Ohio State junior midfielder Lukas Buckley (7) dodges a check from Rutgers at Ohio Stadium on Mar. 31. Ohio State lost 14-6. Credit: Willow Mollenkopf | For The Lantern
The No. 12 Ohio State men’s lacrosse team heads to Baltimore on Sunday to play No. 16 Johns Hopkins. The Buckeyes will be attempting to break a two-game losing streak and get their first Big Ten victory of the season.
Ohio State (7-2, 0-2 Big Ten) is coming off two straight losses to Rutgers and No. 1 Penn State this past week. In the past two games, the Buckeyes’ shooting has been uncharacteristic, shooting 45-of-82 shots on goal in the previous two weeks.
“I’d say in Rutgers, we just didn’t execute” senior midfielder Jack Jasinski said. “I thought we were shooting the ball better [against Penn State] than we did against Rutgers, we still got room to improve.”
Jasinski said offense has been a primary focus in practice ahead of Sunday’s matchup with Johns Hopkins.
But Ohio State head coach Nick Myers said the Penn State game felt different than the loss to the Scarlet Knights.
“It felt differently last week in the sense that we felt like we had our chances,” Myers said. “That’s one where you come home, and you feel like it was an opportunity missed.”
Johns Hopkins (6-4, 2-0 Big Ten) is coming off two straight wins against the likes of Michigan and Rutgers to start Big Ten conference play. Sophomore goalie Ryan Darby has been a key bright spot for the Blue Jays, ranking No. 3 in the Big Ten with 11.7 saves per game.
“For us, it’s going to be about going out there and getting the execution we need early and trying to establish a rhythm,” Myers said.
Johns Hopkins is one of the most winningest college lacrosse teams, and a large part of that has been because of their head coach Dave Pietramala. Pietramala has won two national championships in 2005 and 2007, respectively.
“They have a lot of strength and are a very well coached team. Coach Pietramala is as good as anyone in the business at preparing his lacrosse team” Myers said.
There are eight players on the Buckeyes roster that are from the state of Maryland, but it doesn’t seem to change the Buckeyes approach to the game, as they are still looking at themselves instead of looking at their opponent.
“I think the best way to go about it is, when you’re focused on Johns Hopkins, you’re not focusing on getting better” Jasinski said. “You have to come back to yourself and say, ‘What can I do to get myself better?’”
No. 12 Ohio State travels to take on No. 16 Johns Hopkins at noon Sunday.
