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
In their first game attended by fans, the Buckeyes defeated the Blue Jays 14-12 to claim their second win over them this season.
No. 14 Ohio State (4-4) returned to the win column after dropping a game to Rutgers a week ago. Johns Hopkins (2-6) has lost its third straight game, despite a late comeback attempt against the Buckeyes Saturday.
Although Johns Hopkins opened the game with a quick two goals, Ohio State was able to rattle back two of its own to tie the game.
Graduate midfielder Ryan Terefenko and senior attackman Jackson Reid both had three goals in the first half to help the Buckeyes take control of the game.
“I felt like we really found a rhythm offensively in that first half,” Ohio State head coach Nick Myers said.
Scoring six straight goals it appeared that Ohio State may run away with a win but the Blue Jays did not go away quietly. Slowly chipping away at the Buckeye lead, Johns Hopkins capitalized on a third quarter run to bring the game within a goal.
Ohio State regained control in the fourth, and after a tough ride by graduate attackman Tre Leclaire, Ohio State secured a win.
“Those tough plays really finish a game and allow you to close out an opponent when you’re able to make those,” Myers said.
Terefenko said the success came down to putting Ohio State’s experienced players in the best positions to succeed.
“The coaching staff laid out a very simple plan for us, they really trust us, we have good leadership down there. Lots of guys who have played a lot of lacrosse. It really comes down to pacing and speed of play.” Terefenko said. “We knew that if we did that we would get our guys in situations where they could see the net and get some shots on the net that we like.”
Defensively, Ohio State relied on graduate defenseman Eric Wenz to cover graduate attackman Cole Williams, the Blue Jays most dynamic threat, when in man coverage. The Buckeyes also utilized zone schemes throughout the game, as they have throughout the season.
On the offensive end, the Buckeyes were able to consistently penetrate the Hopkins defense and find shooting opportunities.
At the faceoff, junior faceoff man Matt Narewski secured 12 of the 23 draws taken. Fellow Blue Jay freshman faceoff man Tyler Dunn won four of seven. The two Johns Hopkins faceoff men were crucial in the late Blue Jays comeback.
Senior faceoff man Justin Inacio struggled at times only winning 13 of 28. However, Inacio was effective late, securing a crucial faceoff at the close of the game.
In goal, graduate goalie Alec Van de Bovenkamp continued his impressive first season with the Buckeyes. The Furman transfer secured seven saves with three coming in the third quarter. Former Ohio State keeper, graduate goalie Josh Kirson was able to capture eight saves on the day for Johns Hopkins.
“We have a lot of guys on this team that have played a lot of lacrosse, “ Terefenko said. “When the chips are down and it’s a game of runs you rely on those guys.”
Ohio State returns to play in College Park, Maryland, next weekend in a late showdown against the No. 2 Maryland Terrapins. The opening faceoff will be at 5 p.m.
