Michigan's Men's Lacrosse Schedule Announced
Michigan's Lacrosse schedule was announced today. Head Coach Kevin Conry and the boys have a big season ahead of them. Kevin Conry is in his second season as head coach in Ann Arbor. He led the Wolverines to their first Top 20 road win last year when they beat #4 Notre Dame in South Bend. This wasn’t the lone Top 20 road win for the Wolverines last year. In the last game of the regular season, the Wolverines scored a game winner over the Nittany Lions in overtime at Happy Valley.
Michigan welcomes back a stud in goal, Tommy Heidt (54.9% save pct, 96 saves), as a 5th year senior. Returning defensemen Michael Borda (28 gb) and Finn Goonan (24 gb) will try to lighten Heidt’s workload again this season. Brent Noseworthy (41 g, 7 a) and Decker Curran (22 g, 9 a) return as senior leaders on the offensive end. Freshmen Alex Buckanavage (19 g, 12 a) and Kevin Mack (21 g, 21 a) will build on great first seasons. Speaking of returning freshmen, Connor Cronin will look to better himself in the faceoff X after winning 52.8% (114/216) of his faceoffs in his freshman season.
19th ranked Michigan is going to need these players to step up big in this challenging slate if they want to better their 8-6 record from a year ago. I'm conservatively predicting a 7-6 record for the Wolverines, but also wouldn't be too surprised to see them go 8-7 after reaching the Big Ten semifinals.
Saturday, January 26 @ Hobart (Exhibition)
One of two scrimmages for the Wolverines, Hobart is coming off a 4-10 season last year.
Saturday, February 2 vs. Penn (Exhibition)
In the second scrimmage, Michigan will play Penn. Penn beat Michigan last year, 12-9, in Philadelphia. Michigan went out to 3-0 lead early in that game before Penn even had possession, but Michigan struggled with shooting after the first quarter, finishing the game with a meager 20% shooting percentage. Should be interesting to see which team's starters plays better.
Saturday, February 9 @ Cleveland State
Cleveland State went 4-10 a year ago in their second season of lacrosse. Michigan beat them 15-5 in Ann Arbor last year. Different venue, but I expect the same result.
Tuesday, February 19 vs. Drexel
Drexel went 5-8 last year and finished 5th in the CAA. Drexel did somehow defeat Big East champs Georgetown, but Drexel also lost four of their last five games. This is a game Michigan will be favored to win.
Saturday, February 23 @ Jacksonville (Moe’s Lacrosse Classic)
Michigan will play in the Moe’s Lacrosse Classic for the first time this spring. Michigan and Jacksonville will be the highlight of the youth lacrosse tournament held this weekend. Jacksonville went 8-7 last year and were a goal away from making the NCAA Tournament via an auto-bid. However, outside of conference play, their only wins were Navy and Detroit. Again, Michigan should be favored in this game.
Saturday, March 2 @ St. John’s
St. John’s season went the exact opposite of Jacksonville. After going 6-2 in nonconference, St. John’s lost six straight games to end the season. A better team than Drexel and Jacksonville, but a game Michigan should win nonetheless.
Sunday, March 10 vs. #1 Yale in Atlanta, GA
The reigning national champ will play Michigan once again this year. Although Michigan only lost by 4 goals last year, I’d doubt it would be that close again. The game is two weeks later this year which allows Yale to mitigate their Ivy League practice time disadvantage. Yale also has the best faceoff man after securing the transfer of TD Ierlan. If Michigan was undefeated before this, they won’t be afterwards.
Saturday, March 16 @ Marquette
Michigan beat Marquette 12-7 last year in Ann Arbor. Marquette finished the season 6-8 with wins over Jacksonville, Detroit, Ohio State, Georgetown, St. John’s, and Providence. With the game being in Milwaukee this year, it will be more of a tossup this year.
Wednesday, March 20 vs. #6 Notre Dame
Last year was pure bliss for the Wolverines as they upset the Fighting Irish in South Bend. This year Michigan hosts perennial power Notre Dame in Ann Arbor hoping for the same results. Stay optimistic my friends, but this one will likely be a part of Notre Dame’s revenge tour after the Fighting Irish went a meager 9-6 last year.
Saturday, March 23 vs. Delaware
The Michigan/Delaware series resumes in 2019. Delaware leads the series 2-1, but their most recent victory was in 2013. After a 6-8 season for the Blue Hens in 2018, I don’t think Coach Ben DeLuca, former coach of Cornell, will turn the ship around enough to defeat the Wolverines.
Saturday, March 30 vs. #9 Johns Hopkins
The Blue Jays barely escaped with a win in Ann Arbor last year after the Blue Jays’ Kyle Marr put one in the back of the net with less than a minute to play. Johns Hopkins then went to finish their season with a 12-5 record, losing to Duke in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Although Michigan played them close last year, expect Johns Hopkins to play with more focus this year now that Michigan is not their lead-up game to the biggest rivalry in college lacrosse (Johns Hopkins vs. Maryland).
