The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team huddles in celebration after a first-half goal. The Buckeyes fell 13-12 to rival Michigan at the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
Ohio State and Michigan’s storied rivalry added another chapter Saturday night.
The Buckeyes (6-8, 1-4 Big Ten) fell to the Michigan Wolverines (7-6, 2-3 Big Ten) 13-12 at a sold-out Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium on Saturday.
Ohio State closed out the regular season dropping five out of its last seven games, with the three previous losses all within 1 point. Head coach Nick Myers said the outcome was dismaying.
“This is a very disappointing loss,” Myers said. “It goes without saying what this game means to us.”
The Buckeyes couldn’t get anything going in the first five minutes of the game, coughing up the ball three times while the Wolverines came out of the gates aggressively, putting four shots on standout freshman goalie Caleb Fyock and controlling time of possession.
Michigan’s aggressive start to the game served it well, with a goal coming from senior Isaac Aronson to kick off the scoring for both squads at the 9:49 mark. Ohio State evened the score with a goal from junior attacker Jack McKenna two minutes later.
However, it was all Wolverines from that point forward for the remainder of the quarter, as penalties began to plague the Buckeyes. Sophomore attacker Matt Caputo and graduate midfielder Eli Fisher both got called for pushing penalties, allowing Michigan to score back-to-back goals and build a three-goal lead entering the second quarter.
The Wolverines opened the second quarter with a goal from Aronson, but Ohio State’s offense began to awaken soon after.
The Buckeyes scored two goals in two minutes, generating six shots-on-goal in that span of time and narrowing Michigan’s lead down to two with 12:17 remaining in the quarter.
Despite a Wolverine goal coming in from junior attacker Ryan Cohen less than five minutes before halftime, Ohio State’s offensive attack continued to prevail late in the second. McKenna and Gannon Matthews put in back-to-back goals for the Buckeyes, narrowing Michigan’s lead to one entering halftime.
Early in the third quarter when the Wolverines scored two goals in the span of 15 seconds after Ohio State trimmed down the lead, the Buckeyes began to wish they had some plays back to finish in their favor.
“We certainly had some moments there that we wanted back where it got outside of the blueprints for our game plan,” Myers said.
The fast-paced scoring for Michigan continued throughout the quarter. Sophomore midfielder Blake Eiland attempted to put a stop to the Wolverine onslaught with a goal at the 11:40 mark in the quarter, but Michigan continued to pile on the goals early in the third quarter, scoring four goals in five minutes.
Michigan’s hot start to the third was due to Ohio State’s inability to win faceoffs. The Wolverines won seven faceoffs to the Buckeyes’ two in the quarter, allowing Michigan to control the time of possession and keep Fyock on his toes.
However, that trend changed in the fourth quarter. Despite an early Wolverine goal, Ohio State’s offense came alive in the final quarter. Eiland was able to put in a goal with nine minutes remaining in the game, trimming the Wolverines’ lead to five.
The final four minutes of the game is where the Buckeyes really opened up their scoring. Caputo put in a goal off an assist from graduate midfielder Thomas Greenblatt. Greenblatt, not even two minutes later, put in a goal himself to cut Michigan’s lead to three.
Jack Oldman continued to win faceoffs, and Ohio State immediately capitalized with a goal from senior midfielder Greg Langermeier, his first of the season. Less than 10 seconds later, Caputo put in another goal off an assist from senior midfielder Connor Cmiel, making it a one-score game.
Nonetheless, the Buckeyes’ late-game heroics fell short, unable to obtain another full offensive possession for a chance to score.
“We gave it our all in the fourth,” graduate defenseman Jacob Snyder said. “We put everything out there.”
The Buckeyes will travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to play the Wolverines in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Saturday.
