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UPDATE: Due to the weather in Michigan today, tonight's game has been canceled, per UDM.
A furious fourth quarter rally against Penn fell short on Saturday, dropping Michigan to 1-2 on the season, but the Wolverines are back in action at 7 p.m. on Wednesday (2/24) against the Detroit Titans (0-2) in Pontiac. Wednesday marks the third meeting between the only two D-I teams in Michigan, with the Wolverines holding a 2-1 record against the Titans.
Michigan's Kyle Jackson is leading the team in points (11) after scoring a hat-trick against Penn on Saturday. His 11 goals are good enough to rank him 15th nationally in goals scored, and he's also one of three Big Ten players ranked in the top-15--Rutgers' Adam Charalambides (10) and Johns Hopkins' Ryan Brown (8) are the other two, and each has played in just two games versus three for Jackson. Wait, did Rutgers athletics come up in a positive way? Weird.
While Jackson is averaging 3.6 goals and 5.6 shots per game, Ian King is second in scoring with five goals. And he's been the main assist man with seven so far, which ties him at 20th nationally.
Lacrosse isn't about only scoring goals, though, and the Wolverines will need strong performances from Brad Lott on face-offs (35-63 through three games), and goalie Gerald Logan (.483 save %). The junior goalie is averaging 9.33 saves per game, which puts him at 36th in the country.
The Titans are heading into the game having dropped their first two contests of the season to #11 Ohio State and Mercer. Senior midfielder Andy Hebden leads Detroit with five goals, and Michigan will need to pay close attention to Hebden, as three of his five goals have come in man-up situations. Overall, Detroit is 4-7 (.571) on their man-up chances, while holding their opponents to 2-5 (.400) on theirs.
This is the kind of game Michigan must win. Detroit is winless, while the Wolverines have shown great tenacity so far (other than the destruction at the hands of UNC). If the Wolverines can come away with the win, they'll be at .500 heading into another match-up with Delaware (2-0 all-time against Michigan), who are 0-3 after losses to Bucknell, Mt. St. Mary's, and Navy. That game will be played on the west coast on 2/27, and will begin at 7 p.m. ET.
Stay tuned.