Michigan
Penn State
Michigan Set to Play Host to No. 17 Penn State
3/17/2021 2:00:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
» Face-off man Nick Rowlett leads the Big Ten in ground balls per game with 10.25. The ground-ball mark leads the conference and ranks No. 5 nationally.
» Michael Boehm leads U-M in points with 13, while sophomore Josh Zawada boasts 11 points.
» Saturday's contest will conclude the first half of the Wolverines' Big Ten-only schedule.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, March 20 -- vs. #17 Penn State (U-M Lacrosse Stadium), Noon
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video | Coach Conry Interview (WTKA)
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The University of Michigan men's lacrosse team (0-4, 0-4 Big Ten) finishes off the first half of its 2021 Big Ten-only schedule hosting No. 17-ranked Penn State (1-3, 1-3 B1G) on Saturday (March 20) at noon at U-M Lacrosse Stadium.
Wolverine Bites
• Michigan has a pair of team members that hail from the Keystone State, in junior Mbogo Mwangi (Villanova) and junior Luke Summers (Allentown).
• Freshman Michael Boehm leads U-M in points with 13 (eight goals, five assists), while sophomore Josh Zawada boasts 11 points (five goals, three assists). Boehm owns a shooting percentage .500 percent (eight goals on 16 shots), while Zawada leads the team in shots with 27. Both marked hat tricks in U-M's effort against Ohio State.
• Graduate student Avery Myers has moved into ninth on the all-time U-M points list with 61. He owns 38 goals in his career and 23 assists, which is No. 6 in the career record book.
• Senior Alex Buckanavage registered his second point of the season with an assist against Ohio State. His 47 assists rank No. 2 all-time, and Buckanavage is three helpers away from breaking Ian King's (2014-17) program record (50).
• Junior faceoff specialist Nick Rowlett leads a Wolverine faceoff unit that has won 56 percent of draws to lead the conference and ranks No. 21 nationally. Collectively, Rowlett has gone 64-for-113 and has 41 ground balls, averaging 10.25/game. The ground-ball mark leads and the conference and ranks No. 5 nationally. In Lacrosse Reference's EGA ranking, he owns a mark of 18.61 to rank as the No. 8 FOGO in the country.
Opponent Preview
Penn State
All-time series against the Nittany Lions: U-M trails, 7-1
The Nittany Lions enter the contest with a 1-3 Big Ten mark and are coming off a 13-6 loss at Johns Hopkins on Saturday (March 13). PSU's victory came over Ohio State on March 6 by a 15-13 score.
PSU led by attackman Mac O'Keefe, who ranks second on the team in goals with seven, and is 13 goals away from breaking the NCAA career record for goals in a career. TJ Malone leads the Nittany Lions in goals (11) and assists (seven). Gerard Arceri is the man at the dot for PSU, and has won 40 of 79 draws (51 percent) to go along with 25 ground balls. Longtime starting goalie Colby Kneese has stopped 41 percent of shots faced with 35 saves.
A traditionally powerful offense, the Nittany Lions have struggled thus far, ranking No. 6 in the Big Ten and 49th nationally in goals per game (9.25). Defensively, they rank No. 3 in the conference and 41st nationally, allowing 12.50 goals per game.
U-M's victory in the series came on April 28, 2018, 10-9 overtime win in State College, Pa. The most recent edition of the matchup in 2019 saw U-M fall by a score of 11-9 at U-M Lacrosse Stadium.
Up Next
Saturday, March 27 -- vs. Ohio State (U-M Lacrosse Stadium), 1 p.m.
