Though the weather stirred up a mix of snow and rain, the No. 18 Ohio State women’s lacrosse team was not fazed as it used a second-half surge to defeat William and Mary, 14-7.
The Buckeyes (8-4, 1-1) had trouble getting into the groove of the game Saturday against the Tribe (2-8, 0-0) at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The not-so-spring weather made for rough playing conditions — puddles filled the field and jerseys without a muddy casing were a rare sight. The two teams had a combined total of 42 turnovers, stemming mostly from the poor conditions.
“We knew the weather was going to be a factor,” OSU coach Alexis Venechanos said after the game. “We didn’t realize how fierce the wind was going to be.”
Venechanos said when it comes to weather, the teams are playing in the same conditions, and the game comes down to finding out what works during a less than ideal situation. Both teams scored back and forth through the first half leaving the game tied at four heading into halftime.
“They found the open cutters,” Venechanos said of William and Mary’s strengths. This caused Venechanos to make some adjustments in her team, which helped it gain more possessions.
William and Mary came back in the second half, taking the lead 7-5 with 20:30 left to play. But the Buckeyes were able to rally and tally nine unanswered goals to secure the win.
Venechanos said winning four draws during the last 20 minutes of game time shifted the outcome. The draw wins sparked more defensive pressure, winning more ground balls and successfully clearing the ball.
“It was a huge momentum for us winning those draws,” Venechanos said. “All those factors gave us more opportunities and we just went hard to the goal.”
Leading the Buckeyes against the Tribe was junior Jackie Cifarelli with a game-high five points, while senior attackman Katie Chase and freshman attackman Allie Ogilvie each had three goals. Also scoring for the Buckeyes was sophomore attackman Cian Dabrowski and sophomore defenseman Olivia DiCarlantonio with two goals each, and junior midfieldiers Jennifer Porretto and Mary Kate Facchina each with a goal.
Ogilvie and DiCarlantonio each tallied a first-collegiate score during Saturday’s game.
Venechanos was also pleased with the contributions of the players coming off the bench.
“Our bench stepped up huge,” Venechanos said. “(They were) a big factor in our win today. We had people in different spots because of these conditions, but people stepped up to the plate today and I am really proud of the way they played.”
The Buckeyes are set travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., Wednesday to take on the Wolverines at 7 p.m.
