As the Eastern College Athletic Conference playoffs draw near, the Ohio State men’s lacrosse team is experiencing both the good and the bad in its attempts to secure the conference’s fourth and final tournament spot.
Senior attacker Logan Schuss became the third Buckeye of all-time to break the 200-point plateau with 201 career points and moved into sole possession of second place on the all-time goals list with 124 in his career during the Buckeyes’ game against Hobart over the weekend.
No. 15 OSU, though, dealt with the loss of junior starting goalie Greg Dutton before the match because of an injury sustained during practice. But the team pulled through and beat the Hobart Statesmen, 10-6.
Offensive issues have plagued the Buckeyes for most of the season, but after a goalless first quarter on Saturday, OSU came out firing and scored at least 10 goals for the fifth time this season.
Coach Nick Myers was impressed with his team in practice during the week, seeing a change in mentality that the squad needed to get back on track.
“We understood the urgency there is,” Myers said. “This is April and kind of the fourth quarter of our season. We knew we were staring down four really big conference games. There were a number of contributors to the effort today but I credit the seniors. They set the tone Monday.”
Schuss stepped out of his role as primary goal scorer, only finding the back of the net once but added four assists to give him five points on the day.
Schuss said he was happy about getting to 200 career points but felt the game was more about how the team played.
“It feels good,” Schuss said. “It’s definitely a team thing, though.”
Junior backup goalie Scott Spencer was given the start on the day and did not disappoint, only giving up six goals with 12 saves.
Spencer, who had not played much this year before the game, was glad to get his chance but said he wished it didn’t have to come at the expense of Dutton.
“Obviously it was bittersweet,” Spencer said about when he found out he was going to start. “I was excited to play but I was definitely feeling for my teammate and just hoping he was OK.”
The win improves OSU’s record to 7-3 and 2-2 in the ECAC. The Buckeyes are tied with Fairfield, which the Buckeyes will host for their season finale, for the fourth ECAC playoff spot.
In the meantime, a road trip looms for the Buckeyes, who are set to take on Michigan Saturday in Ann Arbor at 3:30 p.m.