The Notre Dame lacrosse team plays Michigan this Sunday at 2:00 pm, Arlotta Stadium, ESPN3.

In the lacrosse world, Michigan is a very new program, somewhat underachieving, but deserving of some credit for trying to hack it in the very difficult Big 10.  This year they begin the season with a 4-0 record, feeling good and tough, but winning against some marginal teams.  Now it’s time for them to play with the big boys. Here at Team ND-Atl, we simply dislike the Wolverines. We don’t speak for our colleagues at 18 Stripes, but we suspect they share our disdain for all things Michigan.

Now imagine our disgust when reviewing the ND -6 line and seeing claptrap like this tweet:

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People looking for a Michigan upset should be mindful of this symbolism of six points, as it is six points that are owed to Notre Dame after the pasting the football team gave Michigan in their last meeting.  Six points that were taken off the scoreboard after the game ended that left us with a slightly less satisfying 31-0 victory. #Rememberthe6 we say.  It is our hope that the men’s lacrosse team reclaims those six points and then some.

Anywho, this year’s version of the Michigan lacrosse project does have some handy and very tall players on attack, with Brent Noseworthy and Ian King leading the consistent scoring for the Wolverines. Michigan beat the brand-new Cleveland State Vikings, Lafayette, Detroit and Bellarmine to compile their 4-0 record.  Not exactly a murderers’ row, but they were convincing wins.  Still, Michigan is slowly working itself out of the basement of the Big 10 and looking for its first signature win.

Notre Dame enters this game having only played Georgetown in Dallas, where we were witness to the Ryder Garnsey show.

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The new-look Irish offense displayed last week in Dallas certainly answered many questions about the team that were on the minds of fans. This week, there are new questions we hope will be answered by the team as they develop into a championship squad:

–How will the midfield lines develop?  The Irish showed a solid starting line last week in Perkovic, Costabile  and Byrne, and they are loaded at the defensive midfield (even with the loss of Carlson Millikin to injury).  However, the names behind the first offensive midfield line are muddled and seem to involve varied combinations of Brendan Collins, Gray and Phillips.  Will the Irish settle into three basic lines like we saw much of last year, or will the team instead focus on more two-way play and enjoy some of the speed at the defensive midfield for more transition focused arrangement?  There’s no wrong answer to this questions, we’re just curious where the coaching staff feels it has the greatest strength.

–Can the defense hold Michigan to single digits?  It’s odd asking this question of a Gerry Byrne coached defense, but it is clear Kevin Corrigan was displeased with the fact Georgetown scored 10.  They appeared a bit sloppy defending transition and man-down, but the stat sheet showed good numbers for ground balls and caused turnovers. Shane Doss clearly did not have his best day, but nothing stuck out to suggest this defense could give up ten. We think the defense will take it as a point of honor to lock down the Michigan offense.  It will be interesting to see how they do this against such oversized attackmen.

–What happens when Sergio regains his radar?  Sergio Perkovic scored 2 off of 10 shots, not spraying it around but definitely not his most precise day.  When he does get it dialed in, will it be additive to Garnsey and Wynne, or will it be at the expense of their points? If additive, ND may post some gaudy numbers.  The concern here is that last year the offense definitely had an either/or feel to it.

 

There’s still a lot to learn about the 2017 Irish, but they are talented and deep.  If they are to become a championship team, they must be able to win convincingly against developing teams like Michigan.  If the offense flows like it did against Georgetown, and if the defense tidies it up a bit, there is no reason why this should not be the case.