Ohio State then-sophomore attack Tre Leclaire walks off the field with his teammates after scoring his first goal of the game in the first quarter against Michigan on April 13, 2018. Ohio State beat the Wolverines 8-5. Credit: Edward Sutelan | Editor In Chief
Highlighted by the play of some of the younger players on the roster, No. 10 Ohio State’s move to Ohio Stadium proved not to be too big, continuing its win streak to start the season with a 16-13 victory against Bucknell Saturday.
This is the third straight season the Buckeyes have started 4-0.
Freshman attack Jack Myers, scored seven goals, the most a single player has scored in a game since 2013, and sophomore attack/midfielder Colby Smith added three goals with two assists in the win against the Bison.
Ohio State head coach Nick Myers said this game was a launching point for the younger players on the roster.
“I think it tells them there is more out there for them,” Nick Myers said. “I think at the end of the day, we did a lot of positive things, and there will be some growth opportunities.”
Junior attack/midfield Tre Leclaire added two goals to his team-leading 11 on Saturday, adding one assist.
Bucknell struggled to keep up with the Buckeyes scoring despite junior attack Will Yorke getting five goals himself until the fourth quarter where the Bison found a rhythm and caught the Buckeyes off guard, scoring seven of the final nine goals.
“They kept fighting, I’m disappointed in the finish but to be 4-0 and get a win at home, puts you in great shape,” Nick Myers said.
Ohio State sophomore midfielder Justin Inacio won the faceoff battle, against Bucknell senior faceoff specialist Jarett Witzal, who won .545% of the faceoffs coming into the game. Inacio finished the game winning 20-of-27 faceoffs.
The Buckeyes got on the scoreboard quickly, with Smith scoring within the first two minutes. Junior attack Will Yorke would equalize the scoring for the Bison with a long-range goal for his seventh of the season.
Jack Myers got two goals for himself later on in the quarter. Ohio State won all four faceoffs in the quarter, which ended with the Buckeyes up 3-1 on Bucknell.
“Coach Ross did a great job at getting us organized, simple plan and Jack had a big day, it was kind of the end of the rainbow,” Nick Myers said.
Jack Myers said it was a credit to his teammates and his coaches for putting him in a place to be successful.
“I was the end of that rainbow,” Jack Myers said.
The momentum of the end of the first quarter seeped into the second started, with Myers getting his hat trick to put Ohio State up 4-1. Colby Smith recorded his hat trick in the quarter, helping the Buckeyes double the Bison’s goals in the quarter to make the score 9-4 going into halftime.
The third quarter was Myers time to shine. The freshman scored four goals in the quarter and the game looked out of reach with Ohio State leading 14-6 heading into the fourth.
The Bison started to claw back, scoring eight of nine goals to bring the game within two before senior midfielder Jack Jasinski netted an insurance goal to cement the win.
“We had an opponent that kept the pressure on us, good quality lacrosse, we knew that coming in and they finished really strong, and we’ll get better as a result,” said coach Myers.
No. 10 Ohio State moves on to take on Marquette on the road at noon on Saturday.
