SPARKS, Md. — The rise of Michigan women’s lacrosse in the Hannah Nielsen era is just as much about defensive prowess as it is about the energy Nielsen has injected into the program.

So, after No. 8 Michigan defeated High Point 15-6 at USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md., on Wednesday afternoon, it wasn’t surprising to hear Nielsen rattle off the names of a couple defenders who have exceeded expectations in the early going.

“Morgan Whitaker on defense may not have the caused turnovers and the stats, but she’s a senior captain and working her butt off,” Nielsen said. “She puts the team on her back. Maddie Burns on defense is holding it together.”

During Michigan’s 6-0 start, the defense has surrendered just 6.17 goals per game. Whitaker and Burns are at the heart of that dominance, as is graduate student goalie Arielle Weissman. But every Wolverine on the field plays defense, including attackers on the ride and midfielders chasing down the ball.

Outsiders didn’t peg Michigan as a top-flight contender for 2022, largely because of a down 2021. The Wolverines limped to a 3-9 finish in the conference-only schedule, leaving some doubters come this spring.

Nielsen, however, wasn’t worried.

“I had zero concerns at all. I knew how good we were last year,” she said. “We were hit with the COVID bug pretty hard. We were in a lot of games, and we couldn’t get the job done.

“I couldn’t have been happier that we were ranked where we were ranked at the beginning of the year because I knew how hard the girls had been working and I knew what we had. At least I thought I knew. You never really know until you play an opponent.”

Michigan wasted little time affirming its coach’s belief. The Wolverines opened the first weekend of the season by pounding Detroit Mercy and upsetting a Notre Dame team that was ranked No. 6 at the time.

And although Michigan has since climbed the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20, it still doesn’t generate the same buzz as a Northwestern or a Maryland. Nielsen prefers it that way. Michigan thrives off its balance, after all. Rarely does one player totally outshine the rest.

Caitlin Muir led the charge with four goals and two assists against High Point and is the team’s leading scorer with 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists), but eight Wolverines have at least 10 points. Another has nine.

“It’s really nice because, say I’m having an off day, there are six other people around me who are tough to defend,” Muir said. “It makes us a really lethal team. It doesn’t have to be just a two-person team.”

There were seven players who scored and nine players who earned a point against High Point (0-4), a testament to the offensive balance that Nielsen wants to accomplish. In Sunday’s 18-6 win over Towson, there were 10 goal scorers.

“Typically, it’s been if Caitlin Muir’s off, the team’s off,” Nielsen said. “Now, Caitlin can have a couple points and we can still win the game.”

Muir was relatively quiet, at least as a scorer, in the first half, netting her only goal of the first 30 minutes with 4:28 left in the first quarter. Both of her assists came within the first four minutes of the contest, though.

Up 7-2 at halftime, Michigan’s lead extended to 8-2 when Muir scored to open the third quarter. Kaley Thompson (three goals) scored to make it 10-3.

Michigan scored the first four goals of the fourth quarter — one each from Annabelle Burke, Erin Garvey, Caroline Bean and Muir — to extend the lead to 14-4.

“We’re just out here playing Michigan lacrosse,” Muir said of the balance. “We can’t really look into the rankings or what other people expect from us, but we expect a high standard personally.”

While last season certainly did matter, both Nielsen and Muir essentially brushed off the results as an outlier. Because of COVID, Nielsen said her team missed close to 10 weeks of practice — an incredibly valuable amount of time that could have been used to teach and coach a group that benefits from that kind of instruction.

So, coming back into a “normal” year has greatly benefitted the team. Michigan is back to playing Michigan lacrosse, a blend of offensive balance and gritty, hard-nosed defense. The type of defense that radiates an air of comfort for the rest of the team.

“If the ball’s down there,” Muir said, “I don’t feel any inkling of stress that they’ll even score.”