The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team huddles up before the Ohio State-Dartmouth game March 22. Ohio State won 12-6. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
No. 11 Ohio State hosts Penn State Friday evening at Ohio Stadium as both teams look to pick up their first conference win of the season.
The Buckeyes (6-3, 0-1 Big Ten) are coming off a loss against No. 4 Rutgers as they fell 18-7 Sunday in Piscataway, New Jersey. The Nittany Lions (2-7, 0-1 Big Ten) have struggled immensely this season and hope to win in Big Ten play after losing to No. 1 Maryland Sunday 18-7.
“They certainly proved they can play with anyone in the country and beat some really good teams,” head coach Nick Myers said. “These are very even teams that are going to play hard and make for a great game.”
Leading the way for the Buckeyes has been their potent offense with senior attackmen Jack Myers, Jackson Reid and Colby Smith. The Buckeyes have the 13th-best scoring offense in the nation with an average of 14.22 goals a game.
Jack Myers is sixth in the nation in assists per game with 2.89 per game and produces 2.33 goals a game as well.
Smith ranks fifth in the Big Ten in goals per game and leads the team with an average of 2.78 goals. He has multiple goals in four consecutive games.
Smith said he sees the relationships with his offense as a way to click and continue their success.
“We kind of know what each other’s tendencies are,” Smith said. “We gel really well on offense right now, which will help us in the next battle.”
The Buckeyes stuck with Rutgers in the first half, scoring the game’s first three goals, but things started to fall apart in the second half.
Rutgers scored seven goals from the 1:19 mark in the second quarter to the end of the third quarter, giving the Scarlet Knights a 12-6 lead at that time.
Ohio State only found the net twice in the second half. Smith led the way with two goals along with senior attackman Scott White, who had a pair.
On the flip side, Penn State has struggled this season after losing the NCAA’s all-time leading goal scorer, Mac O’Keefe, who finished his career with 221 goals. Nick Myers said the absence of O’Keefe changes the game plan for the Buckeyes.
“They look a lot more balanced,” Nick Myers said. “Certainly Mac was a special player, but I think when you look at them, they are very balanced when it comes to scoring.”
Penn State is second to last in the conference in its scoring offense, as the team averages 11.89 goals per game. Penn State is also last in goals allowed per game with 13.44.
The Buckeyes look to take advantage of Penn State’s struggles in the faceoff, as the Nittany Lions rank last in the conference in faceoffs — with a win percentage of just .436. Senior faceoff specialist Justin Inacio is fifth in the nation in percentage with 119-of-189 faceoffs won.
In goal for Penn State is redshirt junior Aleric Fyock, who ranks 61st in the nation in goals allowed per game with 13.96.
For the Buckeyes, senior goalkeeper Skylar Wahlund got the nod over graduate transfer Caton Johnson. Wahlund has 34 goals allowed and 33 saves in two starts and five games overall.
Penn State’s scoring attack comes from seniors midfielder Jack Kelly and attackman Jack Traynor, who have 29 goals combined.
Nittany Lions freshman attackman Will Peden was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week as he scored a pair of goals in Sunday’s game.
The game will be played at Ohio Stadium Friday at 4:30 p.m. and televised on ESPNU.
