The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team huddles up during the Ohio State-Johns Hopkins game April 10. Ohio State won 14-12. Credit: Sophia Tobias | For The Lantern
The Buckeyes were unable to stifle Penn State’s comeback as the Nittany Lions rallied back to defeat Ohio State for the second time this season.
In a back and forth battle, Penn State (4-6) bested the Buckeyes (4-6) 10-9, earning them the third seed in the upcoming Big Ten tournament. Anchored by strong defense and solid goaltending, Penn State was able to come back late and find the back of the net with 23 seconds remaining and steal a win from Ohio State.
Ohio State led for the majority of the game. The Buckeyes did struggle; however, to score the ball and put up enough goals to pull away from Penn State as their lead only grew as high as two goals.
With two minutes remaining in the game Ohio State found themselves with the ball and up a score. Penn State would double the ball carrier and cause a turnover, resulting in a quick Nittany Lion goal.
Penn State would score again with 23 seconds remaining. With one final chance, Ohio State had a wide open one-on-one with the goalie where Penn State redshirt sophomore goalie Aleric Fyock made a fantastic save to end the game.
Offensively, Ohio State relied heavily on junior attackman Jack Myers. Myers recorded four goals on six shots.
Graduate attackman Tre Leclaire also recorded his 200th career point. The graduate in his final game in Ohio Stadium shot eight times and found the back of the net twice.
Graduate attackman Dylan Foulds had a strong outing for the Nittany Lions, netting four goals, a ground ball and a caused turnover.
Penn State committed 15 turnovers and Ohio State followed behind with 14.
Defensively, Penn State was able to keep Ohio State from scoring for long stretches, allowing its offense to stay in the game. Sophomore defenseman Sutton Bolland secured two caused turnovers.
Graduate defenseman Jeff Henrick stepped up in his final game in Ohio Stadium and was a necessity both on defense and in the clearing game for Ohio State.
At the faceoff, Ohio State senior faceoff man Justin Inacio opened the game with five straight wins but struggled to maintain the momentum. Penn State graduate faceoff man Gerard Arceri won 13 faceoffs on 20 attempts.
Fyock secured 15 saves while only allowing nine goals. The redshirt sophomore also made a crucial stop at the end that would have sent the game to overtime.
Graduate goalie Alec Van de Bovenkamp continued to impress for the Buckeyes. The Furman transfer logged 12 saves.
Ohio State returns to play in the Big Ten Tournament against Rutgers April 29 at 2 p.m.
