#18 Men's Lacrosse Home vs. Ohio State, 8PM (**on BTN**)
Men's lacrosse hosts archrival the Ohio State Buckeyes at 8PM tonight at State Street facility and it will air on the Big Ten Network. It's the final game of the regular season and Michigan is fighting for position in the conference tournament and a possible first round home game (if Rutgers loses). It is also foam finger night and a Blue Out if I'm not mistaken. Hope the weather is somewhat decent out there.
This would be a huge victory for Michigan, whose Tourney Quest 2023 hopes are still alive. They're unfortunately 1-3 in the league but with the 1 being an impressive win over then-#2 Maryland. Michigan has otherwise been snakebit in the B1G, losing in overtime to Rutgers and dropping games to Hopkins and Penn State in which they seemed like the better team for 3 quarters.
Consistency has plagued this team all season and they don't have a lot of time left to figure it out. But, a win today, and at least one in the tournament may be juusssst enough to sneak them in. An appearance in the B1G finals would likely do the trick. They've been getting good work from their faceoff unit, goalies and defense and aside from a few dry spells, the attack and offensive midfield have also been playing well. They just need to put it all together for these crucial games down the stretch.
Ohio State is good but like, Michigan, has been slipping; they've lost 3 straight and 4 out of their last 5 and finally fell out of the Top 20 this week. Both teams are desperate for a win to keep their tournament hopes alive and the loser could finish in last place in the Big Ten. It could be a knock-down-drag-out fight.
Hope Michigan comes away with the win! Go Blue!
Saw that Michigan beat MSU 5-3 in baseball earlier.
Rutgers is getting blown out at Penn State right now, so if I understand correctly, the winner of this game will finish in 4th place and get a home game in the first round of the conference tournament on Thursday. So I think if Michigan wins, they'll get Rutgers at home.
I also have to figure out a way to watch the Knicks game at the same time.
Michigan rolling now! 4 straight goals in a minute or two.
Someone help me out, what’s the strategy of putting a long pole in to take faceoffs? My son used to play and as I recall the make special (extra flexie) heads for faceoff specialists, not something a long pole is going to have. Is it essentially just a white flag with hopes the long pole can knock it out of the other guys cross?
Yeah - its usually what overmatched teams who are bad F/Os do. Ohio State finally got one there but Michigan has been excellent on faceoffs in this game so far. Rowlett and Wietfeldt have been incredible - not only are they winning the face but they're also winning the possession as well.
Wow, Boehm showed up for this game… impressive way to respond to a rough game last week.
I was going to make a comment about hopefully Michigan can close this one out… but then those last 3 mins of the quarter and I don’t think there’s anyway they can blow this lead, lol.
Michigan explodes for 10 goals in the 3rd quarter!!
April 21st, 2023 at 10:11 PM ^
Ok - they won 18-13 thanks to a huge 10 goal(!) run in the 3rd. But there was an amazing story here.
Attackman Michael Boehm was 0-8 shooting last week against Penn State, missing a handful of bunnies and others that he usually buries. Michigan didn't score in the 4th quarter. Announcers said that Boehm was bothered by it so he stayed on the field until 10:30 taking shots.
He scored 8 goals tonight. Pretty awesome.
They get Ohio State again at home next week. They'll need a repeat performance. GO BLUE!!!
April 21st, 2023 at 10:12 PM ^
Wait, they play OSU 2x in a row at home? That's weird...
April 21st, 2023 at 10:13 PM ^
Next week is the Big Ten Tournament, that's just how the seeding worked out.
April 21st, 2023 at 10:24 PM ^
I remember when osu was unbeatable at football. Sad time, but in the past.
April 21st, 2023 at 10:33 PM ^
This season despite the 6-6 record just seems a bit different. starting with the close opener at #1 UVA, obviously the biggest win in program history at #2 Maryland. Several close losses at #8 Hopkins, #5 PSU and at #12 Rutgers. Huge win tonight against a program that seemed to be a step ahead in past seasons. Let’s hope Conry has gotten this program over the hump and can make a run in this B1G Tourney and contend in upcoming seasons.
April 21st, 2023 at 11:14 PM ^
LFG.
Just like football. And basketball. And hockey.
Go Blue!
April 22nd, 2023 at 10:20 AM ^
Great win.
Crowd was there in force.
Go Blue.
April 22nd, 2023 at 10:55 AM ^
Damn, can't believe I had to miss this one. Great win!
April 22nd, 2023 at 11:07 AM ^
I think that 3rd quarter might be the best quarter played in UofM Lax history!
So - I got my eyes on some of these other games hoping that Michigan can get some luck. Specifically, I'm rooting for ND to beat UNC handily today; they were just up big but the Heels came back to make it tight at halftime. Similarly, I'd like to see UVA smash Syracuse. The Orange are likely in at this point but UNC could be on the wrong side of the bubble - but a win today over #1 ND would make Michigan's path much harder. But really, who am I kidding? The committee will bend over backwards to get any ACC team into the field.
Looking at the rankings it sure seems like one of Jacksonville or Utah are going to get in (if not both), barring an upset run from someone else in their conference. Maryland, Penn State and Hopkins are locks from the B1G and the only question is whether Rutgers can get one more win to boost their chances and if Michigan or Ohio State can get at least 2 more.
Delaware is also on the bubble but that's one of Michigan's best wins on the year so I'm going to root for them. Similarly, a win by Harvard over Yale would really help Michigan and if teams like Georgetown and Penn drop some games that would also help.