Saturday, April 6 @ #3 Maryland
Kevin Conry will faceoff against his old boss once again, but this time it will be back in his old hometown, College Park. Maryland won this game last year, 13-5. The Terps went on to go 14-4, also losing to Duke in the NCAA Semifinals. Michigan will most likely be starting Big Ten play with an 0-2 conference record.
Saturday, April 13 vs. #10 Penn State
After winning a stunner against the Nittany Lions last year, Penn State will be an even more important game this year. Michigan will likely need wins over Penn State and Ohio State to make the Big Ten conference tourney. Penn State will be looking to do the same after missing the Big Ten tourney last year due to their loss to Michigan and finishing 8-6. It should be a close one once again.
Saturday, April 20 @ #12 Rutgers
Unlike football and basketball, Rutgers lacrosse certainly has had Michigan’s number the last few years. After Michigan claimed their first Big Ten win against the Scarlet Knights in 2015, Rutgers has won by scores of 13-6, 14-7, and 16-8 the last three years. With the game in Piscataway this year, unfortunately I don’t see this year being any different.
Saturday, April 27 vs. #17 Ohio State
The Game has moved to the final weekend just like it should have always been. With Ohio State clawing to an 8-5 victory last year in Columbus, this game will likely be a dogfight once again. Faceoffs were an issue in the second half last year. Wolverines sophomore faceoff guy Connor Cronin will need to step it up big in this game if the Wolverines want to pull it out. Michigan will also need an answer for the Buckeyes’ Tre Leclaire, a junior who scored 3 goals in last year’s game. With a Big Ten tourney spot likely on the line, this game is bound to be one for the ages.
Thursday, May 2 B1G Semifinals in Piscataway, NJ
Saturday, May 4 B1G Finals in Piscataway, NJ
December 11th, 2018 at 12:22 PM ^
So it looks like Michigan must win a minimum of 2 conference matches in order to even sniff the BTT, based on last season's results (Rutgers and PSU were both 2-3, but RU had the tiebreaker). Tough slate, with every other conference team ranked. I guess best chances would be the last 3.
I'll have to put that Marquette match on the calendar. It might be a nice day to drive up from Chicago to watch our Wolverines (for the first time ever!).
December 11th, 2018 at 12:28 PM ^
How is recruiting going?
Does it look like M will ascend to maybe PSU or ND level any time soon, or is it still a big as to if/when that will happen?
Back when lacrosse was first announced as a varsity sport, a lot of people ordained M as the next big thing given that even as a club sport the academics at M were appealing enough to many better east coast players, the theory being that it would immediately become a magnet for top tier players.
Has that not been the case, or did we stick with the club coach a bit too long? Probably a bit of both, I would guess.
December 11th, 2018 at 12:48 PM ^
https://recruitingrundown.com/commitment-center/2019-commitments/
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
4* No. 20 Jake Bonomi, A/M, St. Anthony’s (N.Y.) / LI Express
4* No. 80 Will Hurley, LSM/D, Manheim Township (Pa.) / Big 4 HHH
4* No. 91 Peter Davies, A, Taft (Conn.) / Laxachusetts
4* No. 92 ^Joey Corbett, A/M, Don Bosco (N.J.) / PrimeTime
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH
5* No. 4 ^Jake Taylor, A, Regis Jesuit (Colo.) / Denver Elite
4* No. 21 Nick Harris, M, Dublin Coffman (Oh.) / Resolute
4* No. 27 Jake Giulieri, D, Georgetown Prep (Md.) / Blackwolf
4* No. 35 Maximus Schalit, LSM/D, Ponte Vedra (Fla.) / SweetLax
4* No. 55 Sr. ^Tate Young, M, Westlake (Tex.) / Texas Mustangs, LI Express – PG ’19
4* No. 65 Jonathan Ford, LSM, Torrey Pines (Calif.) / West Coast Starz, RC – PG ’19
4* No. 66 Najee Taylor, M, Loyola Academy (Ill.) / Duke’s LC
4* No. 71 Reilly Gray, M, Chaminade (N.Y.) / LI Express
4* No. 83 Emmett Barger, A/M, St. Anne’s Belfield (Va.) / Madlax
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
4* No. 26 Connor Mitchell, M, Calvert Hall (Md.) / Thunder, SweetLax
4* No. 34 Grant Mitchell, M, Calvert Hall (Md.) / Thunder, SweetLax
4* No. 42 ^Eli Ensor, A/M, McCallie (Tenn.) / LB3 Thunder, Nation United
4* No. 45 Christian Tomei, G, Oxbridge Academy (Fla.) / Palm Beach Revolution
4* No. 50 James Cipolla, M, Parkland (Pa.) / Big 4 HHH
4* No. 53 Jacob Snyder, D, Calvert Hall (Md.) / FCA Maryland
4* No. 62 Elijah Black, M, St. Viator (Ill.) / Nation United
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
No. 58 Sutton Boland, D, Victor (N.Y.) / SweetLax
December 11th, 2018 at 1:09 PM ^
So Michigan recruiting does lag behind teams like nd, osu, Hopkins, and Maryland, although ahead of PSU and Rutgers, at this point.
