Michigan
Maryland
Wolverines to Take on No. 1 Maryland in Big Ten Tourney Semifinals
5/4/2021 4:55:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
» Fifth-seeded Michigan makes its first-ever Big Ten Tournament semifinal appearance, taking on the top seed and No. 1-ranked Maryland.
» Both Josh Zawada and Michael Boehm lead the U-M in points with 35.
» The Wolverines seek their first win over the Terrapins in program history.
THIS WEEK
Thursday, May 6 -- vs. No. 1 Maryland - Big Ten Tournament Semifinals (State College, Pa.), 5 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network | Live Stats | Live Video | Tournament Central | Coach Conry Interview (WTKA)
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
The No. 5 seed University of Michigan men's lacrosse team (3-8) will take on the No. 1-ranked and No. 1-seeded Maryland (10-0) in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday (May 6) at Penn State's Panzer Stadium in State College, Pa. The opening faceoff is slated for 5 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live via Big Ten Network. The winner of the contest will advance to Saturday's championship game.
Wolverine Bites
• Offensively, Michigan is led by two players with 35 points on the year in sophomore Josh Zawada and freshman Michael Boehm. Zawada is tied for the team lead in goals with 22 and is second on the squad in helpers with 13. Boehm is second on the team in goals (20) and paces the U-M effort with 15 assists. Junior Bryce Clay rounds out the attack unit with 22 goals of his own to tie with Zawada for the team lead.
• As an attack trio, Zawada, Boehm and Clay account for 52 percent of the Wolverines' total points (96 of 186). Collectively, U-M's underclassmen account for 86 percent of Michigan's 186 total points on the year (160).
• After carrying a goal differential of minus-29 in the first half of the Big Ten-only slate, U-M's differential since is a mere minus-9, highlighted by a 15-11 win over Ohio State and a pair of one-goal defeats against Penn State (14-13, April 16) and against Rutgers (13-12, April 25).
• After averaging 18.75 turnovers/game in the first four contests of the season, U-M has drastically cut down on turnovers. Over the last seven contests, U-M is now turning the ball over 13 times per contest and ranks No. 14 nationally in turnovers per game at 15.09. U-M owns a turnover rate of 26.7 percent to rank ninth nationally according to Lacrosse Reference. In the first meeting against the Terps, U-M turned the ball over 19 times, then only 10 times in the second matchup.
• Junior FOGO Nick Rowlett ranks fourth in the Big Ten in faceoff win percentage (161-of-296, .540). The 296 draws taken on the year top the Big Ten and rank No. 5 in the country. He leads the Big Ten in ground balls per game, ranking No. 6 in the country (8.45). In Lacrosse Reference's statistical Tewaaraton ranking for FOGOs, he ranks as the No. 11 faceoff man in the country with a composite expected-goals-added score of 45.13 and a faceoff EGA of 42.07.
• In postseason honors announced by the conference on Friday (April 30), Rowlett become the second player in program history to be first team All-Big Ten. Josh Zawada took a spot on the second team, while senior captain Jackson Zaugg was named Michigan's sportsmanship honoree.
• Thursday's contest will be Michigan's second-ever Big Ten Tournament game and first semifinals appearance.
• Both Bryce Clay and Josh Zawada are creeping up the U-M record books in offensive categories, with Clay owning 76 points (64 goals, 12 assists) to rank No. 8 all-time in points and No. 5 in goals. Zawada boasts 67 points (38G, 29A) and ranks No. 10 in points. His assist mark checks in at No. 6 in program annals.
Opponent Preview
Maryland
All-time series against the Terrapins: U-M trails 10-0
The Terps earned the Big Ten championship with a perfect 10-0 regular-season mark and lead the nation in points per game (27), scoring margin (6.80) and shooting percentage (.403). The offense ranks No. 2 in the NCAA, averaging 16.60 goals per game. The defense checks in at No. 11, allowing 9.80 goals per game.
Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Jared Bernhardt leads the country in goals with 4.30 a contest and in points per game with 6.20. Linemate Logan Wisnauskas leads the conference in assists per game with 2.20.
Defensively, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Nick Grill paces the team in caused turnovers and leads the conference with 1.20 per game. Goalie Logan McNaney is No. 1 in the league in goals-against average with 9.65, while FOGO Justin Shockey is No. 5 in the league, winning 49 percent of draws.
The two sides have met twice this season, with the Terps taking the first matchup by a 20-9 count on Feb. 20 in College Park, Md. Josh Zawada led U-M with five points, while Nick Rowlett went 15-for-28 at the faceoff dot. Michigan outscored the Terps 6-5 in the fourth quarter. In the most-recent contest (April 10) in Ann Arbor, U-M began the game with a 5-0 run but surrendered the next 16 goals in the contest before closing the game on a 7-2 run to fall 18-12. Bryce Clay and Zawada combined for nine points (five goals, four assists).
