NCAA Rewind: Michigan Making a Habit of Late-Season Surges

Before USA Lacrosse Magazine looks ahead to what’s to come in 2025 — look out for our NCAA Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings later this summer — our team of staff and contributors decided it was worth taking a last look at the 2024 college lacrosse season.

To do that, we’re taking a journey through 30 of the top teams in men’s and women’s lacrosse to see what went right, what went wrong and how we should feel about the season.

MICHIGAN

USA Lacrosse preseason/final ranking: No. 13/No. 11
2024 record: 10-7 (2-3 Big Ten)

What went right: The grad transfer route worked splendidly for the Wolverines, with Lehigh import Justin Tiernan ranking third nationally with 57 goals, Christian Ronda (Princeton) filling a steady role in the midfield and fellow former Tiger Beau Pederson cementing himself as one of the nation’s top short sticks. 

Justin Wietfeldt won 61.5 percent of his faceoffs, taking on a larger role after splitting time with the graduated Nick Rowlett in 2023. 

Most importantly, Michigan figured things out late in the season, ripping off a four-game winning streak at the right time to go from a .500 team to a second consecutive Big Ten title.

What went wrong: Right before the late surge — which, like last year, started with a regular-season defeat of rival Ohio State and continued a week later with a conference tournament triumph over the Buckeyes — Michigan lost five of six. 

Included in the stretch were home losses to Harvard and Rutgers, as well as a second-half fade against Johns Hopkins. It didn’t exactly portend the Wolverines’ encore performance in the Big Ten tournament.

Season highlight: Michigan doesn’t leave much in doubt when it gets to the Big Ten title game. A year after shredding Maryland 14-5 to clinch the program’s first NCAA tournament berth, the Wolverines hammered Penn State 16-4 behind Tiernan’s five goals. It was a thorough thrashing and provided further validation to the growth coach Kevin Conry has overseen in his seven seasons in Ann Arbor.

Verdict: It wasn’t exactly the most predictable path to a second NCAA trip in a row, but Michigan salvaged its season with an eerily familiar run. This year’s postseason wasn’t quite as much fun (the Wolverines bowed out 16-11 at Denver in the first round), but making it there was another solid brick to lay as part of the program’s burgeoning foundation.