W Lacrosse skyrockets to #13 ranking, beats Cincinnati 19-9 in Brighton, MI
#20 Michigan was supposed to face Cincinnati yesterday at U-M Lacrosse Stadium but it was determined during the middle of last week that the weather looked like a snowy, cold mess on Sunday.
Michigan Football took over Oosterbaan Field House with the Schembechler Hall expansion. Half of the building now makes up the new Schembechler Hall Performance Center, the other half has about 50 yards of turf that Michigan Softball uses for indoor practice.
There was nowhere to move the game on campus. The only field house left is the former U-M Indoor Track Building which is now known as the U-M Indoor Training Center. It has no seats in it as it serves as an indoor practice facility for the lacrosse and soccer teams.
So this morning Michigan ventured North to Brighton and the game against Cincinnati was played at the Legacy Center, a massive indoor field house.
The game was back and forth in the first half, with Cincinnati controlling the game. Shots were even at 10-10 in the first half but Cincinnati held an edge in the draw control battle 7-3.
Michigan took a 4-3 lead when Caitlin Muir scored her second goal of the game man-up, but Cincinnati scored the final 2 goals of the half to take a 5-4 lead into the locker room.
Senior goalie Mira Shane made 5 first half saves coming off being the USA Lacrosse National Player of the Week, but she was benched at half for senior goalie Alli Kothari. The two split time last year in the cage.
Cincinnati scored the first goal of the second half to go up 6-4 but what followed was an offensive onslaught that was incredibly impressive.
Michigan went on an incredible 15-3 run to close the game including the game's final 8 goals.
Junior Lilly Grass and sophomore Maggie Kane both had 5 goals for the Wolverines on the day. Sophomore Caitlin Muir also had a hat trick with 4 goals of her own. 14 of Michigan's 19 goals were scored by that trio.
#13 Michigan beats Cincinnati 19-9, improving to 7-0.
During the game the IWLCA Poll came out and Michigan skyrocketed to #13 in the country, so Michigan played this game as #13. If the poll came out after this game with the rankings taking it into account, the Wolverines might be even higher. This was the first time Michigan has been challenged by an unranked team while being the favorite and Michigan pulled away in the second half like we've been a ranked team for years.
Two weeks ago Michigan Women's Lacrosse achieved its first national ranking in the program's history at #25. Michigan is now a Top-15 team.
7-0 is by a mile the best start in program history. Michigan is on an 8 game win streak going back to last season which is also a program record.
Michigan picking up their 7th win on the season today ties the program single season wins record. Michigan had its most successful year in the program's 6 year history in 2018 with a 7-10 record.
Michigan will continue its 4 game home stand this weekend with a pair of non-conference games starting with Kent State who is 0-5 and in their first season of existence. The game will be played on Friday at 5pm at U-M Lacrosse Stadium........weather permitting.
7-0 damn that’s impressive. Another Michigan sport to enjoy. Football season is gonna come very soon at this pace.
Can any of them play running back?
Interesting to note while Michigan has been trending up, traditional powerhouse Florida has been falling like a rock. They're being covered this season on an ESPNU documentary and they have disappointed so far. They've lost three straight to ranked teams and, with a 1-3 record, are no now longer ranked.
Unfortunately another team with a 1-3 record is Colorado, the previously ranked team which we beat earlier. Hopefully they can do well in PAC 12 play to get back in the polls.
Denver is still doing well though and are currently ranked #13 right behind the #12 Wolverines (media poll ranking).
Other B1G ranked teams:
#2 Maryland, #9 Northwestern, #10 Johns Hopkins, #19 Penn State
It sure will be tough once they get into Big Ten play, but it will come with plenty of opportunity.
HEEEELLLL YA!
Ladies, LETS GO BLUE!!!
Keep it up!
They were challenged the first half for sure, but most games played away—far away; west coast and Colorado against higher ranked teams. They had a minor let down the first half (from what I could tell watching on line updates), and then just kicked it into gear the seconds half.
That was gutty and impressive. Thanks again for keeping these updates coming. This team should be watched. Super fun to watch, and making M fans proud!