Pack Life: Wolverines’ Hot Start Years in the Making

In 2023, Denver’s rise pushed “hot pink” — the Pioneers’ long-time nickname for their defense — into the mainstream lacrosse lexicon. Through the first half of 2024, there’s a new top dog in Division I scoring defense. Michigan is letting in an average of 5.20 goals per game. What’s the Wolverines’ identity?  

“Ours is gritty,” said Erin O’Grady, the Division I leader in save percentage (.655). “We call it, ‘We hunt in packs.’ We do everything together.”

‘Everything’ has included a 10-0 start — the best in program history — and shutting down opposing offenses. To be clear, Michigan having a top-flight goalie and stout defense isn’t breaking news. The Wolverines have boasted a goals-against average under 10 in each of the last two seasons. In 2022, Arielle Weismann put together an All-American season between the pipes, and Maya Santa-Maria was 13th in save percentage as a junior last season.

The Wolverines have been building toward this since Hannah Nielsen took over in 2017, bringing defensive coordinator and now associate head coach Ana Heneberry, once an All-American defender at Loyola, with her.

“Heneberry’s been here for the same amount of time I have,” Nielsen said. “We talked about culture a lot — the overarching program culture but also within each position. The defensive culture has been a strong one for a long time. When people come into that group, they know the expectations: Toughness and being able to speak the truth and say what needs to be said.”

Even still, something felt different when Michigan returned to campus for fall ball after a season that ended with a one-goal NCAA tournament second-round loss to eventual national champion Northwestern.

“It’s been different since August,” O’Grady said. “Every single day, there are players getting extra reps, starters or not. Every single day, there are players doing extra conditioning, extra shooting, extra wall ball. That’s the difference maker for our team — how much work we’ve done this year and how much we bought in.”

O’Grady got plenty of extra reps over the summer. It’s not hard, given her hometown of Massapequa.

“On Long Island, there’s no shortage of players to shoot on you,” O’Grady said.

O’Grady frequently worked out with Ellie Masera, who is currently tied for second in Division I in goals per game (4.62). She also participated in Goaliesmith training sessions during the summer and winter breaks. The work she did when no one was watching was clear when O’Grady’s coaches actually did look at her.

“The consistency has been there,” Nielsen said. “Physically, she put a lot in a lot of work in the offseason to get stronger and more explosive.”

That stamina was on full display in Michigan’s 6-5 win over Penn on Saturday. The Wolverines needed every one of O’Grady’s saves, including the five stops she made on a tweaked right leg in the second half. (She’s not expected to miss a beat and should start Sunday against Marquette.)

“Yeah, I had a little bit of discomfort in my leg,” O’Grady said. You can almost hear her shrugging through the phone.

Nielsen didn’t bat an eyelash either. This was the O’Grady she had watched develop. The one she met late in the game (December of O’Grady’s junior year) and got to leave New York behind with great conversations, tours of the Ann Arbor campus and off-field support for academics.

“I saw her parents after the game, and I was like, ‘Your kid’s a warrior,’” Nielsen said. “She will play through anything. Whatever the team needs, she will do it. She has since day one of stepping on campus.”

O’Grady’s breakout success hasn’t been a solo project, and she’ll be the first to tell you. When asked about top defender Maddie Burns, the first words out of O’Grady’s mouth are, “She makes my job so easy.”

Burns leads the Wolverines in ground balls (20) and caused turnovers (13). She’s been an All-American in the past, but Michigan’s fast start has her drawing more attention. It’s about time, Nielsen said.

“I’m glad people like Maddie are getting the recognition they deserve,” Nielsen said. “She could play on any team in the country. We’re glad she’s on ours.”

Her athleticism — partly because of her basketball roots — gives her body control.

“She plays a fierce style of defense,” Nielsen said. “She can check. She can push transition, and she understands the game well.”

Nielsen said that sophomore Grace Callahan (11 caused turnovers) is confident after starting every game as a freshman, and O’Grady said that Taylor Cullen is another hidden gem of a defender.

“Taylor Cullen doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet, but she’s a key piece to our defense,” O’Grady said.

The two have a leg-up on the whole chemistry thing. They were classmates and teammates at St. Anthony’s (N.Y.).

The defense has thrived despite rule changes, including one-minute, releasable green card penalties for fouls like illegal picks, charging and cross-checks. Nielsen said that’s mostly affected the midfield between the 30s — not the defense — and the Wolverines worked to adapt and adjust in the fall. It’s been something of a nothing burger for them.

“We worked on getting our feet to [certain] spots, working on angles,” Nielsen said. “You can still play defense without your stick.”

The Wolverines have also emphasized draws, which Nielsen said had been an Achilles heel for the program in past postseasons. Through 10 games, Michigan is fifth in draw control percentage (.650) and led by senior Lily Montemarano’s 62 draw controls. Like O’Grady, Montemarano’s success comes from behind-the-scenes work.

“It’s an area that needed improvement,” Nielsen said. “If Lily is not in a drill, she’s working on the draw. She’s just learning a lot of work without working with our draw coach to find new and creative ways to get better. It’s paying dividends.”

The offense has benefited from the added possessions and a unit that doesn’t rely so heavily on Jill Smith. Smith scored 65 goals in 2023, more than twice the amount of the Wolverines’ second-leading scorer, Erin Garvey (30 goals). This year, Smith (28 G, 8 A) and Kaylee Dyer (30 G, 6 A) have similar stat lines, with Smith also chipping in 23 draws. Dyer was still recovering from an illness last year that limited her. Now at 100 percent, she’s making the Wolverines’ offense more challenging to stop.

“If Jill is getting more attention, Kaylee can step up, and the others can sprinkle in goals in the middle,” Nielsen said. “It’s nice for Jill to have that.”

As great as the defense has been, Nielsen knows Michigan can’t insist on riding it through the juggernaut Big Ten schedule and deep into the NCAA tournament — which will likely involve more games against Big Ten teams as it always does. The Rutgers game, which saw Michigan give up 10 whole goals, showed that Michigan can beat teams in different ways.

“Rutgers was great for the attacking group and knowing that, yes, the defense let in a few more than normal,” Nielsen said. “We were able to get the job done.”

The close calls against Penn and Rutgers also gave the Wolverines mental practice.

“Narratives enter your head. ‘Oh my God, what if we lose?’” Nielsen said. “We try and keep them just in the present. It’s working, and it’s not a time to change anything from a mentality or an on-field standpoint.”

That’s not to say the Wolverines are getting complacent. Quite the opposite, actually. Nielsen has yet to see the team play a full 60 minutes. Michigan’s lighter schedule, with only six games left before the Big Ten tournament, should leave more time to fine-tune as the Wolverines head into the heart of their slate.

“We haven’t made that [Big Ten] championship game,” Nielsen said. “That’s a goal, and we’d love to be there. We have to take care of details to get to that point, obviously.”

Like a pack, the Wolverines are all in.

“We are so much more bought in and any other time in my career here at Michigan,” O’Grady said. “We have so much belief in each other that we could take this pretty far.”