Wolverines to Open 2019 Season at Cleveland State

» Michigan returns nine regular starters from last year, its top-five point scorers and 87 percent of the offense -- including all three attackmen and three close defenders.
» Brent Noseworthy was named a second team preseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse and earned a spot on the publication's preseason All-Big Ten team.
» In preseason rankings, U-M was the second team receiving votes in the USILA Coaches Poll, No. 20 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and No. 19 in the Face-Off Yearbook by Inside Lacrosse.

THIS WEEK
Saturday, Feb. 9 -- at Cleveland State (Cleveland, Ohio), 11 a.m.
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The University of Michigan men's lacrosse team (0-0) travels to Cleveland, Ohio, to take on the Cleveland State Vikings (0-1) on Saturday (Feb. 9) at 11 a.m. The matchup serves as the 2019 season opener for U-M, while CSU is coming off a 12-9 loss against Ohio State last Saturday (Feb. 2) in Columbus.

Wolverine Bites

• U-M, which was the second team receiving votes in the preseason USILA Coaches, also was ranked No. 20 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and came in at No. 19 in the Face-Off Yearbook by Inside Lacrosse. Additionally, Michigan was picked sixth in the B1G Coaches Preseason Poll with Johns Hopkins, Maryland and Penn State topping the conference poll, with Ohio State and Rutgers tied for fourth.

• Head coach Kevin Conry enters his second season with the Wolverines. Last season, U-M equaled the program standard for wins in a season (eight) and set marks for highest rankings in both national polls, checking in as high as No. 15 in the Maverik Media Poll and 17th in the USILA Poll. Signature wins came at No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 14 Penn State, while Brent Noseworthy was named the first USILA All-American in program history.

• Heading into the 2019 season, Noseworthy was named a second team preseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse and earned a spot on the publication's preseason All-Big Ten team.

• Senior Nick DeCaprio, junior JM Priddy and sophomore Kevin Mack were named Michigan's Big Ten Players to Watch prior to the start of the season.

• Michigan returns nine regular starters from last year, its top-five point scorers and 87 percent of the offense -- including all three attackmen and three close defenders.

• The attack unit boasts a pair of returning sophomores in Kevin Mack and Alex Buckanavage. Mack ended his freshman campaign third on the team in goals (21), first in assists (21) and second in points (42). The second player in U-M history to register a 20-20 season, he tied the U-M single-season assist record. Mack's points-per-game average (3.00) ranked No. 6 in the Big Ten and 39th nationally. The number also put him No. 6 in the NCAA in points scored for a freshman. Buckanavage had 31 points on the campaign (19 goals, 12 assists), marking the third-best offensive output for a freshman in program annals.

• U-M's 14-member recruiting class, ranked No. 19 in the country by Inside Lacrosse, features a pair of Inside Lacrosse Power 100 recruits in No. 39 Bryce Clay, the top attackman recruit in the state of Michigan, as well as faceoff man Nick Rowlett (No. 44).

• U-M's 13-game schedule features six home contests, six away contests and one neutral-site matchup, as well as dates with four 2018 NCAA Tournament teams. In all, Michigan will square off with eight teams that finished in the top 25 of the NCAA RPI a season ago. Eight opponents also rank in the top 30 nationally entering the season.

Opponent Preview

Cleveland State
The independent Vikings enter Saturday's matchup with an 0-1 record after falling to No. 15 Ohio State Saturday (Feb. 2) in Columbus. CSU outshot the Buckeyes, 37-30, while face-off man Danny Tesler went 12-of-23 at the dot. It proved to be the smallest margin of defeat against a ranked opponent in program history.

Now in year three of competition, the programs have squared off in each of the last two seasons, with Michigan taking both meetings. The initial contest was the first in the history of the Cleveland State program on Feb. 4, 2017 (13-8), while last season's meeting (Feb. 10, 2018) in Ann Arbor resulted in a 15-5 Wolverine victory in the first contest played in U-M Lacrosse Stadium and gave Conry his first collegiate victory. Noseworthy scored five goals, while Buckanavage had three goals and two assists in his NCAA debut.

Ticket Information
Tickets are now on sale, with general admission tickets being available for $6 and group tickets (10 or more) on sale for $3 each. Group experiences are also available. [ Tickets ]

Tweet of the Week

New year, new buckets ????#NCAALAX
(via @UMichLacrosse) pic.twitter.com/0vfHLS2LEo
— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) January 31, 2019

Keep Up With the Wolverines

Stay current with everything going on with the Wolverines by following Michigan men's lacrosse on Twitter & Instagram (@umichlacrosse), on Snapchat (@umichathletics) and "liking" the Wolverines on Facebook! Inside access can also be seen via the team's YouTube page by searching 'MGoBlueLacrosse.'

Up Next

Tuesday, Feb. 19 -- vs. Drexel (U-M Lacrosse Stadium), 3 p.m.