Three keys to Northwestern lacrosse vs. Michigan

Northwestern and Michigan are back at it again. Less than one week after they last faced off against each other in the regular season finale, the ‘Cats and the Wolverines are playing each other once again in Ann Arbor, this time in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.

The stakes are high for both sides: Michigan has a bone to pick as it lost 9-7 to Northwestern the last time out, while Northwestern has to prove its worth as the No. 1 seed in the tournament and, potentially, as a national title contender.

Here are three keys to the ‘Cats pulling off a victory in enemy territory.

Flex Seal, or not letting defensive lapses get worse

Do you know Flex Seal, that one brand of waterproof tape that’s always advertised on TV as being able to stop massive amounts of water flowing from a broken container? Well, I hope you do, because that’s the most apt description I could find to explain how I want the ‘Cats to play on Friday: patch the small things up so that the dam doesn’t break.

Not many things make me nervous about this Northwestern squad. Sure, the team has had its ups and downs, but it has recovered from losses well. What does concern me, however, is recent major defensive lapses where Northwestern has been shut out by the opposing offense.

Against Penn State, the ‘Cats went on an 0-4 run in the fourth quarter, and against Michigan, they went 1-4 in the third quarter. Though in both games Northwestern’s offense put in the work to maintain a big enough lead, Michigan has a strong defensive squad. It may be rash to assume that Northwestern will always be able to score more should its defense fail.

Point being — I would almost prefer to see a game where Michigan and Northwestern ping-pong goals back and forth rather than Northwestern letting one, then two, then three goals slip in an instant and not be able to make an offensive recovery.

Tracking players

Lacrosse is a high-scoring game, and there’s only so much that one can do to stop goals entirely. One can, however, prevent silly goals.

I think back to the third quarter of the Northwestern-Michigan game on April 15, where, after a low-scoring first half, the Wolverines came out with a level of momentum that Northwestern couldn’t handle. Four goals later, and the Wildcats had lost their lead in less than half the time it had taken them to build it.