OSU redshirt junior goalie Tom Carey (3) tries to recover a ground ball during a game against Marquette on March 4 at Ohio Stadium. Credit: Jenna Leinasars | Multimedia Editor
Losing games by one goal seems to have become a habit for the Ohio State men’s lacrosse team of late.
The Buckeyes (5-7, 0-2) fell to No. 16 Johns Hopkins (6-4, 1-1) by a score of 13-12 in Baltimore to extend their losing streak to six games.
OSU senior attacker Carter Brown scored his second goal of the game with 1:34 left in the fourth to bring the score to 13-12 in favor of the Blue Jays, and the Buckeyes reclaimed possession after a Hopkins penalty. However, Austin Shanks turned the ball over with less than 10 seconds remaining to seal the win for the Blue Jays.
The one-goal loss is the Buckeyes’ third straight and fourth out of the last five. All of the losses along the six-game slide have come against top 20 opponents.
OSU started the scoring for the day when freshman attacker Jack Jasinski threw a strike into the back of the net. The first quarter ended with a score of 2-2.
The Buckeyes had the upper edge all quarter, winning all five faceoffs and outshooting the Blue Jays by a margin of 10-2. However, the home team was able to capitalize on its limited shot opportunities, and Johns Hopkins sophomore goalie Brock Turnbaugh had five saves in the quarter.
The Hopkins offense exploded in the second quarter. It scored six goals in the period, with two coming from senior attacker Ryan Brown, who came into the game 14th in the nation in goals per game. Hopkins outshot OSU 13-7 in the quarter and took an 8-5 lead heading into the break.
OSU started the second half on leftover man-up time from the first half, and junior midfielder Johnny Pearson capitalized by scoring a goal to cut the lead to 8-6.
The goal was Pearson’s third of four goals in the game. He played aggressively throughout the entire game, attempting a team-high 11 shots in the contest.
After Johns Hopkins scored back-to-back goals to extend its lead to 10-6, OSU went on a 3-0 run to bring the score back within one goal. A pair of goals for each team resulted in a 12-11 score in favor of the Blue Jays heading into the final period.
The fourth quarter turned out to be a complete departure from the first three. Both defenses clamped down, only allowing one goal each to end the game with the 13-12 margin.
Pearson, Carter Brown and sophomore attacker Colin Chell all had multiple goals for OSU, while Ryan Brown, freshman attacker Kyle Marr, sophomore attacker Shack Stanwick and senior midfielder Holden Cattoni all scored multiple times for the Blue Jays.
The loss brings the Buckeyes’ Big Ten record to 0-2 on the year. They will have to win at least two of their final three games in order to secure a spot in the Big Ten tournament.
The Scarlet and Gray are next scheduled to face off against Michigan on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the annual Showdown in the Shoe.
The game will take place directly before the OSU football spring game and is always the highest-attended game of the season for the Scarlet and Gray.
Correction 4/12: An earlier version of the story said OSU will be playing Michigan for the first time at the Showdown in the Shoe, when in fact the teams have met before.
