This is more of a kneejerk reaction to what happened, rather than a look at individual stats, etc. You can click here for the boxscore.
--
If ever there was a game that fit the "should win" description, this was it. And it didn't happen. Michigan lacrosse fans should be pissed off right now. Here's why...
- Dartmouth went into the game with a .197 offensive efficiency; they walked out of Ann Arbor with a .317 offensive efficiency.
- Dartmouth was averaging 5.75 goals per game. They scored thirteen.
- Michigan picked up 11 more GBs, won nine more face-offs (66% on the day), and failed to clear only three times, but took only 29 shots. Dartmouth took 47 shots.
This defense, man. The one thing they should have been prepared for was he fact that 65% of Dartmouth's shots were going to be on goal. Yet they continuously let the Big Green attackers in close where Gerald Logan was a man on an island. Here's what I said about Logan and the defense in the preview for today's game:
"He's a good netminder who needs the support of the defense in front of him in order to be truly successful. When your guys aren't sliding, or sliding at the wrong time, the open shots are going to be there, and the goalie is only as good as the rest of the defense."
Now, that's not some profound analysis. That's basic stuff right there, and I'm just some dude on his couch typing out the obvious.
I guess the silver lining is that Michigan outscored Dartmouth 11-8 from the second quarter through to the end of the game, but this defense needs to get its shit together sometime soon. Allowing a less than good Dartmouth squad walk into your house and hang five goals in the first quarter is unacceptable. Michigan has had some moments when they've scored a lot to get back into a game, but playing with a four-goal deficit from the get-go isn't how this team is really built.
There are now more questions surrounding this team in season five than there were in seasons two or three. I know John Paul has been with the program forever, but with the Big Ten season just two weeks away, and with four of the five teams he's about to face in conference being ranked (including Rutgers FFS!), this season is about to get out of hand very quickly. Next season will be the first in which everyone on the team is a recruit to a D-1 Michigan lacrosse program, and not a holdover from the club days. Whether this team is struggling because of talent or play on the field, it all comes down to head coach John Paul.
Since anything can happen in the next few weeks, I'm not going to call for a guy's job. However, I am going to ask for some serious analysis to be done at the end of the season if Michigan is sitting at only three or four wins again.
Before the conference season starts, the Wolverine will take on Marist in Ann Arbor on 3/23.