Season Preview: 2020 Michigan Men's Lacrosse
1/28/2020 2:10:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
» U-M's 13-game schedule features six home contests as well as six road matchups and one neutral-site game. The Big Ten slate boasts road games at Johns Hopkins, Penn State, and Ohio State, while Maryland and Rutgers visit Ann Arbor. A neutral-site marquee matchup will feature Yale (California).
» Junior Alex Buckanavage, as well as sophomores Bryce Clay and Andrew Darby were tabbed as U-M's Big Ten Players to Watch.
» In all, the U-M offensive unit returns 70 percent of its total points from a season ago (102 goals, 61 assists, 163 points).
Head coach Kevin Conry enters his third season as the leader of the University of Michigan men's lacrosse program after leading the Wolverines to a 4-9 record and a program-shaping win over No. 10 Ohio State to end last season, despite injuries throughout the campaign.
Wolverine Bites
• Junior Alex Buckanavage as well as sophomores Bryce Clay and Andrew Darby were tabbed as U-M's Big Ten Players to Watch. In the Big Ten preseason poll, U-M was picked to finish sixth. Penn State was the unanimous choice for the top spot, followed by Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Ohio State, and Rutgers.
• Michigan returns four of its top five scorers from last season, including three attackmen.
• The attack unit boasts a pair of returning three-year starters in Kevin Mack and Buckanavage, who was named second team All-Big Ten a season ago, leading the team in both goals (25) and assists (23). His 48 points tied the U-M single-season record. Mack ranked second on the team in points with 37 and assists with 18, and had 10 multi-point games. Both Mack (40G, 39A) and Buckanavage (44G, 35A) enter the season tied for fifth all-time in the U-M record book for points in a career (79). Both are 21 points shy of 100 for their careers and look to join a group of only four other Wolverines to eclipse the 100-point plateau.
Clay returns following a stellar freshman campaign during which he scored 22 goals and registered 28 points, ranking No. 18 in the country in points for a freshman. Clay's hustle was on full display, compiling 23 ground balls and six caused turnovers. Graduate student Patrick Tracy has steadily moved up the depth chart during his time in Ann Arbor and could see time in a reserve role. Freshman Josh Zawada will be counted on early to contribute. According to Conry, the North Carolina native via The Hill Academy (Ontario) has a natural skill set, great vision and moves well off the ball, and will be a great piece to the unit overall.
• Senior Avery Myers enters the season as the leader of a midfield unit that will be boosted by graduate student Rocco Sutherland, who missed all but two contests last season due to injury. Myers, who also spent some time on attack a season ago, was second on the team in goals (24) and third in points (34). Sutherland saw significant time on attack each of his first three seasons, boasting 34 assists and 51 points in his career. Both will be looked upon as two-way midfielders.
Junior Steven Schneider will look to take big steps in 2020. In his first season as a Wolverine, he had two assists, while senior Christian Ford also will make an impact after struggling through various injuries during his time in Ann Arbor. Junior Ben Keller, who joined the team midseason as a transfer, had a great fall according to Conry, and is more comfortable in his first full season as a Wolverine. A pair of freshmen in Jacob Jackson and Jake Bonomi add a more well-rounded skill set. Jackson provides a dodging presence and great size, while Bonomi has a stellar outside shot and has added to his game considerably during his short time as a Wolverine.
The midfield also could see a combination of traditional attackman getting time. Last season, Buckanavage played portions of contests in the form of a dodging midfield role, while Myers also saw time on the attack unit.
• The defensive midfield will be anchored by graduate student Peter Hollen and sophomore Andrew Russell. Hollen played in 13 contests a season ago and had 15 ground balls and seven caused turnovers. Russell spent the fall as a member of the Michigan football team as a defensive back, and has grown significantly physically. He played in 10 contests with six ground balls and two caused turnovers. Sophomore Zach Johnson displayed a knack for ground balls on wing play, while a trio of freshmen in Oliver Mirer, Mike Cosgrove and Matt Kelly add athleticism to the group and will see time.
• U-M's longpole group is led by senior Finn Goonan at longstick midfielder, and sophomore Andrew Darby on close defense. Goonan was a jack-of-all-trades last season after being forced into the teams main faceoff option, but could break out as a senior in a full-time LSM role. Darby is the lone returning starter on close defense, and had 29 ground ball pickups to go along with 13 caused turnovers. A pair of freshmen in Schriber and Gardner will see time on close defense from the get-go, along with junior JD Carroll, who missed all of last season and the majority of 2018 due to injury.
