Michigan
10-6
Cornell
11-4
Thompson's OT Goal Stuns No. 6 Cornell, Sends Michigan to NCAA Quarterfinals
5/14/2023 6:40:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
» Peter Thompson led the Wolverines with four goals and one assist, while seven Wolverines scored at least one goal. Thompson played the hero, scoring the winner at the 2:40 portion of the first overtime.
» Michael Boehm set a program single-season goal record (45) with three goals in the game.
» The win gives U-M in a berth in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament versus either No. 1 seeded Duke or Delaware.
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Graduate student Peter Thompson netted the sudden-death overtime goal as the No. 15-ranked University of Michigan men's lacrosse team defeated the No. 6-ranked Cornell Big Red by a score of 15-14 in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament on Sunday (May 14) at Shoellkopf Field. The victory is Michigan's first in NCAA postseason history and came during U-M's first-ever NCAA tournament game.
With the win, the Wolverines will advance to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament and will take on the winner of No. 1 Duke versus Delaware on Saturday (May 20) in Albany, N.Y.
Following a huge save from freshman goaltender Hunter Taylor just six seconds into the four-minute overtime period, Thompson secured the win for Michigan at the 2:40 mark off an assist from graduate Bryce Clay.
Neither team led by more than two goals during regulation, and though Michigan took a 14-13 lead into the final minute of play, Cornell's Billy Coyle scored the equalizer with just 59 seconds on the clock to force overtime.
Michigan (10-6) opened the scoring with a goal from junior Michael Boehm at 12:31 of the first quarter, but Cornell (11-4) responded with three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead.
A goal from senior Josh Zawada at 7:33 in the first quarter cut Cornell's lead to one goal before sophomore Aidan Mulholland scored at 2:28 to tie the game, 3-3. Cornell scored again at the 1:50 juncture to briefly regain the lead before a goal from Thompson thirty seconds later (1:20) tied the game once more, 4-4.
At the 11:24 portion of the second quarter, Cornell scored again to briefly break the tie before junior Justin Wietfeldt won the next faceoff and scored at 11:18 to force a 5-5 tie. The back-and-forth affair continued as Cornell's Spencer Wirtheim scored at 8:30 of the second quarter, bringing the score to 6-5, and junior Isaac Aronson scored at the 2:27 mark to tie the game at 6-6. With eleven seconds left in the second quarter, a goal from senior Jake Bonomi gave Michigan its first lead of the contest and and a 7-6 lead heading into halftime.
In the third quarter, Cornell's Kelleher scored again to tie the game 7-7 at 13:38. Michigan closed the third quarter with two goals to take a 9-7 lead, however, as Aronson scored his second of the game with 4:20 to play and Bonomi added another at the 3:35 mark.
The fourth quarter was a flurry of scoring as the teams combined for 12 goals. Cornell's CJ Kirst scored first at the 14:13 mark and cut Michigan's lead to one goal before Zawada scored his second goal of the game at 13:43, restoring Michigan's two-goal lead. Cornell's Blake registered back-to-back goals at 11:17 and 10:38 to tie the game at 10-10. A minute later (9:39), Boehm scored his second of the game, setting a single-season school record for goals in the season.
Cornell tied the game at the 8:38 mark of the fourth quarter with another goal from Kirst, but Thompson responded with back-to-back goals at 5:15 and 4:39 to put Michigan up, 13-11. The scoring continued, as Cornell answered with two more goals at 4:14 and 4:05 to tie the game at 13-13. Boehm answered with his third goal of the game a 1:49, giving Michigan another one-goal lead before Cornell's Coyle tied the game 14-14 with 59 seconds left in regulation. The game went on to overtime, with U-M clinching the 15-14 victory.
Thompson led Michigan with four goals -- including the game-winner -- and one assist in the game, while Boehm had three goals and one assist. Boehm's three goals on the day set a program single-season goal record (45), and the junior now boasts 99 in his career.
Taylor made 16 saves in the net, while graduate defender Andrew Darby held Tewaaraton Award finalist Kirst to only three points (two goals, one assist). Senior longstick midfielder Ryan Schriber had five ground balls and caused a pair of turnovers.
