Fort Collins, CO – The #7 Colorado State Rams roared back from a 9-5 deficit late in the third quarter to force overtime against the #1 Michigan Wolverines, but the Maize and Blue scored on an unsettled play with 3:30 left in the second overtime to send the Rams to their third loss in four games on Saturday night.  The contest also marked CSU’s first annual Hall of Fame game as the Rams inducted five players into the CSULAA Hall of Fame, but the Rams were unable to give a large and boisterous crowd the result they were looking for on a blustery evening on campus as the Wolverines won 10-9 in double overtime.  Colorado State has now lost four overtime games in a row and three this season.

Michigan scored a man-up goal with 4:44 remaining in the third period to take a 9-5 lead, but CSU methodically pecked away, eventually scoring the game-tying goal with just :26 on the clock when senior Ben Wallace (Thomas Jefferson HS; CO) found the net.  Sophomore Kevin Wolff (Don Bosco Prep; NJ) did not score a goal on the evening, but he had two assists and took it upon himself to set up Wallace’s goal as time wound down.

Neither team found success in the first overtime, but not for lack of chances.  The Rams had several opportunities, but could not solve Michigan goaltender Graham Townsend on any of their four shots.  The second overtime came to a decisive end when Peter Vasher caught the ball low in the CSU defensive zone and spun in a shot for the game-winner.

The Rams battled back from a 5-1 deficit in the first half as well, pumping in three goals as the half wound down to make the score 5-4 at the end of thirty minutes.  Junior Joel Tromburg (Heritage HS; CO) scored the first of his two goals with just :01 on the clock in the second quarter to keep the Rams within striking distance.  However, Michigan scored four of the next five goals to take their 9-5 lead.

Colorado State held the edge in nearly every statistical category, outshooting Michigan by a 56-37 margin and picking up 42 groundballs to U of M’s 29.  The Rams also held the balance of the possession time and only turned the ball over 8 times on the evening.  Townsend was solid for the Wolverines, making 17 saves on the evening.  Seniors Garrett Fitzgerald (Regis Jesuit; CO) and Tyson Ehinger (Heritage HS; CO) split time, saving 9 shots between them.  Ehinger saw his first action in the second half since the Cal Poly game on March 27 after a gruesome lower body injury that forced surgery for the netminder.

The loss was CSU’s fourth one-goal defeat on the season.  It also marks the third on-campus loss for CSU.  The Rams had not lost a game on campus since 2000 before this season.  Colorado State (9-5 overall; 0-2 RMLC) has the week off as they prepare for a huge game with their biggest in state rival.  The #16 Colorado Buffaloes will face-off with the Rams at INVESCO Field at Mile High Stadium in the fifth annual Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown on April 26, 2008.  The Rams can secure the #3 seed in the upcoming RMLC tournament with a victory.

Game Stats:

                           Lacrosse Box Score (Final)
                      The Automated ScoreBook For Lacrosse
#1 Univ. of Michigan vs #7 Colorado State Univ. (Apr 12, 2008 at Intramural Fields)
Univ. of Michigan vs.                             
Colorado State Univ. (9-5)                        
Date: Apr 12, 2008  Attendance: 800               
Weather: Cloudy, windy, cold                      

SCORE BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4 OT O2  Tot
-------------------------------------------
Univ. of Michigan...  3  2  4  0  0  1 - 10
Colorado State Univ.  1  3  3  2  0  0 -  9

Univ. of Michigan SCORING: GOALS: Yealy, Trevor 3; Vasher, Peter 2; Zorovich,
Kevin 1; Kearns, Riley 1; Morales, Robert 1; Ein, Joshua 1; Rogers, David 1.
ASSISTS: Kearns, Riley 1; Zorovich, Kevin 1.

Colorado State Univ. SCORING: GOALS: Macdonald,Ryan 2; Tromburg,Joel 2;
Rosa,Kyle 2; Wallace,Ben 1; Backstrom,Justin 1; Miller,Luke 1.
ASSISTS: Wolff,Kevin 2.

SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4 OT O2  Tot
-------------------------------------------
Univ. of Michigan...  5 13 12  5  1  1 - 37
Colorado State Univ. 16 17 10  9  4  0 - 56

GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  3  4 OT O2  Tot
-------------------------------------------
Univ. of Michigan...  4 10  6  4  4  1 - 29
Colorado State Univ.  8 12 10 11  1  0 - 42

FACE-OFFS BY PRD       1     2     3     4     OT    O2    Total
----------------------------------------------------------------
Univ. of Michigan...  3-5   4-5   4-8   1-2   1-1   1-1  - 14-22
Colorado State Univ.  2-5   1-5   4-8   1-2   0-1   0-1  -  8-22

CLEARS BY PERIOD       1     2     3     4     OT    O2    Total
----------------------------------------------------------------
Univ. of Michigan...  3-4   2-5   4-7   5-7   1-1   0-0  - 15-24
Colorado State Univ.  3-4   4-6   3-7   5-6   1-1   0-0  - 16-24

EXTRA-MAN OPPS         1     2     3     4     OT    O2    Total
----------------------------------------------------------------
Univ. of Michigan...  0-0   0-0   2-3   0-1   0-0   0-0  -  2-4
Colorado State Univ.  0-2   0-1   0-1   0-1   0-0   0-0  -  0-5

SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4 OT O2  Tot
-------------------------------------------
Univ. of Michigan...  2  5  5  4  1  0 - 17
Colorado State Univ.  1  2  4  2  0  0 -  9

TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  3  4 OT O2  Tot
-------------------------------------------
Univ. of Michigan...  2  4  4  1  1  0 - 12
Colorado State Univ.  4  2  1  1  0  0 -  8

PENALTIES - Univ. of Michigan 5/3:30; Colorado State Univ. 4/3:30.
Officials:. Scorer: Andrew Chapman.