Fourth-year Leah Sax (33) looks to pass during Ohio State’s 22-17 win over Marquette at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium March 12. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
The Ohio State women’s lacrosse team will take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Thursday in its well-anticipated final Big Ten matchup of the regular season.
The Buckeyes, sitting just atop Rutgers at sixth in the conference, look to add a point to the win column and finish out their Big Ten campaign strong. The matchup is set to be played at 6 p.m., at the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium.
Rutgers enters the game with graduate Cassidy Spilis, who has 59 goals on the season, averages six shots a game and is the Buckeyes’ biggest threat. Junior midfielder Victoria Goldrick and sophomore attacker/midfielder Lily Dixon are also players to keep an eye on with 23 and 21 assists, respectively.
Jamie Lasda, a senior attacker from Ithaca, New York, is expected to put up numbers for the Buckeyes’ side, leading her team with 37 goals in all 14 games played, putting up a goal in every contest.
Regan Alexander, a senior goaltender from Orlando, Florida, has a tough task ahead of her with Spilis and Goldrick. Alexander has 125 saves on the season in 14 games played.
The Scarlet Knights lead Ohio State 8-4 in wins over an almost two-decade-long period. The Buckeyes look to bounce back from last year’s upsetting result, with the last meeting between the two ending in a 13-12 loss for Ohio State.
In their last 10 matchups against Rutgers, the Buckeyes have fallen short eight times, with their largest defeat coming from a 15-5 loss.
This season, the Buckeyes hold a better record and place in conference standings than the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers is coming off a 13-10 away loss against Stony Brook, bringing its overall record to 6-8-0.
Another travel day for the Scarlet Knights could be the advantage the Buckeyes are looking for to take home a victory. The Buckeyes are coming off a loss against No. 2 Northwestern Saturday. In a challenging matchup, Ohio State put up an impressive 10 goals against the former national champions.
As both squads prepare for the 13th meeting in their history, the pressure is on to finish the regular season with a conference win.
The game can be watched on the Big Ten Network with the first faceoff at 6 pm.
