Season Review: 2020 Michigan Men's Lacrosse
6/24/2020 11:45:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Team Captains: Avery Myers, Peter Hollen, Matt Trowbridge
Record: 4-3 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
In an abbreviated 2020 season, the University of Michigan men's lacrosse team finished with a 4-3 overall record, highlighted by going 4-1 at the friendly confines of U-M Lacrosse Stadium. The Wolverines held the distinction of playing the last NCAA Division I contest (a 13-12 win over Marquette on March 11) before the remainder of the schedule and postseason were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Team Highlights
• The Wolverines traded wins and losses over the first six games of the season, starting the year with a 16-9 win over Cleveland State on Feb. 8 at U-M Lacrosse Stadium. Following a 12-9 defeat at Hofstra (Feb. 15), U-M doubled up Canisius, 16-8, on Feb. 18 behind a combined 11 goals from Bryce Clay (six) and Kevin Mack (five). Four days later, on Feb. 22, the Wolverines fell to Merrimack, 14-12, before knocking off St. John's, 16-11, on Feb. 29 in Ann Arbor. Following a 17-11 loss to No. 5 Yale in the Pacific Coast Shootout on March 7 in Costa Mesa, California, U-M's season came to a close after a 13-12 win over Marquette on March 11.
• U-M proved to be a first-half team, outscoring its opponents, 29-19, in the first quarter and 32-19 in the second quarter (61-38 in the first half). In the second half, U-M was outscored, 55-32. U-M also was 3-0 when scoring first, as well as 3-1 when leading at halftime and outshooting opponents.
• Per Lacrosse Reference, U-M's offense ranked No. 16 in the country with an efficiency rate of 33.9 percent.
• U-M placed 23 student-athletes on the Academic All-Big Ten team, headlined by graduate student Nick Schanhals and sophomore Drake Schaffner, both of whom earned perfect 4.0 grade-point averages.
Individual Highlights
• Michigan was led offensively by freshman Josh Zawada, who earned national accolades from Inside Lacrosse and College Crosse, and led the country in points-per-game for a freshman (4.57). His 32 points led the Wolverines, and were only one point shy of tying Ian King's U-M record for points in a season by a freshman. His 16 assists also ranked No. 21 nationally and third in the Big Ten (2.29 per game). He had a 1.6 point-to-turnover ratio and ranked No. 22 in the country in Lacrosse Reference's EGA rankings (27.47), the top mark in the country.
• Sophomore Clay continued his rise on the U-M attack, leading the team in goals (20) and was tied for second on the team in points (22). He totaled five hat tricks on the season, highlighted by a six-goal effort versus Canisius (Feb. 18). His hustle also was consistently on display, leading all non-faceoff men with 21 ground balls and all non-longpoles with four caused turnovers. Overall, he led the Wolverines in play shares at 12.4 percent and ranked No. 66 nationally in EGA (20.58).
• Junior Alex Buckanavage became the sixth Wolverine in program history to break the career 100-point plateau, surpassing the mark in the final contest of the season versus Marquette. He will enter his senior year with 101 points (55 goals, 46 assists). He ranked second on the team with 11 assists, tied for second on the team with 22 points, and had at least one assist in all but one game. His top game of the season came in a 13-12 win over Marquette on March 11, when he totaled four goals and three assists (seven points). He will enter the 2021 season with 43 career helpers, six away from King (2014-17) and his school record of 49.
• Junior Mack totaled 13 goals and three assists (16 points) on the season. He extended his point streak to 33 games, a run that began during his freshman season. His top contest of the season came against Canisius, as he equaled a career high with five goals. Mack will enter his senior season with 95 career points (53 goals, 42 assists), and is on the cusp of being the fifth Wolverine to pass 100 points.
• In goal, senior Matt Trowbridge and sophomore John Kiracofe split time the majority of the season. Trowbridge started six of seven games, stopping 51 percent of shots faced with a 10.77 goals-against average, while Kiracofe started and played all 60 minutes in the season finale against Marquette. He also made 40 saves on the season against 43 goals allowed (48 percent) and sported a goals-against average of 13.17.
• The faceoff duo of senior Matt Dellacroce and sophomore Nick Rowlett combined to go 96-for-186 (51.6 percent) to lead a team effort of 99-for-197 (50.3 percent) at the dot, the team's best mark since 2016. Dellacroce won 55 percent of the draws while Rowlett went 51 percent. Michigan went 2-1 in games during which it had a lead in the faceoff category.
• A graduate student and a team captain, Peter Hollen was presented with the U-M Rachel Townsend Community Service Leadership Award. A men's lacrosse student-athlete has now won the award in back-to-back years, with Tommy Heidt earning the honor last season.
• Zawada, along with fellow freshmen Dylan Gardner and Oliver Mirer earned all-freshman recognition from various outlets. Gardner was the team's top longstick midfielder option on the campaign, and scored three goals to go along with 17 ground balls and four caused turnovers. The three goals tied the U-M single-season goals record for a longpole (Chase Brown, 2016), while Mirer, a shortstick defensive midfielder, saw action in all seven games, collecting five ground balls and caused four turnovers.
Honors and Awards
Josh
Zawada
Bryce
Clay
Alex
Buckanavage
Kevin
Mack
Rocco
Sutherland
Nick
Rowlett
Peter
Hollen
Inside Lacrosse
All-Freshman Team (First Team): Josh Zawada
College Crosse
All-Freshman Team (First Team): Josh Zawada
All-Freshman Team (Honorable Mention): Dylan Gardner, Oliver Mirer
Big Ten Weekly Awards
Big Ten Freshman of the Week: Josh Zawada (Feb. 11)
Academic All-Big Ten
Hunter Batesko, Jr., General Studies
Harry Bogle, Sr., Film, Television, and Media
Alex Buckanavage, Jr., General Studies
JD Carroll, Jr., Sports Management
Andrew Darby, Jr., Undeclared
Ronald Fisher III, So., Computer Engineering
Christian Ford, Sr., Public Policy
Tillman Gallagher, Jr., Sport Management
Finn Goonan, Sr., Communications
Peter Hollen, Gr., Social Work
Zach Johnson, Jr., Political Science
Ben Keller, Jr., Undeclared
Gavin Legg, So., Sociology
Kevin Mack, Jr., General Studies
Mbogo Mwangi, So., Undeclared
Avery Myers, Sr., Sports Management
Nick Rowlett, So., Undeclared
Drake Schaffner, So., Sport Management
Nick Schanhals, Gr., Sport Management Masters
Steven Schneider, Jr., Undeclared
Matt Trowbridge, Sr., Economics
Max Yarranton, Jr., Political Science
Jackson Zaugg, Jr., Sport Management
Bold indicates 4.0 GPA or better
