Ohio State Buckeyes junior attacker Gannon Matthews (24) cradles the ball with Johns Hopkins defender coming up behind him. The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team came up short against Johns Hopkins 11-10 in overtime at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Credit: Michaela Belkin | For The Lantern
Heartbreak continues for the Ohio State men’s lacrosse team.
The Ohio State Buckeyes (6-7, 1-3 Big Ten) fell to the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (9-3, 4-0 Big Ten) 11-10 in an overtime loss on Sunday at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium.
The Buckeyes have now lost two consecutive one-score games against top-10 teams in the NCAA in the past two weeks, with this one marking the first overtime game for Ohio State on the season.
Despite the loss, head coach Nick Myers said the Buckeyes showed grit and determination during senior night.
“We wanted this one for them [seniors],” Myers said. “I couldn’t be prouder of these men for the fight they showed from start to finish.”
The Buckeyes got off to a strong start, controlling faceoffs early on and creating opportunities on the offensive side of the ball — something the team has struggled with all season.
Junior attacker Ed Shean kicked off the scoring on the night with a goal off an assist from junior midfielder Ari Allen, and the scoring continued for Ohio State in the first quarter.
Defensively, the Buckeyes limited the Blue Jays to zero shots on goal in the first quarter and forced seven turnovers, establishing momentum early on in the game.
Johns Hopkins attempted to cut into Ohio State’s momentum in the second with graduate student attacker Jacob Angelus scoring two back-to-back goals at the beginning of the quarter.
Nonetheless, Ohio State continued to control faceoffs, allowing it to go on a 4-2 scoring run in the latter half of the second that briefly cemented the momentum of the game for it.
Graduate defenseman Jacob Snyder said the Buckeyes had tough stretches throughout the game.
“We showed some of our best stuff throughout the season,” Snyder said. “Now it’s just about not letting the good minutes be good and the bad minutes be bad.”
One of the bad minutes for Ohio State came within the first two minutes out of halftime where a tripping penalty was called on graduate faceoff Tommy Burke, creating a man-up opportunity for the Blue Jays and allowing graduate attacker Garrett Degnon, a top-15 scorer in the NCAA, to put in a goal.
In spite of the quick score from Johns Hopkins, the Buckeyes were able to respond with a goal from junior attacker Gannon Matthews and keep a three-goal lead over the Blue Jays for the remainder of the quarter.
However, that three-goal advantage quickly diminished in the fourth quarter.
The Blue Jays scored two goals in the first five minutes of the final quarter of the game and managed to tie the game up at nine apiece with a goal from senior midfielder Johnathan Peshko.
Three minutes later, Peshko scored again, giving Johns Hopkins the first lead it had since the first quarter of the game at 10 to nine.
An interference penalty on Blue Jays graduate defenseman Beaudan Szuluk allowed Buckeye junior Alex Marinier to put a goal in the back of the net with a minute and 25 seconds remaining in regulation, sending Ohio State to its first overtime game of the season.
The Buckeyes won the faceoff at the beginning of overtime. Sophomore attacker Matt Caputo was able to get a shot on goal in their offensive possession, but ultimately could not convert.
Johns Hopkins was able to obtain an offensive possession off of a Matthews turnover and put two shots on goal on Caleb Fyock before Blue Jay sophomore midfielder Matt Collison was able to put it in the back of the net, sealing the win for Johns Hopkins.
“We’re gonna keep fighting,” Myers said. “Just gotta stay in the fight, and we certainly did that tonight.”
Ohio State is set to take on the Michigan Wolverines in its regular-season finale on Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
