Ohio State then-junior attackman Tre Leclaire (44) passes the ball during their match against Rutgers at Ohio Stadium on Mar. 31. Ohio State lost 6-14. Credit: Willow Mollenkopf | Lantern File Photo
The Buckeyes look to knock off the Wolverines and pick up their second win of the season in a revival of a rivalry that hasn’t taken place in two seasons.
No. 15 Ohio State (1-2) returns to Columbus to take on Michigan (0-3) in a Big Ten contest between two teams riding losing streaks.
The Buckeyes have not won since defeating No. 20 Johns Hopkins 14-8 Feb. 20. Michigan has yet to take down a single Big Ten opponent, with losses to No. 2 Maryland, No. 5 Rutgers and No. 20 Johns Hopkins.
Looking to get back in the win column, Ohio State will depend on its offensive weapons.
Scoring at least three goals in every contest, graduate attackman Tre Leclaire has set a good pace for the Buckeyes offense for weeks.
Lecaire has the chance to break the all-time goals record in Ohio State history Sunday against Michigan. Opening the season 10 goals away, Leclaire’s consistent pace has left him three goals shy of tying it and four goals away from breaking it.
Joining Leclaire at attack, junior Jack Myers and senior Jackson Reid have been steadily improving every week and will need to utilize their veteran leadership to maintain the team during an emotional rivalry game.
Losing graduate midfielder Ryan Terefenko at halftime of Ohio State’s loss to Rutgers has left the Buckeyes without a critical player on both offense and defense. His status this week is unknown.
Anchored by impressive underclassmen talent, Michigan has plenty of offensive skill. Freshman attackman Michael Boehm is one of the leading goal scorers for the Wolverines. Boehm is fast behind the goal and can finish well inside and turning the corner.
Joining Boehm with five goals, sophomore attackman Josh Zawada and sophomore midfielder Jacob Jackson anchor the Michigan offense. Both Zawada and Jackson are strong down-field dodgers who can shoot the ball with pace and precision.
Looking to stop the Michigan attack is graduate defenseman Jeff Henrick, who has lived up to the hype when he decided to return to the Buckeyes for one more season.
Henrick has seven caused turnovers and has picked up 13 ground balls for the Buckeyes through three games.
The Buckeyes return to Ohio Stadium to take on the Wolverines Sunday at 4 p.m. on ESPNU.
