It’s your classic underdog tale.
The tortoise beats the hare, David takes down Goliath, and the No. 15 Michigan men’s lacrosse team upsets No. 6 Cornell.
On Sunday, the Wolverines (10-6 overall) took on the Big Red (11-4) on their home field in Ithaca, NY, in what was Michigan’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
And, after a grueling back-and-forth game, the Wolverines emerged victorious in a 15-14 overtime win — a win no one expected. Lower-ranked, on an unfamiliar field and battling without one of their key players, sophomore attacker Ryan Cohen, the odds were stacked against Michigan.
Yet, as it turns out, the Wolverines didn’t need anyone to believe in them so long as they believed in themselves.
“The guys just have so much belief this year,” fifth-year midfielder Peter Thompson said. “… Michigan lacrosse has been down for so long that people count us out every time we step on the field. So, we felt like, ‘Why not us?’ The only guys that believe are in this room anyways.”
And so, with unwavering self-confidence, the Wolverines played their brand of lacrosse.
It was junior attacker Michael Boehm who struck first for Michigan, but the early lead was short-lived as the Big Red quickly fired back to tie the game.
This back-and-forth characterized the remainder of the first quarter play as both teams battled for a lead. And, as the first fifteen minutes came to a close, the game was tied at four.
As the teams continued to clash in the second period, the Wolverines started to struggle. With Cohen absent, their offense felt the pressure, struggling to score. Moreover, miscommunication on their defensive end created open lanes for Cornell to find scoring opportunities. With the minutes ticking down, Michigan was starting to fall behind — down 6-5 midway through the quarter.
Luckily for the Wolverines, junior midfielder Isaac Aronson and senior midfielder Jake Bonomi rose to the occasion, filling the hole that Cohen had left.
It was Aronson’s diving goal that erased the Big Red’s lead and Bonomi’s behind-the-back shot that put Michigan up, 7-6, heading into halftime.
Despite being energized by the small lead, the Wolverines knew that they still had a long way to go.
“It’s easy to let the moment get ahead of you and lose sight of the fact that it’s a long game,” Thompson said. “We have a saying that we say all the time, ‘It’s a 60-minute game, 60 one-minute possessions’ … so, we try to be present. And we don’t get rattled easily.”
As the third frame of the game began, Cornell put up an early goal to knot the game back up at seven. The following seven minutes of the period would be scoreless as both offenses struggled to evade the opposing team’s defense and goalkeeper.
Familiar with high-stakes play, freshman goalie Hunter Taylor played a large role in combating the experienced and aggressive Big Red offense. His ability to remain calm and reset in the cage were key in the 16 goals that he stopped during the course of the game.
“Hunter has the unique ability to live into big moments,” Michigan coach Kevin Conry said. “So he really thrived today, and you’d never realize that he was a freshman starting his first-ever playoff game.”
Back on offense, it was the same duo — Bonomi and Aronson who stepped up to end the scoring drought for the Wolverines. Their two goals late in the third quarter gave Michigan a 9-7 advantage — the biggest lead of that game — heading into the final quarter.
Even though the Wolverines had the lead, Cornell wasn’t ready to give up yet. The fight was far from over.
And, as the final 15 minutes of the game began, the energy had shifted. Like fireworks, both teams were explosive, tearing through each other’s defense and netting goal after goal. The Big Red had come back with seven goals to Michigan’s five, tying the game at 14 with less than a minute left on the clock.
The Wolverines’ sideline held their breath as Cornell gained possession of the ball with six seconds left in the fourth quarter. Just as the Big Red was closing in, Michigan defenders buckled down and prevented a goal — catapulting the game into overtime.
Now, with sudden death at play, the pressure was on.
A quick shot by Cornell just six seconds into overtime, followed by a swift save by Taylor, had the Wolverines squirming. Gaining possession of the ball, though, Michigan called a timeout and drew up a plan.
And so, just over a minute into sudden death, Thompson — waiting by the cage — caught a pass from graduate attacker Bryce Clay, pivoting and unleashing the ball into the net. With the goal, Thompson sent the Big Red home and the Wolverines to the quarterfinals.
A forgotten team — now boasting its first-ever NCAA Tournament win — Michigan has beaten the odds and proven itself a successful underdog, all thanks to the Wolverines’ unfaltering belief in themselves.