Buckeyes Secure a 14-12 Rivalry Win over Michigan

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – On a night when it needed its seniors to lead the way, that’s exactly what Ohio State got.

Senior Jack Myers and Jackson Reid combined for 14 points and goalie Skylar Wahlund, also a senior, made 14 saves as Ohio State ended the regular season with a 14-12 win over Michigan in front of a crowd of 3,705 at Ohio Stadium.

The Buckeyes improve to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten while Michigan is 7-7, 0-5. The two teams will meet again this coming Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament at Ohio Stadium. Game time is TBD.

Quotable
“Couldn’t be happier for our seniors for leading us to a win over our rivals and getting the Creators Trophy back to Columbus,” said head coach Nick Myers. “We made winning plays when we had to and that was the difference. We’ll enjoy this for a little bit and then it’s right on to the postseason.”

The Short Story
Ohio State jumped out to a 6-0 first-quarter lead and never trailed, despite Michigan making a second-quarter run and fourth-quarter rally to pull within two goals late in the second half. Myers finished with three goals and five assists while Reid matched his career high with five goals and also added an assist.

The win also brought the Creator’s Trophy back to Columbus for the first time since 2015. The trophy was established in 2012 between Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan – the three Big Ten schools that sponsored lacrosse at the time. It goes to the team with the best head to head regular season record among the three.

How It Happened

• Ohio State’s offense was efficient early, scoring the game’s first six goals in the opening 10 minutes of the first quarter.
• In that run, Reid and Myers both scored twice. Myers added two assists as well and had four points by the end of the first quarter.
• Michigan scored three times over the final 5:20 of the first quarter and then once more to open the second quarter to pull within two, 6-4, with 12:17 to play in the first half.
• But the next run belonged to Ohio State, as the Buckeyes went on a 3-0 spurt over 3:20 of the second quarter to go back up by five at 9-4.
• Michigan scored twice to close out the second quarter, including one tally with less than a second remaining before halftime, to make the score 9-6 at the break.
• The Buckeyes and Wolverines traded goals for much of the third quarter. Reid, Jason Knox and Johnny Wiseman were the Ohio State scorers and the Buckeyes led 12-8 after three quarters.
• A Colby Smith goal with 12:59 remaining in the fourth quarter matched Ohio State’s largest lead at 14-8, but Michigan would chip away and eventually draw to within two, 14-12, with 2:35 remaining.
• That’s when Skylar Wahlund made a save – his 14th of the night – to keep it a two-goal game at the two-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Ohio State ran the clock out from there.

Buckeye This and That

• Ohio State improves to 10-2 against Michigan and 3-0 against the Wolverines in the regular season over the last two years.
• The crowd of 3,705 in a non-Spring Game men’s lacrosse record. The previous high was 3,324 vs. Maryland in 2019.
• With a five-assist night, Jack Myers now has 71 points on the season (30 goals, 41 assists). His point total is ninth-highest in program history and assist total ranks third.
• Skylar Wahlund has 33 saves in the last two games (19 vs. Maryland, 14 vs. Michigan).
• Colby Smith and Jackson Reid are now tied for the team lead in goals with 36. Reid has 15 goals in the last four games.
• Ohio State picked up 42 ground balls – its third-highest total this season – and is 9-0 this year when it has more ground balls than its opponent.

Statistically Speaking
Shots: Ohio State 40, Michigan 36
Ground Balls: Ohio State 42, Michigan 26
Faceoffs: Ohio State 16-for-29, Michigan 13-for-29
Clears: Ohio State 17-for-17, Michigan 17-for-19
Extra Man: Ohio State 2-for-4, Michigan 3-for-5
Saves: Ohio State (Wahlund) 14, Michigan (Carr) 11
Turnovers: Ohio State 12, Michigan 9
Ohio State Scoring (G-A-P): Jack Myers 3-5-8; Jackson Reid 5-1-6; Jason Knox 1-1-2; Colby Smith 2-0-2; Johnny Wiseman 2-0-2; Trent DeCicco 1-0-1; Ari Allen 0-1-1; Ed Shean 0-1-1; Mitchell Pehlke 0-1-1

What’s Next
Ohio State, the No. 3 seed in this year’s Big Ten Tournament, and Michigan, the six-seed, meet next Saturday at Ohio Stadium in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament. More information on game time will be made available when it’s finalized.