COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Led by four goals from junior Michael Boehm and three from senior Josh Zawada, the University of Michigan men's lacrosse team marked the biggest win in program history on Saturday (April 1), knocking off No. 2-ranked defending national champion Maryland 16-11 at SECU Stadium.
The victory represents the first in program history over the Terrapins and is just the Wolverines' second over a top-five ranked opponent — the other was a 13-12 win over No. 4 Notre Dame on March 21, 2018. It is also the first win over a top-five-ranked Big Ten team in school history and the highest-ranked victory over any opponent in program annals.
FINAL: Michigan 16, No. 2 Maryland 11
— Michigan Men's Lacrosse (@UMichLacrosse) April 1, 2023
The win is the first Big Ten victory over a top-five team in program history, and the first victory over the Terrapins.#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/o0BxMP2ZrV
Zawada paced the scoring for U-M with seven points (three goals, four assists), and Boehm totaled four goals and two assists for six points. Senior midfielder Jacob Jackson had a second-half hat trick on only four shots.
The faceoff duo of graduate student Nick Rowlett and junior Justin Wietfeldt bested the nation's top faceoff man in Maryland's Luke Wierman, winning 17 of 30 draws to go along with 10 ground balls.
Michigan (5-4, 1-0 Big Ten) jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first quarter, highlighted by a 5-0 run from four different goalscorers. The Terps answered with a pair to start the second quarter, to make the score 6-4 Wolverines.
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Zawada put an end to the mini Terrapin run to run the count to 7-4 at 12:32 of the second, however, Maryland (6-3, 1-1 Big Ten) closed the half with two more tallies to send the contest to the half with the Wolverines ahead 7-6.
Michigan was held scoreless the final 12 minutes of the quarter but burst out of the gate in the second half, scoring three straight markers. The run was keyed by a pair from Jackson in the opening 1:44 of the quarter as the contest sat at 10-6 in favor of Michigan. Maryland's Braden Erksa marked a score at 12:39 of the quarter, and a scoreless drought for both teams of nearly 12 minutes ensued before Boehm scored his third of the day at 2:02. Erksa ended the quarter with another with eight seconds left as the scoreline sat at 11-8 Wolverines heading into the fourth.
Maryland's Daniel Maltz chipped away at the Wolverine lead at 13:32 of the fourth, scoring on a man-up chance to make it a two-goal contest at the 13:32 mark. From there, U-M pulled away, with Jackson marking his third of the day at 9:36 and Boehm adding his fourth 10 seconds later as the Wolverines held a 13-9 lead. Scores from sophomore Aidan Mulholland (6:58) and the first-career goal for freshman Jimmy Pisani (6:14) stretched the U-M lead to 15-9. Zawada's fourth of the contest came from beyond midfield for a 10-man Maryland ride that was sandwiched between two Terrapin goals as the game finished 16-11.
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After struggling with clearing last week, U-M was a perfect 22-of-22 on the day. Junior goalie Shane Carr stopped five shots in the first half, while freshman Hunter Taylor also stopped five in the second half. As a collective unit, the Wolverine defense held Maryland to 41 shots, with only 21 coming on goal.
U-M concludes its two-contest Big Ten road trip on Friday (April 6), traveling to No. 9 Rutgers for a matchup that commences at 6 p.m. in Piscataway, N.J., and will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
