M Lacrosse pounds Canisius, 13-5
Michigan had another great game where they raced out to a big lead and rode it to the finish.
Kyle Jackson led Michigan in scoring with 4 goals.
He had a hat trick in the first minute of the 2nd quarter. Michigan was 7-1 at that point and led 8-3 at half.
Michigan is now 3-1, their best start in program history. They play two next week. They'll head down to Jacksonville for a Tuesday night game that will be televised on ESPN3.
Then, next Sunday, they open Michigan Stadium with a game against Brown which will be televised on BTN Plus.
February 28th, 2015 at 2:58 PM ^
Awesome that the LAX team seems to have turned the corner.
Really think MD joining the B1G will help the Michigan program with exposure in the Mid Atlantic and all the recruits in the area.
February 28th, 2015 at 3:21 PM ^
I have a similar feeling. We're no longer scraping past bottom of the barrel teams - we can actually pound some people now. We've got a long way to go before we achieve our goals of competing with the big boys, but it's starting to look more and more like a program with a future.
February 28th, 2015 at 5:48 PM ^
Johns Hopkins in the B1G is a huge draw, too. Any UM fan in the DC area or even NYC area should consider catchig the UM- Hopkins game this year. Homewood Field is a fantastic venue to catch a lacrosse game and Hopkins fans are passionate about lacrosse.
February 28th, 2015 at 6:29 PM ^
Johns Hopkins is in the B1G lacrosse league? That seems like a really significant "get" for the conference. Is this like hockey where there were a bunch of random conferences that were inevitably going to fade away? What's the draw for Hopkins to join a legitimate conference but with a bunch of mediocre teams? Or was it the other way around where teams love the chance to join the B1G?
February 28th, 2015 at 6:52 PM ^
Johns Hopkins is an enormous research powerhouse and lacrosse is the excuse to get them access to the CIC and vice versa.
February 28th, 2015 at 7:54 PM ^
About 15 years ago, when they expanded to 16, the lacrosse tournament had I think 5 automatic bids and 11 at large bids. Conferences were an afterthought, and most good teams were either independent or in a conference (like the 4-team ACC) too small for an autobid.
Now there are 10 autobids and 8 at large bids in the tournament. The number of spots available for great independent teams is going down. And Johns Hopkins has played such a difficult schedule lately (basically the entire ACC and most of the Ivy League) that they have finished below .500, and ineligible for the NCAA tournament, even with a top-15 quality team.
Belonging to a conference with an autobid and also with their biggest rival is a step up for Hopkins, even if their schedule difficulty is going to end up taking a step down.
February 28th, 2015 at 10:48 PM ^
and the B1G was a good choice. With the increased depth of Div 1 lax, it has become more and more difficult for Hopkins to guarantee itself an at-large bid. At large bids have decreased, while the competition for them has increased. Not only do conferences give you the potential for an autobid, but also the conference tournament boosts SOS.
So, the only question was which conference. B1G made a lot of sense. Hopkins may be a small undergrad school, but it is one of the biggest powerhouse research universities. Largest recipient of Federal $$. Also, in the B1G for at least the next few years, the autobid is going through the state of Maryland. Either Hopkins or Maryland will most likely be winning it.
For me, the biggest advantage in Hopkins joining the B1G is that they will be coming to town every 2 years, and I may even drive down to the toilet bowl to see them play there. I've been waiting for a long time, ever since their visit to MSU was cancelled due to termination of the MSU program.
Lacrosse conference alignment has been traditionally pretty weird but the biggest and steadiest have been the Ivy League, ACC and Patriot League. The rest of the country has mixed and matched themselves into a few different conferences like the ECAC, CAA, MAAC and recently the Big East and Big Ten.
But Hopkins was always the stalwart independent. So, for the Big 10 to get them is pretty big. Its likely they would have needed to join a conference because it will become harder to get into the tournament as an independent at-large team.
The Big Ten isn't necessarily mediocre teams - Penn State has one of the best young coaches in the game and Michigan is on the upswing (who knows whats wrong with OSU). Plus, their biggest rival Maryland is now in the league so it weirdly made sense for them to join. Plus, I would argue the Big Ten has the best opportunity and is the most likely to expand and add teams over the next 5-10 years.
Having Hopkins in the Big 10 definitely makes the lacrosse landscape more interesting.
now cemented with Hopkins in the B1G, has been around a lot longer and IMO is another (unmentioned) factor in their choice. They met on the coaching circuit when Michigan was still in the MCLA and hit it off. Hopkins came to Ann Arbor for a fall ball scrimmage in 2009 (?) to get a flavor of life on a big campus and even took in a football game.
