Michigan
10-7
Denver
12-3
Wolverines' Season Come to Close at Hands of No. 6 Pioneers in NCAA Tournament
5/11/2024 7:53:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
» Ryan Cohen set the U-M single-season assist record with three helpers on the day, and led all U-M scorers with six points.
» Michigan trailed by as many as eight goals, but used a 5-0 run in the third quarter to bring the count to 11-8 at the 8:50 juncture of the third quarter.
» U-M was held scoreless for 14-plus minutes on two separate occasions and was unable to creep within fewer than three goals.
DENVER, Colo. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan men's lacrosse team concluded its 2024 season in the quarterfinals of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, falling 16-11Â to No. 6-ranked and fifth-seeded Denver on Saturday (May 11) at DU's Peter Barton Stadium.
Michigan (10-7) trailed by as many as eight goals in the contest, but used a 5-0 run in the third quarter to creep within three at 11-8.
The Wolverines fell behind early, but a marker from junior Ryan Cohen at 9:43 of the opening stanza tied it at 1-1.
Denver (12-3) followed with six straight markers to lead 7-1 after the opening 15 minutes. Michigan was outshot 14-5 in the quarter, turned the ball over five times and was at an 11-4 groundball deficit.
In the second, the Pioneers tacked on two more before U-M put an end to the run at the 6:24 mark of the quarter. Junior Aidan Mulholland took a feed from Cohen cutting across the crease and brought the scoreline to 9-2. The helper for Cohen also established a new U-M single-season record for assists with 35.
Following another Pioneers tally, graduate student Justin Tiernan got on the board off a feed from senior Michael Boehm at the 1:13 portion of the quarter as Michigan trailed 10-3 at the half.
Denver came out of the half with another marker at 13:32 of the third quarter, but U-M countered with a 5-0 run, starting with Boehm converting on a feed from Cohen at 12:25. Cohen followed with his second of the game at 10:58, while graduate-student long pole Cathal Roberts (10:40) and Tiernan (9:16, 8:50) cut the score to 11-8, the closest U-M would get the rest of the way.
However, DU answered with scores at 3:08 and 1:12 of the stanza to hold a 13-8 advantage as the contest headed into the fourth quarter and tacked on another at 14:05 to restore a comfortable lead at 14-8 with just over 14 minutes to play.
Chasing a 15-8 lead with less than 10 minutes to play, junior John Morgan ended a 4-0 DU run with a tally at 9:12, and Cohen followed with his third of the game at 7:40 to make it a 15-11 game with 7:40 left. Denver held firm and added a goal in the waning stages of the contest to secure the 16-11 decision.
Senior faceoff man Justin Wietfeldt, recently named a first team All-America selection by USA Lacrosse, won the battle against second team All-American Alec Stathakis, taking 16-of-29 draws with 10 ground balls.
Cohen marked three assists in the contest, while Tiernan paced the Wolverines in scoring with four goals to bring his total to 57 for the year, a new program standard in a single season.
The defeat ends U-M's season, highlighted by a second consecutive Big Ten Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berths, two USA Lacrosse All-Americans, a pair of Premier Lacrosse League Draft picks, and four All-Big Ten honorees.
