The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team huddles together during its first all-time program matchup against the Utah Utes on Feb. 3. Ohio State came back from an early second-quarter deficit, defeating No. 15 Utah 11-8 at the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
In their season opener, the Buckeyes found themselves in murky waters.
Down 6-2 in the second quarter against a top-15 team, the Ohio State men’s lacrosse season-opening record of seven straight wins was on the line. However, an unexpected newcomer came to the rescue, helping revive a sinking offense and sparking an incredible comeback.
Ohio State took down the No. 13 Utah Utes Saturday after a heroic five-goal performance from junior transfer Gannon Matthews at the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium.
The efforts from Matthews helped lift the Buckeyes past the Utes — in their first all-time program matchup against Utah — helping extend their season-opening record held since 2009 to 13-2.
“[Our] mindset was to get the first one of the season and be prepared for everything,” head coach Nick Myers said.
Ohio State quickly found themselves down 6-2 after a high-powered offensive attack started by Utes’ senior attacker Tyler Bradbury. He scored the first points of the game off of an assist from fellow Utes senior attacker Jordan Hyde at the 11:59 mark of the first quarter.
The trend continued with senior midfielder Carson Moyer punching in an individual goal at the 7:29 mark on Ohio State junior goalkeeper Henry Blake, making the score 2-0.
The lone goal for the Buckeyes in the first quarter came at the 3:32 mark, with Ohio State junior attacker Ben Mayer knocking in a goal of his own. Not even 10 seconds later, Utes sophomore attacker Ryan Stines punched in an unassisted goal, giving Utah a 2-point lead with 3:24 remaining.
Moyer then connected on another unassisted goal before the end of the first quarter, making the score 4-1 Utah.
The tide began to turn in the Buckeyes’ favor at the 11:55 mark of the second quarter, as Ohio State drew penalties, forcing Utah to play five players against six Buckeyes multiple times.
After another Utes score, Buckeye junior attacker Ed Shean, who led the team in scoring last season with 27 goals, drove in an unassisted score for Ohio State.
The Shean score sparked a Buckeye scoring run that lasted well into the third quarter and established a momentum shift in favor of Ohio State.
“We’re always battling in practice and it translates onto the field how you play,” Matthews said. “We wanted to show that and come out with a win.”
Matthews served to be a significant factor in the momentum shift, putting up two scores in the second quarter as the Buckeyes began to cut into the Utes’ lead.
The score was 6-5 Utes at halftime, but the energy shift carried into the second half with another score from Matthews off an assist from graduate midfielder Thomas Greenblatt, giving the Buckeyes their first lead of the day at the 8:31 mark.
Ohio State struggled to put shots on goal in the first half of the game, but that changed at the beginning of the third, as the Buckeyes outshot Utah 4-2 amid the number of turnovers both teams were committing.
Utah lost control of the ball seven times in the third quarter to the Buckeyes’ five, the most cumulatively out of any quarter in the game.
Utah took control for the remainder of the third quarter after a goal from junior midfielder Cody Hart.
The beginning of the final quarter featured another Utah goal, this one coming from freshman defenseman Mikey Crane. The score, which put the Utes up 8-7, would become their last of the game.
An unassisted score from Buckeyes sophomore midfielder Dillon Magee kickstarted another run, with Mayer and Matthews all punching in goals in the fourth quarter. Ohio State’s defense in the fourth proved to be strong, forcing Utah to commit multiple turnovers in the contest’s final quarter.
“Getting that first one at home in front of our nice crowd on a beautiful day from a good opponent,” Myers said, “I think there’s a lot you can take away from that.”
The Buckeyes will take on Cleveland State at the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium Saturday. The game will be televised at noon on Big Ten Plus.
