The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team huddles during warmups for the Ohio State-Maryland game on March 20. Ohio State lost 16-8. Credit: Christian Harsa | Asst. Photo Editor
After dropping three of its last four games, the Buckeyes will play its first rematch of the season against a Wolverines squad they beat two weeks prior, offering an opportunity to turn around the season.
Ohio State (2-3) looks to open the second half of their season with a win over its rival, the Michigan Wolverines (1-4), who are coming off their first win of the season over Penn State. The Buckeyes and Wolverines met once before in the 2021 season as Ohio State emerged with a 13-10 victory.
“TTUN week is different than any other,” senior midfielder Justin Inacio said. “It always has been and always will be and having the chance to be able to receive two golden buckeyes in one year is special.”
In their first meeting of the year, the much-anticipated matchup met expectations. In a hard fought, physical battle, both teams put their talent on display and pushed their opponent to compete.
Graduate midfielder Ryan Terefenko emphasized that the same style of gritty play should be expected in their second matchup of the season.
“It’s like our senior class last year missed out on an opportunity to play them and we got a chance to play them twice this year, so it’s awesome. Guys are pumped up, guys are excited,” Terefenko said.
Junior attackman Jack Myers has quarterbacked the Ohio State offense, leading the team in goals with 15 and assists with six.
Joining him at attack, graduate attackman Tre Leclaire has been an elite scorer all season. With a powerful shot from distance, Leclaire forces defenses to respect his shooting range and press out on him allowing Myers and other offensive personnel to operate with more freedom.
Leclaire has totaled 13 goals on the season.
Terefenko said the goal is to stick to the fundamentals for the entirety of the game.
“It just goes back to us like I said, picking up ground balls with two hands, clearing the ball well in the middle of the field on offense, protecting the middle of the field on defense and putting together 60 minutes that we can be really proud of when we look back at it.” Terefenko said.
Offensively for Michigan, the Wolverines will be forced to rely on their young core against a veteran-led Ohio State defense. Sophomore attackman Josh Zawada and freshman attackman Michael Boehm both scored three goals in their previous meeting.
Anchoring the team offensively, the Wolverines rely on Zawada and Boehm to initiate offense and provide a spark for their team.
In their first meeting, the Wolverines struggled to slow the Buckeyes’ offensive attack and keep constant pressure on Ohio State’s goal-scorers.
Junior defenseman Andrew Darby, however, has played well for the Wolverines.
A starter since his freshman year, Darby is the anchor of the Michigan defense — leading the Wolverines with four caused turnovers.
At the faceoff, both Michigan and Ohio State boast two of the best in the conference. Inacio is coming off one of his best games a week ago in a loss to Maryland for the Buckeyes in which he went 19-8 in faceoffs. For Michigan, junior faceoff man Nick Rowlett has impressed all season.
The two high caliber faceoff men both won 13 out of 26 faceoffs in their first meeting.
“Coach Myers has been motivating and coaching us up all week. He’s been focusing on us. Doing the little things right will lead to success,” Inacio said.
Lastly, in goal, graduate goalie Alec Van De Bovenkamp has been spectacular in his first two starts for the Buckeyes.
Junior goalie John Kiracofe struggled early in the season. However, the junior appears to have found his groove and played very well against the Buckeyes two weeks ago — tallying 11 saves.
The Buckeyes return to the field Saturday for a 1 p.m. matchup in Ann Arbor, which will be streaming on BTN+.
