Coach Nick Myers instructs the Ohio State Buckeyes on the sideline during a timeout against Furman on Feb. 5. OSU won 12-6. Credit: Gene Ross | Senior Lantern reporter
The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team thoroughly handled the Furman Paladins on Sunday afternoon at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, 12-6.
The 17th-ranked Buckeyes allowed the first goal from Furman sophomore midfielder Will Holcomb, but scored seven of the next eight goals for a comfortable lead heading into halftime.
Senior midfielder Johnny Pearson led OSU’s offensive surge with four goals. Pearson said that due to the offense and defense playing well, it opened up many opportunities to score.
“If everyone contributes at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who scores as long as everyone contributes,” said Pearson.
Freshman midfielder Tre LeClaire broke the silence for OSU late in the first period and tied the game, 1-1. LeClaire finished his first career game with two goals. LeClaire accredited the veterans on the team for help preparing him for his first game.
“At the start, there were a lot of nerves going into it, but my teammates helped me out and said, ‘just play your game,’ LeClaire said. “We had run a great offense out there and luckily I caught it and shot it in the net.”
Senior midfielder J.T. Blubaugh followed LeClaire with an unassisted goal with 2:57 remaining in the first quarter. From there on, the Buckeyes took control of the game, scoring five times in the second quarter. Pearson was credited with three of those.
A point of emphasis for the Buckeyes had been working on their ground balls and positioning. The Buckeyes led the Paladins 27 to 23 in ground balls.
“I think at the end of the day there was pretty good balance and we still have things to clean up on both sides of the ball,” OSU coach Nick Myers said.
Furman made a change at goalie in the second quarter after OSU’s seventh goal, but that did little to slow down the Buckeye offense.
OSU added five more goals against the backup while redshirt senior netminder Tom Cary saved 11 shots and allowed six goals.
The Buckeyes (1-0) will host the Detroit Mercy Titans on Feb. 11 at noon.
