Just nine months ago, the Michigan women’s lacrosse team had its national title pursuit halted by the eventual champions — Northwestern. On Saturday against Jacksonville, the 12th ranked Wolverines returned to the field, heralding the dawn of a new season filled with heightened expectations and an insatiable hunger for success.
Among those expectations included starting off strong and playing as a team.
And Michigan (1-0 overall) did just that, drowning the Dolphins (0-1 overall) in a 19-1 statement win. Ten Wolverines scored points as Michigan saw contributors up and down the lineup.
“First games are tricky,” Michigan coach Hannah Nielsen said. “I woke up this morning, not really knowing what was gonna happen. You have to prepare — you know you have prepared, but you don’t truly know until that first draw. All we knew was that we wanted it — to start dominant in the first game, especially coming off of last year.”
But among the many uncertainties of a season opener, one thing was for certain: the Wolverines were gunning for success on both sides of the field. And they wanted to do it as a team.
“Top to bottom, it was a full team effort,” Nielsen said. “Obviously, defensively, to hold any team to one is great. We scored 19 goals but it started there on defense.”
Spearheading this defensive contingent was junior goalie Erin O’Grady, who recorded eight saves in her first career start against Jacksonville. O’Grady’s performance, paired with 15 Jacksonville turnovers — including ones forced by perfectly timed stick checks by sophomore defenders Grace Callahan and Taylor Cullen, and junior attackers Jill Smith and Kaylee Dyer — gave rise to Michigan’s offensive onslaught.
Junior attacker Jane Fetterolf soon opened the floodgates for Michigan following a Dolphins turnover, netting two goals within the first eight minutes. After that, the Wolverines’ scoring surged, averaging at least one goal every five minutes.
“We have so many offensive weapons,” Smith said. “Obviously we had 10 different scorers today, three people with hat tricks, and this year, that’s what we’re going to have, and it’s gonna be great for us. We’re scoring in different ways, different people, fast breaks, everything.”
Fetterolf’s pair of goals were followed by scores from Dyer, Smith and senior attacker Caroline Davis before Jacksonville found its first and only opportunity, capitalizing off of a failed clear attempt.
Succeeding a single defensive lapse, O’Grady and Michigan quickly returned to operating as a seamlessly coordinated unit. They converted defensive stops into offensive opportunities with two more goals from Smith and Davis to round out the first quarter, putting the Wolverines up six.
But Michigan’s 7-1 lead did not stop it from pouring it on in the second quarter. Within the opening minute, senior attacker Lily Montemarano notched the eighth goal for the Wolverines. The lopsided score gave no need for urgency, but Michigan never settled into complacency, continuing to prioritize its goal of working together.
“We’ve been working on pushing the tempo, not settling,” Nielsen said. “Today that came in the form of different kinds of offensive looks starting with defensive stops, and just really sharing the ball. I think people who watched us last year thought that we were a one trick pony, but today, having multiple people with multiple points just showed the depth of what we are working with.”
So the Wolverines and their depth of talent continued to execute, adding four more goals to the first half statistics, leading 12-1.
The second half played out much like the first; the Dolphins kept swimming, but the Wolverine current was overpowering. Michigan netted three goals in the third quarter and four more in the fourth. Dyer and Fetterolf joined Smith in a trio of hat tricks, culminating in a resounding 19-1 victory.
“Michigan is coming after everyone this year,” Smith said. “That comes with how much we value each other. We really emphasize that. You could see it today. Everyone came out ready to play. Everyone has been working hard and doing extra things.”
In the season opener, the hard work and team-first mindset paid off. But as Michigan prepares for more competitive games, it needs to continue its synergy forward.
And if the Wolverines’ commitment to proving themselves remains at the forefront, they might just find themselves in a position of continued success.
After ending the season like they did last year, Michigan has even more fire, because it has plenty left to prove. Saturday’s game was the first step in proving it.