A strong start for the Ohio State Women’s lacrosse team Saturday wasn’t enough, as it fell short to No. 11 Denver 11-4 in the first home game back since the Buckeyes competed in California. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
A strong start for the Ohio State Women’s lacrosse team Saturday wasn’t enough, as it fell short to No. 11 Denver 11-4 in the first home game back since the Buckeyes competed in California.
Ohio State (3-2) played tough at the beginning of the game but faced some adversity for the second time this season against an undefeated team in Denver (4-0). Head coach Amy Bokker said the team knew of the task presented by Denver coming in, but the Buckeyes were unable to execute.
“The big piece is that we need to execute when you’re playing against an over aggressive defense. We have to expose that, and we can’t do that when we’re not executing or playing clean on our end,” Bokker said. “We have to really take ownership of valuing the ball and supporting each other when that high pressure comes.
The Buckeyes were down 6-2 at halftime after scoring two goals in the first quarter. Denver pulled ahead in the second quarter, scoring four goals — two of which came from senior midfielder Ellie Curry.
The first two goals for Ohio State were from freshman midfielder Casey Roberts and senior attack Ashely Turner.
Ohio State was only able to double its first half score in the second despite the many opportunities in the Pioneers side of the field. Bokker said the Buckeyes weren’t getting dropped ball controls leading to less possessions.
“When we did have the ball, we were turning it over a lot in our end, so it just needs to be a cleaner game up top,” Bokker said.
Pioneers junior draw specialist Abby Jenkins went on to have eight draw controls in the game compared to Ohio State’s five as a team. The Buckeyes knew Jenkins’ talent, but they were still unable to stop her.
Junior attack Jamie Lasda had been preparing to take the faceoffs against Jenkins all week, but by the beginning of the second half others began to take them, including graduate midfielder Jamie Level who Bokker said was a game-time decision.
The Pioneers had two players with hat tricks, including graduate attack Kayla DeRose and senior attack Julia Gilbert. Curry also had a solid game for Denver with two goals and two assists.
The Buckeyes had some bright spots in the game, as Roberts and Turner finished with two goals each.
Graduate goalie Regan Alexander had nine saves for the Buckeyes despite allowing 11 goals. Alexander said the defense helps her a lot with those saves.
“I couldn’t do it without them, and they were hustling,” Alexander said. “We learned a lot from our past loss versus USC, and the defense really set me up to make some really cool saves.”
The Buckeyes will play at home for the second-straight game against Cincinnati Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium. The game will broadcast on BTN+.
