The Ohio State women’s lacrosse team huddles following a third-quarter goal in the Ohio State-Cincinnati game Feb. 28, 2023. Ohio State won 13-12. Credit: Lantern File Photo
Whether they’re home or away, the Buckeyes come to play.
The Ohio State women’s lacrosse team (4-0) had a weekend of wins, beating Youngstown State (0-2) 17-9 Friday at Farmers National Bank Soccer Field and beating Akron (1-3) 18-3 at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field Sunday.
These matchups were the Buckeyes’ first away games of the season after they beat Robert Morris and Kent State at home.
The Buckeyes scored big against Youngstown State at the Penguins’ home opener Friday. The Penguins came out aggressive in the first quarter as their freshman goalie Paige Borkowski had six saves, yet the Penguins were unable to stop junior midfielder Annie Hargraves, freshman midfielder Kampbell Stone, senior captains and attackers Jamie Lasda and Leah Sax, sophomore midfielder Amani Kimball-McKavish and sophomore attacker Zoe Coleman from scoring six Buckeye goals in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Penguins were able to score one goal thanks to freshman Ava Kreutzer, which was her first collegiate goal. However, the goal for the Penguins couldn’t outdo the six additional goals from the Buckeyes that were scored by junior attacker Brynn Ammerman, Sax, Stone, Lasda, freshman attacker Kate Tyack and junior midfielder Mackenzie Fitzgerald, making the score 12-1 at halftime.
Senior captain Regan Alexander had five total saves during the first half while Borkowski had nine.
The Penguins had the upper hand in the third quarter as freshman attacker Brooke Peck and freshman midfielder Grace Rund scored goals — Rund’s goal being her first collegiately. Borkowski had one save. The Buckeyes seemed to keep much of their starting lineup on the sideline for the second half.
Junior midfielder Sophie Patton scored a goal, and junior goalie Whitney Robinson had four saves.
Both teams picked up more goals in the last quarter with many freshmen players getting action. Rund, sophomore attacker Ally Garrett, freshman attacker Lena Cox, freshman midfielder Katie Grottenhaler and sophomore midfielder Jade Shearer scored goals for the Penguins.
Two freshmen Buckeyes scored their first collegiate goals in the last quarter including freshman midfielder Lexie Kupka and freshman attacker Gracie Shoup. Other young scorers for the Buckeyes included sophomore midfielder Brooke Vinson and Tyack. Robinson and Borkowski each had one save in the final quarter.
Two days later, the Buckeyes faced a tougher opponent — the Akron Zips.
The Zips put up more of a fight in the first quarter than the Buckeyes had experienced so far this season. The quarter ended with two goals from Lasda, one from Stone and one penalty goal from Coleman for the Buckeyes. The Zips had two goals from freshman midfielder Sienna Hinchcliffe and sophomore midfielder Heather Carey.
Alexander had two saves and junior goalie Hannah Sanders also had two saves for the Zips.
The second quarter is when the Buckeyes picked up momentum with goals from Hargraves, Sax, Lasda, Patton and two goals from sophomore midfielder Casey Roberts, resulting in an 11-2 score at halftime. Sanders had two saves and sophomore goalie Kylan Rhude had one.
The third quarter was rather slower as fewer goals were scored. Junior midfielder and defender Jaelyn Clinkscales scored for the Zips and Ammerman and Lasda each had a goal for the Buckeyes. Alexander had one save for the Buckeyes and Rhude had five saves for Akron.
The Buckeyes brought the energy back in the last quarter, where five goals were scored by Roberts, Sax, Hargraves, Tyack and junior attacker Gabby Cleveland. Rhude had one save for the Zips.
The 18-3 final score was the Buckeyes’ second biggest win this season and proved any skeptics wrong about whether the Buckeyes could perform well away from home.
The Buckeyes will play No. 4 Denver Friday at 3 p.m., in Denver at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. The matchup will be available to stream at denverpioneers.com.
