The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team has one final opportunity to defend its home turf Friday. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team has one final opportunity to defend its home turf Friday.
In the inaugural season of Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium, the No. 19 Buckeyes (5-5, 1-1 Big Ten) will host the 2022 NCAA Division I National Champion No. 5 Maryland (6-3, 1-1 Big Ten) in front of a sold-out crowd under the lights.
“We offered 200 more seats [Wednesday] and they were sold out in less than an hour,” head coach Nick Myers said.
So far this season, the Buckeyes have performed their best at home. They are 5-1 on their own turf and their single loss was to then-No. 3 Cornell in a tight 16-13 battle.
Maryland and Ohio State each hold a 1-1 conference record, and Myers said this game is crucial heading into the remainder of the regular season.
“You got big-time lacrosse,” Myers said. “It’s the end of the season. All these games are so important, so we’re just really looking forward to the opportunity and certainly chasing our very best.”
Both the Buckeyes and Terrapins are coming off conference losses.
Last week, Ohio State was downed 17-9 by No. 8 Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Maryland fell to Michigan 16-11 for the first time — the Terrapins previously led the series 10-0.
Hoping to earn a win against the Terrapins and move forward following a tough loss versus the Nittany Lions, the Buckeyes have put a big focus on themselves and “moving forward,” senior attack Colby Smith said.
“[We’re] trying to move on from last week, learn from what we didn’t do well and then get back to just focusing on our game, so we can go into this game against Maryland with our best foot forward,” Smith said. “Everything right now is in front of us.”
The Terrapins, led by head coach John Tillman, trailed Michigan for over three quarters, despite freshman attack Braden Erksa’s hat trick. Erksa’s game in Maryland’s loss still earned him Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for the second time this season.
The Buckeyes’ own freshman attack Matt Caputo had two goals versus Penn State. He now has four multi-goal games in his first season at Ohio State.
Though Caputo leads the Buckeyes’ freshmen, Smith said it might come down to the experience on both ends of the field, whether it be fifth- or sixth-year players like Smith.
“When you know things aren’t going well, you rely on those guys that have been there before to know that, as long as we work really hard, there’s a way forward,” Smith said.
The Buckeyes have 18 “seniors,” including players participating under additional seasons of eligibility due to the pandemic. Smith has 10 goals on the year, senior attack Jack Myers leads the team in points with 13 and graduate midfielder Kyle Borda has stood out in his first season with the Buckeyes.
Borda, a transfer from Fairfield University, had a hat trick against Penn State last week and has 20 points on the season.
Maryland’s attack is led by a senior of its own, Daniel Maltz, who has 17 goals this year including two against Michigan.
Both teams have experienced scorers who find the back of the net regularly. Smith said the winner will be determined by one thing.
“It’s going to come down to whoever wants it more,” Smith said.
The Terrapins lead the overall series 12-3 and are 4-1 in Columbus.
Ohio State’s last victory against Maryland was April 2018 in College Park, Maryland, though it hopes to start the series with the Terrapins at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium off in the win column.
Friday also marks senior night, with the Buckeyes honoring seniors in their final home game of the regular season.
“It’ll be my third senior night, so for anybody that’s counting,” Smith said. “It’s going to be a crazy atmosphere. There’s going to be a packed, sold-out crowd, so it’s going to be really exciting.”
Faceoff is at 8 p.m. and will be televised on Big Ten Network.
