Sophomore lacrosse goalies Andrew Fowler and Mark Stone looked determined as Michigan goalie coach Brad Gigliotti fired shots and barked instructions at them during pregame warm-ups yesterday morning.

That was the most pressure either goalie would encounter all day.

Michigan’s offense controlled the ball for a majority of the afternoon as the top-ranked Wolverines coasted past Minnesota at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse in a 17-5 victory. As reigning champions of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association, Michigan (5-0) proved to be far superior to the Gophers (1-3), who struggled to contain the Wolverine potent offense.

Sophomore attackman Trevor Yealy notched four goals just one day after tallying five in a 13-4 win over Colorado. Fowler and Stone each played one half and watched Yealy and the attack unit calmly dissect the Minnesota defense for much of the game.

“It gives me a great security as a goalie and our defense feels very secure in the fact that our offense can score when they want to,” Fowler said. “When our offense is hot, they can score and we get a lot of rest, which is great.”

Minnesota scored three quick goals late in the fourth quarter against Michigan's reserves but otherwise failed to generate any consistent scoring threats. Michigan coach John Paul attributed the team's success to its execution of the 10-man-ride — an aggressive defensive strategy which requires the goalie to leave the crease and guard an opposing attackman.

As opposing teams attempt to clear the ball from their defensive zone, each Wolverine, including the goalie, tightly marks a man. The defender on the ball throws poke checks while the others close the passing lanes in an effort to regain possession.

“You almost never see it in lacrosse anymore — it’s kind of an old-school philosophy,” Paul said. “But we like the advantages it gives us. You have to dedicate a lot of time practicing it, but the payoff is huge if you can get everyone to buy in, and your system is sound.”

As a result of the 10-man-ride, successful face-offs and a relentless will to win ground balls, Michigan seems to dominate the possession battle each game. Nevertheless, the Wolverines believe they must limit turnovers in order beat more skilled opponents.

“There’s only one spot out of about 25 goals that we have that we haven’t hit all year yet,” Paul said. “And that’s to get under 20 turnovers a game. Today was horrible.”

Luckily for the Wolverines, a "horrible" showing is usually sufficient for a victory.