After losing in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, Ohio State’s men’s lacrosse team has started the 2026 season on a mission, winning their first four games.
The Buckeyes will look to keep their foot on the gas on Saturday when they host High Point at the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium at noon. This marks Ohio State’s first-ever meeting with High Point. The Buckeyes are 14-12 against current Atlantic 10 Conference members.
So far this season Ohio State has dominated their opponents, winning
each of their four games by at least five goals, outscoring their opponents 61-25. Last Saturday the Buckeyes hit the road for the first time, beating Air Force 14-9 in Colorado Springs.
Jackson Birtwistle opened up at the scoring at 9:22 of the first quarter. Jackson Walsh followed up Birtwistle with a goal of his own just over three minutes later. Both goals were assisted by Garrett Haas.
Ohio State would never trail in last week’s win over Air Force, building a 4-2 lead at the end of the first. To kick off the second quarter, Alex Marinier scored a goal at the 14:22 mark. Then Khalif Hocker found his rhythm, scoring the next three goals for the Buckeyes before Marinier notched two more goals.
Marinier also had three assists in the game to finish with six points. Last season Marinier led Ohio State with 50 goals, but only was credited with two assists. Through four games this season, Marinier already has 13 goals and three assists.
Last year Garrett Haas finished the season with 29 goals and 17 assists to finish six points behind Marinier for the team lead. This year Haas currently is tops on the team with 18 points, with 12 of those points being assists. The 12 assists Haas has dished out is the most by any Big Ten player so far this season.
Along with a potent offense, the Buckeyes have displayed a suffocating defense through the first four games of the season, holding each of their opponents to under 10 goals. The 6.25 goals per game Ohio State is allowing is not only the best mark in the Big Ten this season, it ranks top-five nationally.
The Buckeyes are one of just six teams in the country that are currently giving up less than seven goals per game.
A huge reason Ohio State has been so tough to score on has been goalie Caleb Fyock. After posting a 14-2 record with a .612 save percentage and 8.08 goals against average last year, Fyock is already 4-0 this season. Along with not yet suffering a loss this year, Fyock has a .588 save percentage and a 6.07 goals against average.
If Fyock can continue to be a wall in front of the goal, paired with the ability the Buckeyes have to put goals on the board, Ohio State is capable of making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
Now in his 18th season as head coach at Ohio State, Nick Myers will be looking for his 150th win on Saturday. Heading into the game against High Point, Myers has a 149-110 record. Last year Myers led the Buckeyes to their first Big Ten title, beating Michigan in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Unfortunately the win over the Wolverines would be their last of the season, as they were beaten 15-6 by Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Following Saturday’s game against High Point, Ohio State will hit the road for a showdown against fourth-ranked Georgetown in Washington D.C. next Saturday. The battle with the Hoyas is shaping up to be a top-10 clash since the Buckeyes entered this week ranked ninth in the USILA Men’s Coaches Poll.
After the game against Georgetown, Ohio State returns home to open up Big Ten play by hosting Notre Dame on March 7th.
