March 4, 2016

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team downed No. 19 Marquette, 12-8, in Ohio Stadium on the first day of the Midwest Lacrosse Classic Friday. The Buckeyes, now 4-1, return to the field at 3 p.m. Sunday to face Bellarmine. The Golden Eagles (2-1) will take on Detroit at noon Sunday in the first game of the doubleheader.

The Buckeyes and Marquette were tied at two after the first quarter. Ohio State opened the second with a three-goal run and outscored the Golden Eagles 4-2 in the stanza to take a 6-4 lead into halftime. Each team scored twice in the third, with Ohio State answering both times Marquette drew within one. Marquette scored early in the fourth for an 8-7 game, but the Buckeyes scored twice in just over a minute to extend their lead to three. Marquette’s final goal came with 7:29, a tally the Buckeyes answered in just 10 seconds, and Ohio State notched the final goal with 4:30 remaining.

Buckeye junior goalie Tom Carey had an Ohio State career high 16 saves in the win, including seven in the fourth quarter. Senior Carter Brown had a hat trick and assist for four points, while junior Eric Fannell had three points on a goal and two helpers. Juniors JT Blubaugh and Austin Shanks each scored twice and freshman Jack Jasinski had two points on a goal and an assist. Junior Jake Withers won 13 faceoffs and picked up a game-high nine groundballs.

In the first quarter, Ohio Stated led 2-0 before the Golden Eagles scored back-to-back to tie the game. Ohio State scored the first two, with Shanks tallying at 7:04 and Logan Maccani scoring his first collegiate goal at 4:46. Marquette scored the next two, at 2:19 with the extra man and with five seconds left in the quarter.

The Buckeyes had the next three goals to go ahead 5-2. Blubaugh scored back-to-back at 13:53 and 12:34, followed by a goal from Brown at 8:22. Ryan McNamara ended the Buckeye run with a goal at 6:01 but Shanks tallied for the Buckeyes at 3:54, set up by Fannell, for a 6-3 Buckeye advantage. Joseph Dunn scored for the Golden Eagles with 1:42 left in the quarter, sending the teams into halftime with Ohio State ahead, 6-4.

The teams traded goals in the third quarter for an 8-6 Buckeye lead after 45 minutes. Freshman Noah Best scored his first goal for the Scarlet and Gray at 11:03, assisted by senior Ryan Hunter, and Brown tallied unassisted at 2:05, with the MU goals at 12:21 and 9:43.

Ohio State outscored Marquette 4-2 in the fourth quarter for the win. The Golden Eagles pulled within one (8-7) at 12:45, but Fannell set up Jasinski for a goal at 10:31 and Trevor Hodgins followed with his first goal of the year, assisted by Jasinski, at 9:18, to put the Buckeyes up by three (10-7). McNamara scored for Marquette at 7:29 but Brown scored just 10 seconds later, assisted by Bo Lori (his first point as a Buckeye). The final goal was scored by Fannell man-up, assisted by Brown, with 4:30 remaining.

Ohio State was outshot, 38-31, in the game. Carey had an Ohio State career-high 16 saves in the game, with seven in the fourth quarter. Marquette starter Jimmy Danaher had seven saves in 56:45 and allowed all 12 goals.

Ohio State won 13-of-24 faceoffs in the game, with Withers going 13-9. He picked up a game-high nine groundballs in the win, his fourth game with nine or more on the year, and has a team-best 44 on the year. He has won 67-of-104 faceoffs this season (.644). Ohio State won the team groundball battle, 29-25.

Brown leads the Buckeyes with 11 points on the year, extending his point streak to 14 games, with a goal in each game and a 28-11-39 line in the stretch. Blubaugh is first with eight goals, followed by Brown and Fannell with seven. Shanks is first on the team with five assists. Blubaugh, Fannell and Shanks are tied for second with 10 points each.