The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team was able to shake off a four-game losing streak to rout the Hobart Statesmen, 11-4, on Senior Day at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The win puts the No. 18 Buckeyes at 6-5 overall and 1-1 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference.
The scoring came early and often as the Buckeyes racked up six unanswered goals in the first quarter. Sophomore attackman Logan Schuss led the way with four goals for the Buckeyes with plenty of help from fellow sophomore attackman Jeff Tundo, who pitched in three goals.
“I think one of the differences for us (this week) from the get-go is we had a six-goal first quarter,” OSU coach Nick Myers said. “Right now, I’m happy for the seniors and this team for getting their first league win.”
The scoring spree began in the first minute when Schuss wound up and delivered a quick strike. The Statesmen failed to respond until the end of the first quarter when they scored on a man-up opportunity, leaving them down, 6-1, heading into the second quarter.
The Buckeyes shut out the Statesmen for the next 15 minutes while adding two more goals, leaving the score at 8-1 heading into halftime.
OSU proceeded to match Hobart’s effort in the second half, as each team posted three goals, giving the Buckeyes the largest win of their season with an 11-4 final score.
Saturday’s win seemed to be a proper goodbye to Jesse Owens Stadium for senior middleman and Upper Arlington native Scott Lathrop, whose family came to support him on Senior Day.
“It feels great, especially coming off a streak of losses,” Lathrop said after scoring two goals in the game. “It was really important for us to come in here with a new focus, not get down on ourselves and come out firing.”
Senior Paul Beery, also a middleman, weighed in on leaving the stadium with a big win.
“I think we put a lot of stuff together that we worked on this week,” Beery said. “It’s great to come out with a victory, especially with all the seniors getting a piece of the action.”
While the Buckeyes certainly had no issues scoring, the defense constantly hustled, forcing 16 Hobart turnovers and allowing just seven shots in the first half with starters in.
The defense for the Buckeyes rarely let Hobart near the goal, but when the Statesmen did manage to get close, freshman goalkeeper Greg Dutton usually thwarted them.
“Greg Dutton had a heck of a game today with three goals against and 12 saves,” Myers said. “When he gets hot, it really ignites our defense.”
Dutton exited to a round of applause in the waning minutes when the game was out of reach, allowing senior goalkeeper Ryan Keneally to play the rest of the game.
The Buckeyes will now shift their focus to their upcoming April 16 road game against ECAC Conference leader Denver, which is undefeated in conference play.
