OSU Freshman goalie Jill Rizzo saves a shot against Vermont Credit: Walt Middleton – Courtesy of OSU Athletics
The Ohio State women’s lacrosse team fell to Michigan 9-7 in its first conference game of the season.
The Buckeyes (3-5, 0-1 Big Ten) tied the game at 7-7 with less than four minutes left to play, but the Wolverines (4-5, 1-0 Big Ten) reclaimed the lead and sealed the win with goals by sophomore midfielder Molly Garrett and junior attacker Adriana Pendino.
Ohio State and Michigan traded points throughout the first half. Pendino scored with 25 seconds left to gain the lead at 4-3 going into halftime.
Buckeyes junior midfielder Baley Parrott led the half with two goals and junior attacker Sara Dickinson finished with two assists.
Michigan extended its lead by three early in the second half, but Parrott went on a 3-0 run that tied the game at 6-6 with less than 10 minutes left to play.
The Wolverines quickly responded with a goal by sophomore midfielder Chandler Kirby. Despite the effort by Ohio State freshman midfielder Lindsay Epstein to tie the game, the Buckeyes were unable to maintain the momentum to finish with a win.
Both teams finished with 17 ground balls. A strong defensive effort of 11 saves by sophomore goalie Jillian Rizzo helped Ohio State hold an advantage over Michigan, who finished with five.
Parrott finished the game with a career-high five points with four draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Senior attacker Molly Wood broke the program record for the most career draw controls. In the first half, Wood had two draw controls to break the record and finished the game with three to bring her overall career total to 223.
The Buckeyes will take on Rutgers in Columbus at 7 p.m. Thursday.
