After a heartbreaking regular season finale loss at the buzzer in Columbus a week ago, the Michigan Lacrosse team ventured south for the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament Saturday afternoon.
This time, the No. 5 Wolverines (6-8) flipped the script, taking down No. 4 Ohio State (10-4), 11-8.
Freshman attackman Adam Udell led the way with two goals and two assists, continuing his impressive rookie campaign. He started the party in the first quarter with an aggressive dodge from low right and beat
the Buckeyes’ stellar goalie, Caleb Fyock, to make it 1-0.
The heated rivals would trade jabs, playing to a 2-2 tie in the second quarter.
But, the young bucks stayed strong as freshman FOGO Tay Rodriguez answered Alex Marinier’s game-tying tally a mere nine seconds later off the faceoff win, putting Michigan up 3-2 in the second.
Continuing the theme, freshman attackman Luke Shannehan sought an inside cutter and while they did not connect, Fyock never saw the intended pass and it snuck by him, extending the lead to 4-2.
Ohio State would answer. Though senior do-it-all midfielder Josh Ford helped cause a turnover on the ride, took advantage of the transition play and padded the Wolverines’ lead, now 5-3.
The Wolverines entered the halftime down a man and a strong extra-man opportunity beat senior goalie Hunter Taylor.
However, Michigan responded with a three-goal run, featuring Udell’s second, a gorgeous behind-the-back finish from senior attackman Bo Lockwood and a junior midfielder CJ Reilly dunk, courtesy of Udell’s feed.
Ohio State, feeling the pressure of navigating the NCAA Tournament bubble line, would not go quietly in front of its home crowd. A pair of third-quarter goals cut the deficit to 8-6 before Ford added another right off a junior Jackie Weller faceoff win.
The Buckeyes would get the first two in the fourth, making it 9-8. Yet, junior attackman Nick Roode and senior midfielder John Morgan added insurance goals, Taylor and his defense stayed composed and stout and the Wolverines likely ended Ohio State’s season.
Michigan now heads to Piscataway for a date with No. 1 Johns Hopkins in the semifinals, requiring an auto-bid to reach the NCAA Tournament. As difficult as it will be to upset the Jays and whoever would await in the championship, head coach Kevin Conry has worked his magic twice already this tournament (2023 and 2024) as he and his program seek to repeat the Cinderella run.
STAT LEADERS:
Goals: Udell (2), Roode (2), Ford (2), Shannehan (1), Lockwood (1), Reilly (1), Morgan (1), Rodriguez (1)
Assists: Udell (2), Dubick (1), Weller (1), Goldberg (1)
Saves: Taylor 13/21
Faceoffs: Weller 5/15, Rodriguez 2/7
