How Peter Thompson became Michigan lacrosse's hometown hero

Fulfilling Peter Thompson's wildest dreams, last weekend really happened.

An Ann Arbor native, Thompson was born in University of Michigan's Mott Children's hospital; it's the building adjacent to where his father, Byron, has worked for more than two decades as a neurosurgeon in the university hospital system.

Thompson's four older siblings all competed in collegiate athletics; his brother Bart rowed and was on the club lacrosse team at Stanford, and his three sisters — Kelsey (Northwestern, 2014), Molly (Georgetown, 2017), and Tess (Yale, 2018) — played field hockey.

In Thompson's fantastic finish Sunday in Ithaca, New York, he combined his hometown roots and his athletic genes for the memory of a lifetime: After spending four years at Georgetown, he transferred to his hometown school and scored the first hat-trick of his collegiate career, then added a fourth goal — the winner in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, to propel Michigan lacrosse to a 15-14 overtime victory over No. 6-seed Cornell.

"I don't think there's anyway anyone could ever imagine that," Thompson, in his fifth year, said Wednesday afternoon, still laughing as he tried to process the moment four days later. "It's certainly something you imagine as a kid, growing up for your hometown team, but it's surreal.

"I just keep thinking how lucky and blessed I am to even be on the team. ... Honest to god, just right place, right time, it could have been any guy out there. But I'm sure the story sounds better that it was me."

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The win, U-M's first NCAA tournament victory in program history (in its first NCAA game ever), sets up a matchup with No. 1 Duke in the NCAA quarterfinals in Albany, New York, on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ESPNU).

The Blue Devils escaped Delaware, 12-11, in their opening round matchup last week, but head into the matchup as the overwhelming favorite. U-M head coach Kevin Conry said that doesn't matter.

"We look at it like opportunity, and one of our purposes this year was to maximize every opportunity in front of us," Conry said Wednesday. "The way we look at it, sure they're the No. 1 seed, but it doesn't really matter — we're in the quarterfinals, it's going to be a great team (no matter what)."

And to think, without a December decision by Thompson to return to Ann Arbor, none of it might have happened.

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'Always in the back of my mind'

A star in high school at Novi Detroit Catholic Central, Thompson was all-state all four years and was twice named an All-American. After losing to rival Birmingham Brother Rice in the state championship in each of his first three seasons, he and DCC went out on top in 2018, his senior year.

"Thankfully, we broke through, the first team to beat Brother Rice in the state championship," he said. "Honestly, I couldn't care less about the individual awards, I wanted to win. Going to the state title game and losing three times is not fun, so I just wanted to win, and in a similar way to this, it was a great way to finish my career on top."

Thompson as a child longed to play at Michigan, even though he still laughs about his first U-M sports memory — some football game against Appalachian State. His U-M fandom has been all uphill from that September 2007 afternoon, he joked.

In his formative years, there "couldn't be a bigger Michigan fan" he said. He spoke glowingly about John Beilein, Trey Burke, Nik Stauskas and co. or as he calls it, "The golden age of Michigan basketball."

"I was obsessed," Thompson admitted.

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Yet he didn't click perfectly with U-M's lacrosse staff at the time during his recruitment process. His older siblings all played college sports in other states and encouraged him to cast a wider net.

"I remember visiting and really loving it, and there's a lot of logistics that go into that decision," he said. "It just was kind of a decision that, 'Hey, let's see a new part of the world we otherwise wouldn't see growing up here in Ann Arbor.' But I won't lie, I won't say I second-guessed it .... but (U-M) was always in the back of my mind."

By the time Thompson was a senior in high school, Conry had taken over at U-M and tried to flip the local standout, but Thompson had given his word to coach Kevin Warren at Georgetown.

How was his time there?

"That's an interesting question," he said. "It's no secret, if you go somewhere, you want to play. There was a plethora of talent at Georgetown ... but I'd be lying if I said it was satisfying in terms of the time I got to play.

"I worked my hardest to try and get on the field and it just didn't work out."

The 6-foot, 190-pound midfielder netted 25 points — 17 goals and eight assists — in 43 games across four seasons, as the Hoyas won three Big East championships (2019, 2021, 2022) and made one NCAA quarterfinal in 2021.

On Dec. 1, 2022, the last day of fall practice, Thompson went into his coach's office, thanked the staff for their time developing him, and let them know he was going to put his name in the transfer portal.

"There was only one place I was looking," he told Warren. "And I don't even know if I'm on their radar."

'Live and breathe maize and blue'

Less than 24 hours later, Thompson received confirmation his name was officially in the portal database.

Conry was his only call.

"He was excited about an opportunity to be a part of this program," Conry said.

If U-M didn't want him? "I was going to have to start my job," Thompson said.

While he turned out to be a nice piece in the regular season, he was not the star of the offense. That role was filled by Michael Boehm, who leads the team in points (71); Josh Zawada, the program's all-time leading goal scorer; and Ryan Cohen, the only Wolverine with at least 27 goals and assists.

Thompson had 15 points through his first 11 games. But since moving into the starting lineup five games ago, he has 13 points, and U-M has not lost.

Conry said the transfer's impression has gone well beyond that.

"His enthusiasm on a day-in-and-day-out basis speaks for itself, and that’s why he’s made such a big impact," he said. "I think Pete could’ve played 10 minutes the entire year and had a similar impact on the growth of this program and our culture."

The Wolverines have a clear recipe for victory against the top-seeded Blue Devils. They are 7-1 when scoring first, 10-5 when they win the face-off battle, 6-1 when ahead at the half and 8-0 when netting at least 15 goals.

They also have perhaps the top defender in the nation in Andrew Darby, who shadows the opponent's best player.

For eight straight gams, Darby has held whomever he guards below their season average in points, including Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year TJ Malone (Penn State), Big Ten Freshman of the Year Braden Erksa (Maryland), second-team All-Big Ten member Jack Myers (Ohio State) and Tewaaraton Award (lacrosse's version of the Heisman Trophy) finalist CJ Kirst (Cornell).

He will get either Brennan O'Neill or Dyson Williams on Saturday.

Will U-M's fairy tale continue? Perhaps. But Thompson already has his.

"Growing up as a Michigan fan, this is all you can dream of," Thompson said. "I live and breathe maize and blue, so for me to come back and be part of this team, I couldn't have asked for anything better."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Peter Thompson became Michigan lacrosse's hometown hero