Last week, on April 20, Ohio State gave the No. 19 Michigan men’s lacrosse team a scare, scoring five unanswered fourth period goals to cut the deficit to only one goal and leaving the Wolverines with a narrow, nail-biting victory.
One week later, the result was the same, but this time, after some early-game bumps, things went much smoother for Michigan.
The Wolverines (8-6 overall, 2-3 Big Ten) defeated the Buckeyes (6-9, 1-4), 15-9, in the Big Ten quarterfinals, adjusting after a rocky first period to close out the game.
“We talked a lot this week about winning lacrosse,” Michigan coach Kevin Conry said. “About playing really smart in the fourth quarter.”
Initially, however, it didn’t look as though the Wolverines were playing winning lacrosse.
Michigan fell behind early, as they found Ohio State’s short stick defense to be difficult to penetrate. While the Wolverines were able to move the ball well and pass it for extended sequences, the Buckeyes maintained shape and prevented Michigan from finding potential scoring opportunities.
Additionally, where the Ohio State’s defense shined, the Wolverines’ faltered. Their defense was caught off-guard by the Buckeyes’ fast breaks and outmatched in their one-on-one situations, resulting in a 4-3 deficit for Michigan by the end of the first.
“They surprised us a little bit with how packed in they kept it from one game to the second game,” Michigan coach Kevin Conry said. “So they certainly surprised us. We knew that they were going to be really aggressive on some trail checks.”
But the Wolverines got over their surprise as the game progressed.
Entering the second period, Michigan opened up its wing players, allowing them to stretch the length of the field and open up different points of attack. It paid off immediately, as the Wolverines racked up a 4-1 second period scoreline and took the lead which they never relinquished, adding on four and five goals in the third and fourth period, respectively. Among the key contributors were graduate attacker Justin Tiernan and junior attacker Ryan Cohen, both of whom recorded hat-tricks.
Notably, Michigan employed a uniform approach to score almost all of its early goals. The Wolverines effectively utilized buildup play, which entailed short passes and team movement, to maneuver into the Buckeyes’ half. They then shot from close range at the end of the play. It was the same attacking approach Michigan had used to start the game off, and after taking some time to settle into the game, it paid off.
And by the time the fourth period rolled around, there were no signs of the struggles the Wolverines endured last week. Michigan closed the game strong, with five goals to bury the lead — the highlight of which being senior faceoff option Justin Wietfeldt’s solo goal from directly off a faceoff.
“We want to be aggressive, but we don’t want to just take fool’s gold,” Conry said. “We want to stop the clock up once we get that lead going. So I’m really proud of the way that we finished the game.”
And while the Wolverines’ offense fueled the victory, the scoring attack was matched by a strong defensive effort. Michigan successfully made use of picks to break down Ohio State’s attack, and effectively transitioned the ball from defense to offense, thanks in large part to graduate midfielder Beau Pederson and his speed. While the Wolverines’ defense struggled to deal with the Buckeyes’ attacking pressure initially, they settled in as the game progressed and maintained their aggressive approach to suffocate Ohio State’s attack.
Sophomore goalkeeper Hunter Taylor buoyed that defensive performance. Taylor turned in a rather aggressive goalkeeping performance, venturing out of his goal to handle shots. He made saves in several decisive moments, notably one at the very end of the first period that would have doubled the Buckeyes’ lead.
“All of it goes to the defense,” Taylor said. “They give me the shots that I want to see and that I can make saves on and all credit goes to them. They did a great job today.”
Michigan started off the game slowly, as has been an issue for it at points this season. But as the Wolverines settled in, they found their groove, turning in a strong performance to advance to the next round of the Big Ten Tournament.