Feb. 10, 2018
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Ohio State University women’s lacrosse team mounted a furious comeback against No. 10 Navy, but the rally came up short as the Buckeyes fell to the Midshipmen 9-7 on a rainy Saturday at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Jill Rizzo finished with a career high 17 saves, topping her previous high of 14 from last season’s game against Harvard. She also snagged two ground balls and had one caused turnover in the game.
The Buckeyes struck first when Sara Dickinson found the back of the net just 2:20 into the game. Rizzo stepped up and made three big saves following the goal to keep OSU in front, but Navy eventually got on the board with a Kelly Larkin goal. That goal sparked a 5-0 run for the Midshipmen where Jenna Collins scored three straight goals and Andie O’Sullivan capped the run with 15:49 left in the first.
Ohio State started chipping away at the lead with 8:00 left in the half as Liza Hernandez scored to end the Midshipmen rally, making it 5-2. Just 49 seconds later Baley Parrott scored her first goal of the year to cut the lead to two, 5-3, with 7:11. With time winding down in the first, Collins scored her third goal of the half give Navy a 6-3 lead as the teams went to the locker room.
The second half opened similar to the first with the Buckeyes scoring first. This time it was Molly Wood scoring for OSU to make it 6-4. Navy, however, had another swift response as Andie O’Sullivan scored just over a minute later to push the deficit back to three, 7-4. It appeared as if the Midshipmen were gaining momentum as a mere 37 seconds passed before they added to their lead, this time on a goal from Molly O’Sullivan. With 24:43 to play Navy held an 8-4 lead, and looked poised to put things out of reach.
The Buckeyes would not go quietly into the damp afternoon though, as Dickinson scored her second goal of the game to put a dent in the Navy lead. Another Molly O’Sullivan goal put Navy in front by four again, but from there Ohio State went to work. Rizzo and the OSU defense went into lockdown mode for the remaining 21:11, not allowing another Navy goal. Parrott poured fuel on the rally with a goal at the 13:14 mark, and Hernandez scored with just under four minutes to play to make it a two-goal game, 9-7. The Ohio State momentum was not enough in the end as the OSU rally stalled in the closing minutes, sending the Buckeyes back to Columbus with a 9-7 loss.
Parrott led the Buckeyes on the afternoon with three points, three draw controls, one ground ball and one caused turnover. Dickinson also had three points, while Hernandez finished with two points. Wood led the team in draw controls on the afternoon with four. The senior also finished with two ground balls, one caused turnover and one point.
The Buckeyes return to action on Friday when they host Detroit. The home opener is set for a 7 p.m. start.
