Ohio State lacrosse earns 6-3 win over Towson

The Ohio State Buckeyes men’s lacrosse team earned their biggest win of the year in a 6-3 effort over the 10th-ranked Towson Tigers Wednesday in Maryland. With the win, the Buckeyes move to 8-0 on the season as they prepare for a tough, three-game stretch against the top three teams in the nation.

Both teams went nearly the entire first quarter without scoring, despite 17 combined shots by the Buckeyes and Tigers. Ohio State finally opened up scoring nearly 13 minutes into the opening quarter on a goal by attackman Lukas Buckley--the freshman’s 10th goal of the season. Senior midfielder Johnny Pearson fed off the newfound momentum and quickly found the back of the net once more to give the Buckeyes a 2-0 advantage heading into the second quarter.

The defenses stayed unyielding through the second quarter. Towson scored their first goal of the game with 5:13 remaining in the half, but sophomore attackman Jack Jasinski connected on a shot 1:35 later to maintain the Buckeyes’ two-goal advantage before the break.

After the half, Towson found some momentum throughout the third quarter, scoring two goals with 9:12 and 2:42 remaining in the quarter to tie things up with the Buckeyes. Ohio State was held scoreless throughout the entire quarter, which has not happened since the first quarter of the Buckeyes’ matchup with Jacksonville in February.

The Buckeyes finally managed to breakthrough the stalemate in the fourth quarter. Senior attackman Eric Fannell scored 1:55 into the final quarter to give the Buckeyes the lead. Senior midfielder John Kelly then followed up with his first goal of the game midway through the quarter to match Ohio State’s largest lead of the game. Freshman midfielder Tre Leclaire, the Buckeyes’ leading scorer, capped the Buckeyes’ run on a goal with 2:39 remaining in the game.

For the first time this season, no Ohio State player scored more than one goal, as six total players found the back of the net. The Buckeyes also had only a single assist, courtesy of Jasinski, on the final goal of the game.

Senior goalie Tom Carey recorded eight saves on 11 shots on goal by Towson. The Tigers, meanwhile, had 11 saves on 17 shots on goal by Ohio State. The Buckeyes outshot the Tigers overall by a 34-27 margin.

In terms of possession, Ohio State dominated the faceoff game, with senior specialist Jake Withers winning 11-of-13 faceoffs. The Buckeyes also edged out the Tigers in groundballs, picking up 25 to Towson’s 20.

With the loss, Towson falls to 4-2 on the season.

Next up, the Buckeyes return home to face No. 1 Denver in Columbus. Ohio State is then scheduled to face No. 2 Notre Dame in South Bend before opening Big Ten play with No. 3 Penn State in Happy Valley.