The other conference option for Hopkins would have been to follow their other rival Syracuse into the ACC. Standing at only 5 teams in 2015, and therefore ineligible for the automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament, the ACC is nonetheless S-T-A-C-K-E-D as is with Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Virginia. It reads more like the top 5 rankings than a conference line up. I can imagine Pietramala seeing that murderers row and opting for the less imposing, but still competitive, B1G with their long-standing rival Maryland and that all important AQ.
at least once... hopefully twice.
February 28th, 2015 at 3:07 PM ^
Looks like this will our first truly competitive year in D1. I kinda miss the days of just crushing the MCLA but it'ill be fun to start doing it in the NCAA
February 28th, 2015 at 3:15 PM ^
My first Michigan Men's LaCrosse game! #GoBlue #BeatCanisius pic.twitter.com/CSqeEI3ZB8
— Gwendolyn Bush (@UMICH_Mama_G) February 28, 2015
Protect that goal #22 Gerald Logan! #NotInOurHouse #OosterbaanFieldHouse #GoBlue #UMichLAX. pic.twitter.com/b9UoQCcmn6
— Gwendolyn Bush (@UMICH_Mama_G) February 28, 2015
February 28th, 2015 at 4:04 PM ^
Coach Paul needs to teach Mama G how to spell lacrosse.
Nice to the see the boys pulling away from teams that they were close with last year. Definite signs of improvement. Next step is playing close games with top-10 types of teams. That might still be two or three years away, which would still be fast for a new program.
Was wondering when Kyle Jackson was going to blow up in a game. Hadn't happened yet this season.
teach Bill Gates / Steve Jobs (ghost) that lacrosse is not just a city in Wisconsin or a Buick.
February 28th, 2015 at 3:29 PM ^
The ND game was a bit of a downer, but it looks like they might be the best team in the country (very likely will be #1 in the next poll with Denver's loss).
In previous years, M has been happy beating the bad teams on the schedule. Now we're beating up on the bad teams, which is an improvement at least. We haven't played anyone (other than ND) that doesn't qualify as "bad," so it will be interesting to see how we do against the middle of the road teams on our schedule. Brown will be a good indicator next week.
February 28th, 2015 at 3:31 PM ^
The M-OSU game will actually be a huge game this year because it will likely determine who gets the 4th spot in the Big Ten tourney. That would be huge for Michigan to make.
February 28th, 2015 at 3:45 PM ^
I think ESPN sees that. That's why it's going to be nationally televised live from The Big House.
I honestly think Michigan wins that game. They have a shot to enter B1G play at 6-2. That would be incredible.
Ever since KJ scored that GWG against Detroit last year in Pontiac in OT, things changed for the program. That changed the mindset of these players I think. They almost have a swagger now.
Just an observation.
February 28th, 2015 at 7:34 PM ^
I take it you are conceding third to Penn State, then?
I don't know--clearly Penn State is a good team, but if Michigan beats Ohio State on April 11, that game against Penn State on April 25 in Michigan Stadium will be for 3rd place in the conference...and will be winnable if Michigan is as good as they have looked so far.
February 28th, 2015 at 9:15 PM ^
That's fair. But there's not a huge difference between placing 4th vs 3rd outside of a nominally easier first game (which we will almost certainly lose anyway). I'm more worried about 5th vs 4th which is in the tourney or out. But yes, if we beat PSU instead of OSU, we're probably still in.
February 28th, 2015 at 10:52 PM ^
Just determines who plays Hop and who plays the Terps. Basically at home for both of them the next 2 years. But making the tourney means getting to play in front of a big crowd in a lax hotbed. That means two trips to the state of Md for whoever gets those 3/4 spots.
I like how we're already assuming the Rutgers game is a win. Rutgers does suck, and we should indeed beat them, but it's interesting to see the night-and-day difference between now and the past.
I expect Rutgers to eventually be the bottom dweller in the B1G. No built in recruiting advantages. M and PSU were already popular destinations for non-lax kids from the LI and MD hotbeds.
@ Maryland 3/29
@ Hopkins 4/18
... and as a lax alum who lives in DC I couldn't be happier. Would love to see the Wolverines in my neighborhood three times this spring.
February 28th, 2015 at 8:17 PM ^
I'm kind of licking my chops for that game against OSU.
Two common opponents thus far: Detroit and Bellarmine.
