The Michigan men’s lacrosse team didn’t bring the right demolition crew to College Park on Sunday when it tried to smash through the nation’s No. 1 defense.
It took the Wolverines nearly the entire first half to find their opening goal, as the Maryland defense kept them in check on the way to a 13-4 victory.
In addition to facing the nation’s top defense, junior specialist Brad Lott had his hands full taking faceoffs against the Terrapins’ senior midfielder Charlie Raffa, who ranks in the top 10 nationally in faceoff win percentage. Raffa dominated all Michigan faceoff men he faced, winning 11 of his 14 draws on the day.
“There’s not really a lot you can do when the other team is dominating faceoffs,” said Michigan coach John Paul. “It’s such a tough matchup. (Raffa is) one of the top faceoff men in the country, and there’s not a magic pill you take and suddenly start winning faceoffs against top guys.”
Heading into the half, it appeared the Wolverines (0-1 Big Ten, 4-5 overall) were still within arm’s reach of catching up to No. 3 Maryland (9-1, 1-0). Junior midfielder Kyle Jackson netted Michigan’s opening goal with 67 seconds left in the half, bringing the Wolverines within three goals of the Terrapins.
Before Jackson’s goal, the Michigan offense looked completely incapable of breaking down Maryland’s solid defense, struggling to maintain possession and find a finishing touch on shooting. The Wolverines were especially vulnerable due to weak stick work, giving up a total of 11 turnovers Sunday.
Michigan was without sophomore attacker Ian King, who, despite being out the last four games, still leads the team in scoring. While replacing an attacker as talented as King has been nearly impossible, Paul still needs the Wolverines’ starting attackers to pick up some of the slack, something they failed to do against Maryland.
“Our attackmen need to be more explosive,” Paul said. “They need to be challenging their defensemen a little more. Maybe that’s where (King) can help us in the coming weeks, but we still need some of these guys to step up consistently and win games and own that.”
On the other side of the field, Michigan’s defense absorbed attack after attack from a slow and methodical Terrapin offense. After conceding three goals in the first quarter, Michigan held Maryland to only one goal in the next period despite the Terrapins’ advantage in possession.
Six minutes into the second half, though, the Wolverines’ defense couldn’t hold the Terrapins’ attack back any longer. Maryland went on a 5-0 run over the course of five minutes, putting itself up eight and crushing any hopes of a Michigan comeback. In the five-minute stretch, the Terrapins held constant possession and pummeled redshirt sophomore goalie Gerald Logan with quality shots.
The Wolverines were able to score three goals after halftime, including freshman midfielder Patrick Tracy’s first career goal. Tracy received extended minutes and also earned his first assist off of Jackson’s first goal.
“It felt nice to finally contribute to the team,” Tracy said. “(It) feels good to finally get over the hump and be able to help the team anyway I can. Personally, sticking to my strengths worked, especially with the assist.”
There was very little that went right for Michigan on Sunday, but Tracy and Jackson’s performances highlighted the Wolverines’ depth in midfield, which will be crucial in upcoming games.
That being said, defense was a concern with Michigan being outshot and out-possessed. Maryland posted 20 more shots than the Wolverines, a stat due primarily to the Terrapins holding the ball for a majority of the game.
With the matchup against the Big Ten favorite in Maryland out of the way, Michigan will focus this week on a crucial game against Rutgers. With a fourth-place or better finish still a strong possibility for the Wolverines, they will surely refocus and carry forward some positives from Sunday.
“We talked about in the locker room afterward how our goals are still there and we still have incredible opportunities in front of us,” Paul said. “The guys were talking about that right after the game, and I think they understand how good Maryland is, but a lot of things have to go right to beat those guys, and we’re not the only ones who have figured that out.”