Men's Lacrosse @ Harvard, Noon Today (on ESPN+)
Men's lacrosse continues it's quest for the program's first ever NCAA tournament berth when it heads to Boston to take on the Harvard Crimson today at 12PM. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, the deep Ocho.
Michigan's 2022 campaign was going swimmingly - they were 7-0, nationally ranked and coming off a win off a good Delaware squad - and then Harvard came to town. Harvard put the breaks on Michigan's up-to-then high-flying offense and Michigan struggled, only putting up 9 goals in a 14-9 defeat. Michigan didn't win a game the rest of the year. Harvard went on to post an 8-5 record in an insanely deep Ivy League and qualified for the NCAA tournament (where they got soundly trounced by Rutgers in the first round).
So, this is a good chance for Michigan to get some revenge for knocking last season off course and to get a quality win over a strong opponent who could very well make the tournament. Harvard is coached by long-time Notre Dame assistant and defensive wizard Gerry Byrne and last year it really seemed like he knew how to shut down Michigan's attack. The two teams do have a common opponent on the year: Virginia. While they both lost to the Cavaliers by 4 goals, Michigan played them tight the whole way and ultimately ran out of gas. And Harvard played them the following week...and got absolutely crushed. They were down 9-0 in the 1st quarter and only a flurry of garbage time goals made the final score respectable.
So, in conclusion, Harvard is good. But beatable. And this would be a really important win for Michigan. It sounds like they have veteran goalie Shane Carr back so hopefully that gives them a boost. GO BLUE!
March 11th, 2023 at 11:55 AM ^
The loss to Marquette hurt. Hofstra being close was disconcerting. Disappointing this is still where we're at as a program.
Would be nice to get the results against Harvard and Notre Dame for sure, but I'm ready to not lose every Big Ten game. Let's win 3 games in conference.
March 11th, 2023 at 12:26 PM ^
Go Blue, as it continues its quest!
March 11th, 2023 at 12:54 PM ^
Good response in the second quarter. 4 straight goals has Michigan down 7-9
March 11th, 2023 at 12:56 PM ^
now another. Make that 5 straight and an 8-9 score line
Great end to the half with or without that tying goal
HUGE goal that just beats the clock at the end of the half. Shot ricochets off the Harvard defender and trickles into the net. All tied up at 9-9
Just woke up in AK and turned the game on down 3 - 9. What a comeback!
with how tilted the field has been since, its insane to think they gave up 7 straight at one point in this game
Michigan continues the good momentum out of the half. Now leads 11-10
Another Michigan goal. Now 12-10. Would be nice to build a cushion here
2 quick goals. Good response to the Harvard goal. Michigan now up 14-11 3:21 left in the 3rd
Great close to the 3rd quarter has Michigan up 15-11 going into the 4th
Carr the Goalkeep really played well. Great win on the road
I was at the game, some quick thoughts
----UM had a LOT of people at the game, more than I expected
----The weather was horrendous, which is at least something the UM players are familiar with
----As I was the only person in my section who knew the game (I used to play for UM's club team back in the pre-varsity program days) I spent a lot of time explaining things to a mix of UM football fans and young alums now in grad school. There was a lot of hockey and football analogies and eventually a mix of cowbells and sieve sieve, all your fault chants.
----The Harvard fans/families were, in between talking about how they are helping their kids position themselves for a summer internship at Goldman (not an exaggeration), bewildered about the sheer energy of the UM fans there.
----I'm really proud of the team and the way they came back. They looked terrible on D early and really gathered themselves starting in the second quarter. Their overall offense (and faceoffs, good lord) were dominant in the second half against a team that is not a pushover. I hope that they can build off the momentum of this game as I know that it's been a struggle for them for a while.
I was the one with the cowbell in the second half. We appreciated your help with the rules and strategies. Was a great time even though the weather sucked.
Go Blue!!
GOOD win. For the second consecutive week, Michigan was down early and then went on a massive run in the middle portion of the game to come back and then put it out of reach. Sounds like Carr is back to his old self and Rowlett is hitting his groove on faceoffs and the attack is clicking, especially Boehm and Cohen. They also got good contributions from Zawada (as always) and Aaronson. Keep this momentum going!
NOTRE DAME NEXT WEEK!!! AT HOME!!! GO BLUE!!!
Hail to the Victors!