The Ohio State women’s lacrosse team hits the road to take on Johns Hopkins at noon Saturday in a Big Ten conference game.
The game will be televised by ESPNU, with Quint Kessenich and Sheehan Stanwick Burch on the call.
Ohio State enters the game 9-5 on the year and 2-2 in Big Ten play, with Johns Hopkins 8-7 and 0-4 in the B1G.
Last weekend, the Buckeyes fell at home to Maryland, 14-8. The Blue Jays lost on the road to Northwestern, 19-12, last Saturday.
Buckeyes vs. Blue Jays
The Buckeyes are looking to end a six-game losing streak against Johns Hopkins, with the last win an 8-7 victory March 5, 2016 in Columbus.
In 2021, the teams met twice in Columbus, with the Blue Jays posting two one-goal wins (12-11, 10-9) March 5 and 7, 2021.
Johns Hopkins is 0-4 in Big Ten play, with losses to Michigan (9-7), Rutgers (12-11), Maryland (17-6) and Northwestern (19-12).
The Blue Jays are scoring 11.2 goals a game and allowing 10.73 per contest. They are 11th nationally in clearing percentage (.912) and 21st in caused turnovers per game (9.27).
Last Time Out
The Buckeyes fell to No. 8-ranked Maryland, 14-8, last Sunday in Ohio Stadium.
Maryland scored the game’s first two goals but a four-goal Buckeye run put Ohio State ahead 4-2 with 6:34 remaining in the first. The Terrapins went on a run of their own, with three straight to close out the first quarter ahead 5-4. Ohio State tied the game with the first goal of the second before back-to-back Maryland scores. Ohio State tallied the next three, in a span of just over a minute for an 8-7 advantage. The Terps tied the game with 32 seconds left before halftime.
No goals were scored in the second half until Maryland found the back of the cage twice in the final 1:37 of the third quarter for a 10-8 Terp lead entering the fourth. The Terrapins did not allow a shot in the fourth quarter and scored four times for the 14-8 final.
Regan Alexander made nine saves for the Buckeyes, while also causing three turnovers and picking up four ground balls. Sophie Baez and Nicole Ferrara each had two goals and an assist for three points, while Ali Beekhuizen tallied twice. Lindsay Epstein had a team-best six draw controls and scored a goal.
Stats Stuff
Ohio State is averaging 12.71 goals a game, allowing 10.93 per contest. The team is 10th nationally and second in the Big Ten in draw control percentage (.574) and is 20th in draw controls per game (15.79). Ohio State averages 32.0 shots per game, with 22.50 on goal per outing.
Jamie Lasda leads the Buckeyes with 32 goals and Nicole Ferrara has a team-best 18 assists. Ferrara is first with 43 points, followed by Lasda with 40. Ferrara (25) and Lindsay Epstein (24) both have 20+ goals.
Epstein is third with 30 points and Sophie Baez, who ranks second in assists with 13, follows with 29.
Chloë Johnson is 10th in the country and second in the Big Ten with 7.64 draw controls per game. She has 10 or more in five games this season.
Johnson leads the Buckeyes with 107 draw controls. Jamie Level (46) and Epstein (43) each have more than 40 this season.
Regan Alexander has started the last 13 games in the cage. She has 115 saves on the year, with a .458 save percentage.
Alexander is first with 28 ground balls and Epstein is next with 27, followed by Jane Cowley with 22 and Caly O’Brien with 21. Epstein leads the squad with 18 caused turnovers. Cowley is second with 15 and O’Brien has 11.
Scoring Streaks
Nicole Ferrara (19 games, 41g, 21a, 62p), Lindsay Epstein (10 games, 18g, 4a, 22p), Baez (8 games, 14g, 12a, 26p) and Chloe Johnson (4 games, 10g, 10p) carry scoring streaks of at least three games into Saturday’s contest.
Jamie Lasda had a 13-game streak end at Michigan, with 33 goals, seven assists and 40 points in the stretch. Jamie Level was held scoreless for the first time in eight games last week vs. Maryland.
Buckeye This and That
Sophie Baez hit the 100-point mark for her career with two assists at Michigan April 8. She has 69 goals and 37 assists in 54 games as a Buckeye. Baez has 12 assists and 16 points in her last five games combined and 16 goals, 13 assists and 29 points on the year.
Nicole Ferrara has recorded three-plus points in 10 of 14 games this year and has at least one point in all 14 outings. She is closing in on the 100-point mark, with 95 points in 35 games as a Buckeye, recording 63 goals and 32 assists.
Lindsay Epstein has set career highs for goals (24) and points (30) this year, matching per career best in assists (6). She has 43 draw controls – after 25 in her first 45 games as a Buckeye – along with a career-best 27 ground balls and 18 caused turnovers. She has a goal and a ground ball in all but one game this season.
Chloë Johnson posted hat tricks in three straight games, tallying three times vs. Penn State, Louisville and Michigan. They were her first three-goal games since Feb. 15, 2020 at Stony Brook. She has a career best 19 goals, four assists and 23 points this year. She has 107 draw controls after 75 in her first 37 games in the Scarlet and Gray.
Ava Keethler has started all 14 games on defense for the Buckeyes and has 13 ground balls and seven caused turnovers. Cai Martin has 10 starts on defense, while sophomores Sarah Johnson and Erin O’Neill have both made their first career starts recently.
Ali Beekhuizen scored twice in the first three games of the season before single goals in four of the next 10 games. She then scored twice vs. Maryland last week. She has 12 goals and 17 points this season, along with a career-best five assists.
Jamie Level is second on the squad with 49 draw controls, including seven at Colorado and five in three other games. She has seven multiple-goal outings this season and now has an Ohio State career-best 19 goals this season, along with a career-high 10 assists.
Jamie Lasda started the year with at least one goal in each of the first 12 games before she was held off the scoresheet for the first time at Michigan April 8. After recording two goals and five assists for seven points in nine games as a freshman last year, she has 32 goals, eight assists and 40 points this year in 14 games.
In the B1G
Entering the weekend, Northwestern (5-0) and Maryland (4-0) occupy the Top 2 spots in the Big Ten standings. Ohio State and Rutgers are both 2-2, with Michigan 2-3 and Johns Hopkins and Penn State 0-4.
The Top 4 teams will earn a spot in the Big Ten Tournament, set for May 6-8 at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, N.J.
Up Next
The regular season ends with a home game vs. No. 13 Rutgers April 28, at 8 p.m. in Ohio Stadium and on BTN. Admission and parking are free.
