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Stadelmaier sets state assists record in playoff game

By Midland Daily News, 05/23/21, 8:15PM EDT

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Ryan Stadelmaier set a state record on Friday, but to him it's a team record. 

The forward for the Midland-Dow co-op boys' lacrosse team distributed 16 assists in Friday's 22-1 win over Linden in a Division 1 regional first-round game on Dow High's new turf field. 

Stadelmaier, a junior at Dow, said the record is exciting to have, but he knows it would have been impossible without his teammates backing him up along the way. 

"It's obviously a team sport. I can't get assists without my teammates getting a goal," Stadelmaier said. "It was a team record that we set. We all worked together to get that. People look at assists as an individual effort, but it's a team thing."

In Friday's game, the Cavaliers (12-6) implemented a new offense that relied on one player tucking behind the net and distributing the ball to teammates cutting in front of the net. 

Stadelmaier, the team's leader with 63 assists, was the guy to dish the ball. The offense worked well because his teammates gel well together, Stadelmaier said. Going into this season, 14 guys on the roster have been playing together since taking up the sport in elementary school. Stadelmaier added that he has played with a couple of his teammates in summer lacrosse, and the chemistry is off the charts. 

"(The chemistry) is huge," Stadelmaier said. "Playing with these guys for a long time, it really does help. I know where they're going to be on the field, and they know where I'm going to be. It's nice to have."

Ryan's father and Midland-Dow coach Joe Stadelmaier said the chemistry on the team is incredible, and it has helped Midland-Dow work its way to a regional semifinal against Grand Blanc on Wednesday in Oxford. 

"Lacrosse is a sport, like basketball, where you know the guy -- what his tendencies are, what his strong hand is -- and you're able to throw the ball to the spot -- not where he is, but where he's going to be," Joe said. "That's what Ryan does really well. ... A lot of players benefit from his ability to throw the ball to where they're going to be, not necessarily where they are."

And that chemistry apparently extends beyond just the players and applies to their coach, too.