After a 4-0 day on Saturday and their presumed quarterfinals matchup with Harvard, Michigan looked poised to reach the semifinals, despite some bumpiness in offensive execution in the wind. But it was not to be — the windier Sunday hurt them and they fell 15-10 and missed the semis.

Much of what we knew about this Ann Arbor team held true, though, particularly their emotional play style that is fed by the sideline’s eruption in cheers every time the defense forces a turn. MagnUM went down early in a few different spots throughout the weekend, and then, like clockwork, the team would lock in mentally and start to generate and convert turns. The only time that didn’t seem to work was in the wind against Harvard, who avoided giving the Michigan defense the break opportunities they needed.

Michigan Flashing Depth And Grit

Michigan isn’t flashy. They aren’t generally going to make a ton of highlight plays. What they are going to do is be consistent and wear you down with strong fundamental defense, a brilliant zone, and versatile offensive threats.

Michigan lost just two games this weekend: one to Florida at the end of the day on Saturday, and one to Pitt in the semifinals. Notably, in that Pitt game, Michigan went down 3-0 to start, and lost 15-12.

“We called a timeout after the first two breaks and said, ‘Hey it’s a new game,'” said captain Sam Greenwood. They played a new game from that point forward, going basically dead even with the best team at the tournament.