Ohio State’s men’s and women’s lacrosse teams will be looking to shake off recent losses when they take the field this weekend.
The men’s team travels to College Park to take on Maryland on Saturday evening, while the women’s team will host Penn State for Senior Day on Sunday afternoon. Entering this weekend’s games, the two Buckeye lacrosse teams have a 15-7 combined record.
The Ohio State men’s lacrosse squad are coming off their worst performance of the season, losing 13-6 to Penn State last Saturday.
The game was just about over as it was getting started, as the Nittany Lions scored four goals in the first eight minutes.
Ohio State got on the board when Kyle Foster scored with 3:41 left in the first quarter, while Liam White scored just over a minute later, followed by an Alex Mariner goal early in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 5-3.
Nick Myers team wouldn’t be able to get any closer the rest of the way, as Penn State scored three goals before the end of the first half to take an 8-3 lead into the break. Garrett Haas, Jake Cohen, and Jack Oldham would net second half goals for the Buckeyes. For Foster and Cohen, the goals they scored were the first of their careers.
The 13 goals Ohio State allowed were the most the best defense in the Big Ten has given up this season. Even after the drubbing at the hands of Penn State, the Buckeyes are allowing just seven goals per game, which is the best mark in the conference.
Despite the loss, defenseman Cullen Brown and goaltender Caleb Fyock were both named Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-Americans. Fyock is 7-2 with a 7.44 goals against average in net this year.
Next up for Ohio State is a road game tonight against Maryland. Last year the Terrapins beat the Buckeyes during the regular season, while Ohio State gained some revenge when they took down Maryland in the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament.
The Buckeyes are not only looking to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time this season, a win over Maryland would given Ohio State their first win in College Park since 2018.
By each player scoring a goal in the loss to Penn State last week, Garrett Haas and Alex Mariner each have 20 goals on the season. Haas continues to lead the team with 35 points, while Mariner is the only other Buckeye with more than 20 points, as he has 25 points through 10 games.
Joining Haas and Mariner as double-digit goal scorers so far this season are Liam White and Khalif Hocker. Ohio State has outscored their opponents 110-70 entering today’s game.
Ohio State’s women’s lacrosse team was in action already this week, losing 10-6 to third-ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Maeve Simonds tied the score 1-1 when she scored with five minutes left in the first quarter, and Brooke Vinson gave the Buckeyes their only lead of the game early in the second quarter. The Wolverines would respond with two goals to take a 3-2 lead into halftime. Vinson now has scored a goal in four straight games.
Lindsey Moneymaker would score her seventh goal of the season with 6:39 left in the third quarter to tie the game 3-3. Michigan would put some distance on Ohio State the rest of the game, outscoring the Buckeyes 7-3 after Moneymaker’s goal.
The other Ohio State players to record goals in the loss were Zoe Coleman, Camryn Callaghan, and Kate Tyack. Coleman now has accumulated 95 points during her Buckeye career.
Tyack and Callaghan continue to pace Ohio State in goals and points. Tyack enters Sunday’s game with a team-leading 49 points, and her 31 goals and just two goals behind the 33 goals Callaghan has through 12 games. Maddy Paz has 18 goals and 15 assists on the season, while Coleman has 20 total points.
Joining those four players with at least 10 goals this year are Vinson, Annie Hargraves, and Kampbell Stone. The Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 166-118.
If the last two meetings between Ohio State and Penn State are any indication of what we’ll see on Sunday, fans are in for a treat. Last season’s game between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions featured nine ties and went to overtime before Penn State earned a 12-11 win in State College.
In the last meeting between the teams in Columbus in 2024, Ohio State used a comeback to secure a 9-8 victory. In the two games with Penn State, Kate Tyack has totaled seven goals.
After the game Ohio State will honor their nine seniors. Despite the Senior Day festivities, this won’t be the last chance you’ll have to catch the women’s lacrosse team in Columbus this season. After a trip to USC next week, the Buckeyes will return home for a game against Kent State on April 15th, followed by the regular season finale against Maryland on April 18th at the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium.
