Sophomore midfielder Jesse King found the back of the net with just 0.2 seconds left in overtime Saturday to finish off a thrilling comeback for the No. 13 Ohio State men’s lacrosse team against No. 8 Penn State.
The 10-9 win was OSU’s fourth straight since the season began and was the second away from Columbus.
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Buckeyes as the team enters a three-week stretch that features matchups against three top-10 teams. But the win against the rival Nittany Lions gives the Buckeyes a good starting point.
Early on in the game, the sides were evenly matched, with a score of 2-2 after the first period.
The second period, though, was all Penn State.
The Nittany Lions, led by freshman attacker TJ Sanders’ five goals, shutting out the Buckeyes to take a commanding 8-2 lead into halftime.
But following its tendency of being a second-half team, OSU came out on fire in the third quarter. The Buckeyes answered the Nittany Lions with their own 6-0 quarter, allowing the teams to head into the final period tied at eight.
The pressure picked up for OSU in the fourth quarter, as it outshot Penn State 9-1, but it couldn’t break the deadlock as a shot in the waning seconds of the game rang off the crossbar to send the teams to overtime tied, 9-9.
In the extra period, all four shots came from the Buckeyes’ sticks, including King’s game-winner in the final second of overtime.
King was the heart of the offense on the day, scoring three times and adding two assists to lead the team with five points. Sophomore midfielder Turner Evans had four points, and senior attacker Logan Schuss picked up three to help push the Buckeyes over the Nittany Lions.
OSU is set to play host to Eastern College Athletic Conference rival No. 10 Denver on Saturday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, before it travels to Charlottesville, Va., to play No. 6 Virginia the following weekend.