Lacrosse Falls to #9 Rutgers, 16-8

Submitted by L'Carpetron Do… on

UPDATE: Michigan got blown out against Rutgers today and that's all there is to say. It's not worth a recap. They should expunge it from their memory so they can kick Ohio State's ass next week before their spring game.  GO  BLUE!

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Michigan lacrosse has a big game today on the road against the ninth-ranked Scarlet Knights of Rutgers at noon on the U. Make sure to tune in or set your DVR, or if you're in the neighborhood in NJ, go down and check it out.  

This is a crucial game for both squads as both are vying for their first Big Ten win on the year and need conference wins to keep their tournament dreams alive.  And Big Ten play has tripped up both teams the last few years. Michigan lost all of their conference games last year and ended up 8-6 while Rutgers went 2-3 in B1G play, fell out of the rankings and ultimately missed the NCAA tournament.  

Rutgers is back again though and is getting more respect. They're 7-3 and can boast wins over #8 Syracuse (!) and #19 Robert Morris. They lost a close one to Hopkins last week but have also dropped games to not-great Army & Princeton teams. 

Rutgers will be able to score and Michigan's defense will have to keep attackman Jules Heningburg in check. Heningburg is a 'midseason All-American' according to Inside Lacrosse and he has 29/22 on the year so far.  Michigan's defense may also have some nightmares about attackman Kieran Mullins who scored 8 goals against them last year.  The good news is that Michigan's D is much improved; its smarter and more disciplined so don't expect a repeat from last year.

Rutgers will play hard and has a lot on the line after missing the tournament two years in a row.  It's a winnable game for Michigan but Rutgers will be a tough out.  GO BLUE!

L'Carpetron Do…

April 8th, 2018 at 12:16 PM ^

I know the crowd, coaches and announcers all flipped out when Curran hit that guy, but that really didn't seem that bad.  Seemed like a legal hit and unless the whistle had already blown it shouldn't be called. 

Love the physical play so far.  Michigan needs to hit some shots now.

Apparently no Buckanavage today for disciplinary reasons ( he didn't start at least, I don't know if he'll come in later).

L'Carpetron Do…

April 8th, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^

After 1Q, Rutgers up 2-0.  Michigan is dominating posession but is down thanks to a few key turnovers.  They've also had a few man-ups they haven't capitalized on and they'll start the quarter with the ball and an extra man

It's actually a very fun game to watch right now. Very physical.  Just need Michigan to find an offensive groove against this tough Rutgers defense.  

L'Carpetron Do…

April 8th, 2018 at 12:49 PM ^

Ummm so Mullins has 4 of the 5 goals so far.  A lot of them are off unsettled/transition but still...man.

Michigan has whatever the basketball team had, can't hit the broad side of a barn.

L'Carpetron Do…

April 8th, 2018 at 1:08 PM ^

Riduculous end of half run makes it 8-0 at the half.  Shiiiiiiiit.

Michigan has no offensive rhtymn and is turning the ball over a lot in transition and are losing faceoffs.  Rutgers physical and aggressive and I don't think Michigan knows what to do.  They've missed a ton of shots, but a lot of them were bad shots.  THey couldn't bury the few decent looks they've had.  THey've had nothing in transition. 

I don't even know what the solution is but I think Michigan just needs to slow it down and posess the ball and make sure they get something out of each posession.  

NittanyFan

April 8th, 2018 at 1:36 PM ^

but they look like a sleeper Final Four team to me this year.  They're legit good.

Key game for Michigan is PSU in the season finale.  PSU made the NCAA last year but they're down a bit from 2017.

Short of any surprises, that game should be "winner to the B1G tourney and still alive for an NCAA at-large bid" and "loser's season is done."

L'Carpetron Do…

April 8th, 2018 at 1:23 PM ^

I was wrong. THis resembles the offensive onslaught/defensive meltdown of last year.  Mullins has 7 now and its only half way thru the 3rd.

This is the only game in which they resemble last year unfortunately.  What a bummer. Rutgers just has their number I guess.

L'Carpetron Do…

April 8th, 2018 at 2:10 PM ^

16-8 final.  Yuck.  Michigan missed their first 18 shots en route to an absolute beatdown.  During crucial stretches when Rutgers got hot, Michigan turned the ball over repeatedly and couldn't get the game under control. They also lost their men on defense which allowed Rutgers easy looks that were uncontested and Heidt couldn't do anything about.  He ultimately got pulled.

Michigan made a late run and settled down but it was too little too late.  The final score belies what was an absolute blowout. 

Michigan needs to just forget about this one and get ready for next week.  Hopefully they can get it together and kick Ohio State's ass in Columbus next week.

 

Cruzcontrol75

April 8th, 2018 at 3:10 PM ^

Failed to cash in on multiple man up situations. Couldn’t even get a shot at times. Unforced turnovers. Completely out of sync. I felt bad for Heidi when Rutgers was steamrolling. I turned it off at 13-1 to pick up dog poo and wet rotten leaves. Needles to say I had a better time than M Lax today. Need to regroup and get tOSU in front of their crowd prior to their Spring football game.

phjhu89

April 8th, 2018 at 4:30 PM ^

Sloppy, uncaused turnovers leading to Rutgers transition. Woeful EMO that did nothing to get the D rotating. Long sticks were poor off the ground. You’re going to have tough shooting days, but you can still win if you do the other stuff competently. This was just ugly. Ohio doesn’t have a great offense, but their defense is formidable. A performance like today’s won’t dent Ohio’s d next week. Next week is an elimination game.

Cruzcontrol75

April 8th, 2018 at 9:19 PM ^

I just watched the last 10 min. Solid road win for the Terps. As we saw first hand they are a very good team. Penn State ran out of time. Brought it within 1 with under 20 sec left.

We close the regular season at Penn St 4/28. We need at least 2 wins in the last 3 games (OSU, JH, PSU).

michlaxref

April 8th, 2018 at 10:52 PM ^

That was a hard game to watch. They were getting possessions but couldn't even hit the net. Buckanavage was out for the first half and they got some spark after he got in. Are they that thin? I was looking for more from Noseworthy but he kept missing the net.

I do hope they can shake it off and beat OSU. Looks like that's our best bet to get a B1G win this year. PSU was the other hope and they showed up at home against Maryland. 

 

L'Carpetron Do…

April 9th, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^

I was right about to post it. I am flabbergasted by this. I thought they would fall out completely and not recieve any votes.  I guess no one behind them really made any moves.  Penn is still recieving votes so I think that kind of tells me that there's a drop off, right after Michigan, and Michigan is right on the ledge.  But Michigan got rocked for most of that game and I think if voters tuned in to see it they would've dropped them.

 I think this loss was a total fluke loss for M, though and they are much better than the game, and especially the final score, implies. If they come back and play the way they've played most of the season they can beat Ohio State and hang with Hopkins & PSU.

This game on Saturday is huge. Beat those Buckeye punks!  Bad news is that the Penn State game looks much tougher now.  But, screw it, Michigan has nothing to lose anyway - GO BLUE!

PS - Shocked Albany fell one spot after that clunker on Friday night, esp. to such a bad team.