A competitive second half followed a Buckeye scoring outburst that propelled them to victory at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium.
Goals were scored by 12 different Buckeyes Saturday contributing to their 19-12 triumph over Cleveland State (0-1) and second-straight win to start the season. Five players notched their first scores of the season for No. 11 Ohio State (2-0), and the sophomore attacker Ed Shean found the net for a career-high of five goals.
“[Shean] really stepped up, had a big game,” head coach Nick Myers said. “I was excited for him.”
Shean’s first goal, with 47 seconds left in before the second quarter, doubled as his first of many in the matchup. Shean found the net four more times and had an assist along the way, making six points on the day.
“Our faceoff guys are getting us the ball, defense is getting stops, we’re moving the ball on offense, and I was able to get opportunities that ended up in the back of the net,” Shean said.
Ohio State’s 19-12 win over Cleveland State looked a whole lot like its victory last season — dominant first half, shaky second but still coming away on top.
Coming into the game, both senior attacker Jack Myers and graduate face-off specialist Drew Blanchard were named Big Ten Players of the Week with Jack Myers the offensive player and Blanchard the specialist.
Jack Myers and Blanchard performed true to these honors, as Jack Myers became the third player to reach 100 assists in Ohio State history and passed former attacker Tre Leclaire for fifth in all-time points, now with 206. Nick Myers rested Jack Myers in the second half.
“We wanted to just do a good job of making sure that we got him the reps he needed,” Nick Myers said. “[He] played about a quarter and a half of lacrosse today, but keeping him fresh, keeping him healthy.”
Blanchard went 6-8 in faceoffs before letting younger players take the reins.
Ohio State came out of the gate ready to earn its second win. Things quickly went the Buckeyes’ way in the first quarter.
Three minutes in, Jack Myers started off the scoring for the Buckeyes, as he did last week against Air Force.
The offense continued to roll throughout the first quarter with goals from senior midfielder Connor Mitchell, graduate midfielder Kyle Borda, senior attacker Jason Knox and Shean, who did so off a Vikings turnover. Shean was assisted by Jack Myers, marking the latter’s 100th of his career.
Piggybacking off Shean was freshman midfielder Dillon Magee who scored his first goal as a Buckeye and later in the third quarter scored his second.
“I was excited to get everybody a chance to get in there today,” Nick Myers said. “It’s been great to see a lot of different scorers in the lineup.”
Cleveland State’s senior goalkeeper Cameron Logan struggled in the crease through three quarters, allowing 16 Buckeye goals and suffering a 27.3 save percentage.
On Ohio State’s side, senior goalie Skylar Wahlund allowed six goals and had six saves in the same three quarters. Freshman goalie Oran Gelinas took over for Wahlund in the fourth quarter, allowing six goals with one save.
The Viking’s scoring momentum began with Wahlund as Cleveland State seemed to find its stride with under three minutes to play in the third quarter.
A trio of uninterrupted goals found the net, credited to senior attacker Brendan Sigurdson, senior midfielder Ian McKissick and redshirt sophomore midfielder Gannon Matthews, who was named 2022 ASUN Freshman of the Year.
In the fourth quarter, those same Viking players each added another goal to the scoreboard, Sigurdson with two additional goals, to close the gap and keep the Buckeyes on their toes.
“They had a big fourth quarter, a big second half,” Nick Myers said. “Credit goes to their coaching staff and their team that hits you in transition.”
Though, it was too little too late for Cleveland State’s attempted comeback, despite outscoring the Buckeyes 6-3 in the final 15 minutes of play.
The Vikings fought back, while Nick Myers said his team didn’t look “as sharp as we were last week.”
“Too many fouls and six penalties,” Nick Myers said. “Man-up still needs to be a little crisper.”
The team will continue to work and prepare as next weekend it’ll face its biggest challenge yet, No. 19 North Carolina. This will be the final matchup of their three-game home stretch.
“We treat every week pretty similar,” Ed Shean said. “It’s more just about improving our team, so every team is a big task. So, we’re just going to focus on ourselves this week.”
Ohio State will meet the Tar Heels Feb. 19 at noon. BTN+ will broadcast.
