Michigan
Maryland
Wolverines Set to Host No. 2-Ranked Terrapins
3/27/2018 12:15:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
» First-year head coach Kevin Conry will face off against his former team for the first time. Conry spent five seasons at Maryland as defensive coordinator and also served as associate head coach for the past two seasons, to help lead the Terps to the 2017 NCAA Championship.
» Michigan is ranked No. 17 in the USILA poll, and No. 15 in the Maverik media poll.
» The matchup marks the first Big Ten game of the campaign for both sides. Michigan completed non-conference play with a 7-2 record, and are 15-3 in non-conference play over the past two seasons.
» Junior Brent Noseworthy owns 31 goals on the season, six off his own school record, and averages 3.44 goals per contest to rank him fourth in the country.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, March 31 -- vs. No. 2 Maryland (U-M Lacrosse Stadium), noon
Live Stats | Live Video | Coach Conry Interview (WTKA) to come | Tickets | Stadium Information (TV: BTN)
Promotions: Youth Day, Kids Go Blue Club Day, Block M Headbands, Free Admission to women's game - More Promotions
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The No. 17 University of Michigan men's lacrosse team (7-2, 0-0 B1G) will host the defending NCAA Champion, the No. 2-ranked Maryland Terrapins, on Saturday (March 31) at noon in U-M Lacrosse Stadium. The matchup will be broadcast via Big Ten Network with Dean Linke and Greg Bice on the call.
WOLVERINE BITES
• Michigan is ranked No. 17 in the USILA poll, and No. 15 in the Maverik media poll. Both rankings are the highest in program history in each poll, respectively. The Wolverines vaulted into the top 20 after a monumental win at No. 4 Notre Dame, defeating the Fighting Irish 13-12 on March 21.
• Junior Brent Noseworthy enters the week with 31 goals, and averages 3.44 goals per game, a number that ranks No. 4 in the NCAA and is the top mark in the conference heading into Big Ten play. His shooting percentage of .500 (31 goals on 62 shots) checks in at No. 14 in the country and No. 1 in the Big Ten. Noseworthy is seven goals shy of breaking his own school record for goals in a season (37).
• Noseworthy has marked at least one point in each of his last 23 games, and owns 68 goals and 11 assists for 79 points over that span. Overall, he has ripped off a point in 27 of 30 games played in his career. In the three contests during which he did not register a point or shot as a freshman, he was solely a part of U-M's man-up unit.
• The Wolverine offense boasts six players with double-digit points, while 121 of U-M's 162 points have come via the junior (72) and freshman (47) classes. Noseworthy paces the team with 36 points, and freshman Kevin Mack checks in at No. 2 on the team (32), while junior Decker Curran (22), freshman Alex Buckanavage (22) and junior Rocco Sutherland (14) check in as juniors and freshmen with double-digit points. Mack's 32 points rank him fourth in the country for freshmen behind Boston's Chris Gray (46), Albany's Tehoka Nanticoke (39) and High Point's Asher Nolting (36).
• Mack has won two of the last three Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors, and recently surpassed Will Meter (2012-15) for the Michigan record for assists by a freshman. With 16 helpers, he is five assists way from breaking the U-M single-season record, and he is one point off Ian King's (2014) freshman record for points in a season with 33.
• In the national rankings, Michigan checks in at No. 19 offensively (11.67 goals per game) and No. 20 defensively (8.89 goals/game). According to AnalyticsLacrosse.com, Michigan ranks No. 12 in raw offense, No. 11 in adjusted offense and No. 1 in shooting efficiency.
• Senior goalie Tommy Heidt earned his first start of the season against Marquette (March 17), and has been the man in goal each of the last three contests, all victories. Heidt, who started every contest for the Wolverines a season ago, missed the early portion of this season due to a lower-body injury. Heidt does not qualify for NCAA statistics, but his save percentage of .570 would rank No. 8 in the country, while his goals-against average of 8.33 would rank No. 13 in the NCAA.
• Michigan completed non-conference play with a 7-2 record, and is 15-3 in non-conference play over the past two seasons. U-M's ranked future opposition features this week's opponent, No. 2 Maryland (March 31), No. 10 Rutgers (April 8), and No. 7 Johns Hopkins (April 21). Other opponents Ohio State (April 14) and Penn State (April 31) are receiving votes in the USILA and Maverik polls.
• First-year head coach Kevin Conry owns the top record in the country for a new head coach this season (7-2), and faces his former team for the first time. Conry served as the associate head coach and defensive coordinator for the Terps during last season's NCAA Championship run. Overall, he spent the past five seasons as the Terps' defensive coordinator, and the last two as associate head coach.
OPPONENT PREVIEW
Maryland
The No. 2 Terps enter Saturday's contest with a 7-1 overall record, with the lone loss coming by an 11-10 score against No. 1 Albany. Maryland defeated No. 19 North Carolina 11-7 on March 24, and the Terrapins also own wins over No. 17 Penn, No. 8 Notre Dame and No. 5 Villanova.
The Terps are led offensively by one of the most dynamic offensive players in college lacrosse, Connor Kelly, who leads the squad with 22 goals and 21 assists for 43 points, a number that ranks No. 6 in the country with 5.38 points/game. The attack unit features Jared Bernhardt (24 goals, 10 assists), and Logan Wisnauskas (18 G, 3 A).
Freshman Justin Shockey features as the main faceoff option (61 percent won), while Maryland also boasts two of the top longsticks in the country, Matt Neufeldt (26 ground balls, four caused turnovers), and Nick Brozowski (24 GB, six CT). Senior goalie Dan Morris owns a save percentage of .540, a goals-against average of 8.40 and the top saves-per-game average in the Big Ten (9.75).
Maryland owns a 4-0 advantage in the all-time series, with the narrowest outcome coming during the 2016 season in Ann Arbor, when the Terps downed the Wolverines, 8-7.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are now on sale, with general admission tickets being available for $6 and group tickets (10 or more) on sale for $3 each. Group experiences are also available. Tickets
Tweet of the Week
???, top 20!#EarnIt? | #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/8Sp7AN1qI8
— Michigan Lacrosse (@UMichLacrosse) March 26, 2018
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Sunday, April 7 -- at No. 10 Rutgers (Piscataway, N.J.), noon
