College lacrosse is back. As perhaps the most anticipated season in NCAA history approaches, we’re featuring every team ranked in the Nike/US Lacrosse Preseason Top 20.

Check back to USLaxMagazine.com each weekday for new previews, scouting reports and rival analysis.

Michigan is known for its defense.

In the last three seasons, it’s finished with either the fewest or the second-fewest goals allowed in the Big Ten, and 2020 was no different. The Wolverines allowed just 10 goals per game, the best in the conference and the 20th-best in the nation.

But that wasn’t all they did last spring. In its six-game shortened campaign, Michigan also started to score.

The Wolverines averaged the most goals per game (14.2) in program history in 2020. They found the net with frequency, scoring 15 or more goals in three of their four final games and averaging more than 30 attempts per game.

“We were really starting to hit a performance level that we were really happy with as coaches, and that we thought could go really far,” coach Hannah Nielsen said. “Offensively, we were really starting to find our groove, which was really new for us.”

It may have been new in 2020, but Michigan is looking to continue it into 2021. The Wolverines did graduate Chandler Kirby and Lilly Grass, two attacking stalwarts who combined for 13 goals and 11 assists in 2020, but they will return their leading and most prolific scorer in senior Caitlin Muir, who with a big season could vault their offense into the next tier.

An All-Big Ten pick in 2019 and a Tewaaraton Watch List candidate in 2020, Muir was the only player to score in each of Michigan’s six games in 2020. Had there been a complete season, Nielsen thought Muir was on pace to challenge for the Big Ten Attacker of the Year award, and is excited about the potential she brings back to the offense.

There are still some question marks about who will surround Muir. The Wolverines return a pair of other proven contributors in senior Maggie Kane and fifth-year Molly Garrett, a midfield duo who powered the attack from the draw circle, but there’ll be a fair share of opportunities for younger players to contribute on the offensive end.

The freshman class that arrived in Ann Arbor this fall is this coaching staff’s first to come from a full two-year recruiting cycle, and so far Nielsen likes what she has seen. She said four or five rookie midfielders would get the chance to make a significant impact and complement the existing offense.

“We feel comfortable about where our offense has gotten to,” Nielsen said. “It’s just a matter of getting some younger ones some more experience to keep working on that end of the ball a little more.”

If it can continue to strengthen its offense and maintain its robust defense — which returns two key fifth-years with starting experience — Michigan could challenge Northwestern and Maryland in the Big Ten.

“No matter what, the players are just excited, as are the coaches, to put the uniform back on and get out there for a real game,” Nielsen said. “It’ll be exciting when that gets to happen.”

TOP RETURNERS

Molly Garrett, M, Gr.

Garrett is one of the more decorated players in program history: In four years in Ann Arbor, she’s been a team captain twice, earned All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore, and appeared on the Tewaaraton Watch List in both 2019 and 2020. After scoring 11 goals and tallying 26 draws in 2020, her decision to return for a fifth year is huge for the Wolverines.

Caitlin Muir, A, Sr.

As a sophomore, Muir had a stellar 2019 campaign — she set single-season program records for points (59) and assists (21) and was a consensus pick for the All-Big Ten team. She came into the 2020 season with high expectations as one of the conference’s players to watch, and delivered through six games, leading Michigan with 16 goals and 11 assists.

Quinn Melidona, D, Gr.

Melidona leads the defense that has long been the strongest suit of this Wolverines program. She totaled 45 ground balls and 30 caused turnovers in her past three seasons at Michigan, and alongside fellow fifth-year returnee Sydney Whitaker, will continue to anchor the Big Ten’s best backline.

KEY ADDITION

Annabelle Burke, M, Fr.

The Illinois native is Michigan’s highest-rated recruit and will likely see some time in the Wolverines’ midfield from the jump. Burke’s senior season at Loyola Academy was cancelled due to the pandemic, but she earned All-American honors as a sophomore and junior, helping establish the Ramblers as one of the best prep programs in the Midwest.

ENEMY LINES

“Hannah and her staff have done a phenomenal job of building that program and really just stepping up the level and the expectations there. Across the board, they’re a team that’s really solid defensively, faster in the midfield and well-balanced on the offensive end.”

NUMBERS GAME

60

The total number of goals allowed by Michigan in its six games last year. The 10.0 goals per game average was good for the best in the Big Ten and the second-best mark in the program’s seven-season history. With most of the backline and goalkeeper Arielle Weissman set to return, the Wolverines will look to match or better that number in 2021.