Michigan smacked Bellarmine around, OSU barely beat Bellarmine yesterday winning by 1 goal.
Michigan smacked Detroit around, Detroit BEAT OSU.
Add in the fact that Michigan is playing OSU at home......what an opportunity.
When I look ahead at the schedule I see us beating everyone but Hopkins and Maryland and finishing 10-3.
Somebody talk some sense into me.
I think you have to remember that even if we're favored in all of those games, it's not by a ton in many cases and simple math says it's gonna be tough to win every single one of them. Mathematically, even if we have a 75% chance of winning each game (besides JHU and UMD) we only have a 13% chance of winning out.
Math is a really great thing.
So get off your ath and do some math.
Math, math, math, math, math.
The schedule is pretty cake from here on out. 10-3 sounds great. It's possible but they've had some letdown games the last few years where they lost headscratchers. 10-3 will get them in the Big Ten tournament for sure and could even get them in the NCAAs but thats extremely optimistic.
The schedule is tantalizingly easy though - youre right about that...
I would absolutely be joyous beyond belief if we can make the NCAA tournament this year. John Paul has put in just a massive effort for this team, and for him and the guys to be rewarded with an NCAA bid this year would be such a big accomplishment.
... or all of them.
I'm like 90% excited and 10% scared. Or maybe it's 90% scared and 10% excited. But that's what makes it so intense.
Michigan is basking in its best season opening effort standing at 3-1, and basking in the Florida sun all week on Spring Break. The Wolverines take on the Jacksonville Dolphins Tuesday, March 3 in the lone game punctuating a week of intense practices and team bonding.
Michigan’s three wins this year have come against teams that finished last season ranked near or worse than the Wolverines (Bellarmine #34, Detroit #58, and Canisius #45). Michigan’s one loss on the season was to Notre Dame, who played on Memorial Day weekend in the final four and finished #4. Jacksonville finished last season ranked #52 nationally with a record of 4-9, while Michigan finished #39 at 5-11. Michigan is 0-1 all-time against Jacksonville; with Team 1 losing to the Dolphins in overtime 9-8 in March 2012.
Jacksonville stands this season at 1-1, losing big to #11 Army (20-4) and besting unranked St. John’s 12-11 in overtime two weekends ago. Historically (admittedly short), Jacksonville is adept at finding the back of the net, and Michigan’s defense is going to have to play hard to keep the Dolphins from getting off good shots. The Wolverine’s potent offense will also have to work hard to get their shots, but defense does not appear to be the Dolphin’s strong suit this season. (Edit: so this didn't happen. Our defense didn't keep them from getting good shots, and our offense couldn't get it going. Result was headscratcher loss #1 of the season).
Looking ahead
A tantalizing schedule for the remainder of the season awaits Michigan, with 5 of the last 8 games at home. Only 3 of those 8 are against teams that finished last year in the top 10 – Maryland at #7, Hopkins at #10, and Drexel at #8. Currently, Maryland is #9 and Hopkins is #17.
Brown finished #25 last season at 8-6, and at 2-0 this year is just outside the top 20 in the “also receiving votes” line of the rankings (along with Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State). Michigan faces the Bears for the first time ever on March 8 at 3pm in the first game of the season scheduled for Michigan Stadium. Barring a collapse against Jacksonville, the Brown game should be a bellwether game for the Wolverine’s chances of finishing this season above .500 for the first time in program history. (Edit: even though we did have a collapse against JU, the Brown game should still be telling for our chances of finishing over .500 this year).
St. Joseph’s finished #33 last season at 11-4, and the Hawks are unranked at 2-2 this year. St. Joe’s will make the trip to Ann Arbor for the third straight year to play in Michigan Stadium March 14. Michigan is 1-1 all-time against St. Joe’s losing last year 15-6 after winning the previous year 11-8 (Michigan lost a 2012 exhibition match 9-5 in Philadelphia).
Drexel finished last season ranked #8 at 13-5, and is unranked at 0-4 this year – but their losses are all against ranked teams – #7 Virginia, #12 Albany, #19 Villanova, and #9 Maryland. The battle tested Dragons will be a tough out for the Wolverines. Hopefully we’ll be firing on all cylinders – particularly on defense – when the Dragons come to Michigan Stadium March 21. This should be a good one.
The Wolverines close out the month of March, and open the B1G season, against Maryland in College Park on March 29. If the team stays focused, continues to improve, and avoids any head scratcher losses along the way, JP and the boys could enter the Maryland game at 7-1 and ranked in the top 20. Hope springs eternal. See you in College Park.