Michigan
5-2
Harvard
6-0
Second-Half Comeback Not Enough as Wolverines Fall to No. 19 Crimson
3/10/2024 3:25:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
» The Wolverines fell 13-11 to Harvard, despite scoring nine goals in the second half.
» Seven of the Michigan's 11 total goals came from the midfield, with Christian Ronda notching Michigan career-best four scores and Isaac Aronson marking a trio.
» The Wolverine faceoff unit thrived on the afternoon, with Justin Wietfeldt winning 13-of-20 and freshman Jackie Weller going 3-of-5 (64 percent).
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan men's lacrosse team could not complete a comeback against No. 19 Harvard, dropping the matchup 13-11 despite a nine-goal second half on Sunday (March 10) inside U-M Lacrosse Stadium.
Graduate student Christian Ronda led the Wolverines with four goals -- his first U-M hat trick -- and one assist, coming on a second-quarter marker by graduate student Justin Tiernan.
A back-and-forth start to the game was broken by the Crimson (6-0), who struck four consecutive times in the final 10 minutes of the frame to build a 4-0 lead at quarter's end.
Tiernan got the Wolverines (5-2) off to a hot start in the second quarter with a goal at 13:23 off a feed from junior Ryan Cohen, but Harvard erased the Maize and Blue momentum and added onto its lead with a three-goal run. Michigan was able to take one back before the end of the half with an unassisted snipe from Ronda at 1:38, and both teams headed to the lockers with the score sitting at a 7-2 Crimson advantage.
A goal in the opening minute of the second half by senior Isaac Aronson, fed by senior Michael Boehm, was quickly countered by three Harvard goals in three minutes of action, crossing the double-digit plane at 10-3.
The Wolverines found their first scoring run of the day past the 10-minute mark of the frame, with Cohen (unassisted, 10:01), Tiernan (Ronda, 6:59), and Ronda twice (Boehm - 8:14, unassisted - 6:08) contributing to the streak. A trading of goals from both sides, including two from U-M (Cohen - 3:52, Aronson - 2:46) before the end of the quarter set up a 12-9 Crimson advantage headed into the final frame of action.
Goals from Aronson (Cohen, 9:35) and Ronda (unassisted, 7:46) brought Michigan as close as two from tying things up in the fourth quarter, but it was ultimately as close as the Wolverines got as Harvard was able to escape with a 13-11 victory.
Michigan converted 12 of its 14 clear attempts, while outshooting the Crimson, 53-39. The Wolverines also held a 28-21 ground-ball advantage, and forced 12 of the game's 23 total turnovers. Seven of the Maize and Blue's 11 total goals in the game came from the midfield.
Senior faceoff man Justin Wietfeldt went 13-of-20 with eight ground balls at the dot, while Aronson collected two ground balls and two caused turnovers. The defensive trio of graduate student Cathal Roberts, senior Jack Whitney, and freshman Rowan Clay caused a pair of turnovers. Sophomore goalie Hunter Taylor made 11 stops in goal, highlighted by six in the first half.
The matchup marked the Wolverines' final non-conference home game of the campaign. U-M next travels to South Bend, Ind., to take on defending NCAA champion and No. 4-ranked Notre Dame on Saturday (March 16) at 2 p.m.