Junior's Jackson Zaugg and Hunter Batesko also will see time at LSM. Zaugg played in nine games last season with six ground balls and five caused turnovers, while Batesko has played in 11 games in his career between longstick midfield and short-stick defensive midfield. Sophomore transfer Drake Schaffner (Dartmouth) joined the program in January after playing in 13 games, picking up 14 ground balls and causing three turnovers.
• In goal, senior Matt Trowbridge and sophomore John Kiracofe are competing for the starting role. Trowbridge played in two contests a year ago, and started six games as a sophomore with a save percentage of .500 and a goals-against average of 9.82. Kiracofe did not see game action as a freshman after being ranked as the No. 11 goalie in the 2018 recruiting class by Inside Lacrosse.
• The face-off unit returns senior Matt Dellacroce, who played in four games last season due to injury and won 52 percent (28-of-54) of his draws. He had a career game against St. John's, going 16-of-30 and compiling 12 ground balls, the third-most in program history. Added to the fold will be sophomore Nick Rowlett, who missed all of last season due to injury. He was ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 4 FOGO in the country prior to last season, and is fully healthy for his sophomore campaign.
• Offensively, U-M looks to replace the program's all-time leading goal scorer in Brent Noseworthy (102), as well as Decker Curran, who ended his career ranked No. 4 in the U-M record book with 106 career points. In all, the unit returns 70 percent (102 goals, 61 assists, 163 points) of it total points from last season.
Newcomers
• U-M's 16-member recruiting class, ranked No. 13 in the country by Inside Lacrosse, features three top-50 recruits in No. 18 Ryan Schriber at close defender, No. 23 Josh Zawada at attack, and No. 35 Jake Bonomi at midfield. The trio also played in the Under Armour All-America game, the most for a Wolverine signing class in program history. The three are joined by another four-star recruit in defender Miles Bollman.
In positional rankings, Zawada ranks as the No. 7 attackman, while Kevin Pimental is ranked as the No. 49 attackman. Bonomi ranks as the No. 9 midfielder, while Jacob Jackson also is in the top 50 at No. 32. Schriber ranks as the No. 4 defender, while goalie Mac Fotiades ranks No. 13.
Schriber is a member of the 2020 U19 training team roster. The squad will compete in the 2020 World Lacrosse Men's U19 World Championship that takes part in Limerick, Ireland in July.
Dartmouth transfer Drake Schaffner joined the team in January after starting seven games last season for the Big Green. He had 14 ground ball pickups and caused a trio of turnovers, and joins the Wolverines with three seasons of eligibility remaining.
Schedule
• U-M's 13-game schedule features six home contests and six away contests, and one neutral-site matchup. Six opponents finished the season ranked in the top 25 of the NCAA RPI, with Penn State, Yale, Notre Dame, Maryland, and Johns Hopkins making NCAA Tournament appearances. Yale fell in the NCAA title game and Penn State fell in the semifinals of the tournament. Additionally, U-M will take on first-year Division I school Merrimack, which won the 2019 NCAA Division II national title.
Per LaxReference, U-M will play the 12th-toughest schedule in the country, and the fourth-toughest in the Big Ten. Six of their opponents are ranked in the top 15 in the Inside Lacrosse Faceoff Yearbook. Four of the Wolverines' first five contests will take place in Ann Arbor as Michigan starts the year versus Cleveland State (Feb. 8). Following a road contest at Hofstra (Feb. 15), Michigan welcomes Canisius (Feb. 18), Merrimack (Feb. 22), and St. John's (Feb. 29) to U-M Lacrosse Stadium.
For the second straight season, non-conference play is highlighted by a matchup against NCAA Tournament runner-up and preseason No. 3 Yale. U-M will take on the Bulldogs on March 7 in the Pacific Coast Shootout in Costa Mesa, California. A week later, Michigan will take on No. 7-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
Big Ten play commences on the final weekend in March, as U-M heads to No. 13 Johns Hopkins (March 28) before hosting No. 4 Maryland (April 5) and Rutgers (April 10) on Senior Day. Conference play concludes with a pair of road games at No. 2 Penn State (April 19) and No. 9 Ohio State (April 25). The Big Ten Tournament will take place April 30-May 2 at Penn State's Panzer Stadium.
Single-game tickets for all 2020 Michigan men's lacrosse home games are now on sale. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the men's lacrosse tickets page.
