennan hit for 2 goals.

- Scoring their first points as Tigers were Matt Johnson, Zac Long, Nick Murphy, and Steve Smith

- The Defense and Demetrius Murray threw a 3 quarter shut out at the Pirates.