Looking at the link, the other schools with "better" (i.e., ranked) and more talent (at this point) include Duke, UVA, Georgetown,UNC, Penn, and Princeton. Judging solely by recruiting, Michigan could certainly be competing for a conference tournament berth annually. Things are looking up?
Just for the sake of conference completeness:
JOHNS HOPKINS BLUE JAYS
5* No. 15 Owen Murphy, A, Avon Old Farms (Conn.) / SweetLax
5* No. 16 Blake Rodgers, LSM/D, Bullis (Md.) / VLC – PG ’19
4* No. 43 Tim Marcille, G, Gonzaga (D.C.) / Madlax
4* No. 68 ^Jack Ruddy, LSM/D, Hun (N.J.) / Leading Edge
4* No. 93 Jacob Angelus, A/M, Paul VI (Va.) / Blackwolf
4* No. 97 Hunter Jaronski, LSM/D, Academy of the New Church (Pa.) / Duke’s LC
MARYLAND TERRAPINS
4* No. 24 Connor Whalen, LSM, Bishop Shanahan (Pa.) / Freedom
4* No. 27 Brett Mallee, LSM, La Salle (Pa.) / Big 4 HHH
4* No. 29 Kelan Duff, D, Culver (Ind.) / True, SweetLax
4* No. 70 Logan McNaney, G, Salisbury (Conn.) / SweetLax
4* No. 72 ^Michael Mines, M, Torrey Pines (Calif.) / West Coast Starz, RC
4* No. 74 Danny Maltz, A, Riverside (Va.) / SweetLax
4* No. 75 Jack Brennan, A, Irondequoit (N.Y.) / SweetLax
4* No. 88 Conor Calderone, F/O, Smithtown West (N.Y.) / Laxachusetts
RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (have no ranked commits at this point)
December 11th, 2018 at 2:10 PM ^
What are "sweetLax" and "Laxachusetts" are those their 'club' teams? God, lacrosse is awful now.
December 11th, 2018 at 2:00 PM ^
Yes, true, but teams don't have to exclusively rely on east coast pipelines to recruit talent anymore. It's possible to build a championship-level program built on players from all over the country. A few years ago Denver had a Final 4 team without a single kid from New York or Maryland on the roster. That's an extreme rarity but it can be done (Tierney relied heavily on dudes from Canada).
I think a lot of people (incl JP) thought that Michigan would become a magnet for east coast talent because of Michigan's strong academic profile, but, I think he relied a little too much on the east coast's 'snob element' to recruit. He went too hard in the prep schools (which I think produce underwhelming and overrated players) while neglecting Long Island and upstate NY public schools which are loaded with talent. And I think he missed out on some of the best in-state players. He did get good Canadians though.
I think it's good to have Conry onboard now. He's a good recruiter and he's from LI. Plus, he played and coached in the state of Maryland for a long time so that should help them build talent for the future. But there is talent all over the country that he can pick from now.
December 14th, 2018 at 2:48 PM ^
Granted, 1982 was a looong time ago, but coming from Geneva, NY, halfway between Rochester and Syracuse, I got a lot of strange looks when I said I was heading to U of M for college (strictly for academics - no athletic talent here). Anything west of Buffalo seems like a tough sell in recruiting in that neck of the woods.
December 16th, 2018 at 1:50 PM ^
True, and I guess Syracuse has a hard lock on the top talent coming out of there. And the only program to cut into that territory lately has been Albany. You rarely see kids from there at ACC schools. I'd like to see Michigan poach talent from that area but you're right - its easier said than done.
December 11th, 2018 at 1:57 PM ^
Thanks for doing this.
I wouldn't consider Yale to be impossible. They lost Ben Reeves, and that is a big loss. You never know how a team will react trying to replace a guy like that. And it's a neutral site game.
I mean, we did beat ND last year.
December 11th, 2018 at 2:35 PM ^
I like where you're head's at. Yale will be great but not as good as last year (plus if I remember correctly, M played them very tight into the 4th last year before Yale pulled away).
The only thing I'm worried about is that that game is the third of four straight games on the road for M. They go to Jaxville, then to Queens to play St. John's and then to Atlanta. And that's followed by a trip to Marquette. That could be a tricky stretch for this team (or any team for that matter).
And I'm a little annoyed that ND is on a Wednesday (again), at 4PM (again). I caught it last year because I was home during a snow day but otherwise that is terrible scheduling (a symptom of lacrosse's overall problems with scheduling). But, ND is erratic these days, M could get 'em again.
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