Buckeyes Top Detroit Mercy 23-9 to Open 2020 Season

ADDITIONAL INFO
Box Score | Tickets | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Men’s Lacrosse Homepage

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 13-ranked Ohio State men’s lacrosse (1-0) team erupted for 23 goals in its 2020 season-opener, topping Detroit Mercy (1-1) 23-9 on Tuesday evening at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

THE SHORT STORY
Senior Tre Leclaire (6G, 2A), junior Jackson Reid (4G, 3A) and sophomore Jack Myers (4G, 5A) led a balanced offensive attack that saw nine different players score goals. Sophomore Griffin Hughes chipped in with the first hat trick of his career and freshman Grant Mitchell added five points in his collegiate debut.

The Buckeyes broke the game open in the second quarter, netting 11 goals to build a 15-3 halftime lead. The 23 goals are the most ever by an Ohio State team in its season opener.

QUOTABLE
“We’re grateful to Detroit for coming here on a quick turnaround and wish them the best,” said head coach Nick Myers. “It was great to be back in front of our great fans. Offensively, we found our groove in the second quarter and really got our spark on the ride. We made some tough plays in the middle of the field and that got us going. We’ll immediately start getting ready to face a good BU team on Saturday.”

HOW THE GOALS WERE SCORED

• Ohio State jumped out to a 3-0 lead on scores by Leclaire, Reid and Hughes, but Detroit responded with three of its own to force a 3-3 tie with 2:40 remaining in the opening quarter. Myers scored at the 1:24 mark of the opening quarter to give the Buckeyes the lead for good and start what would become a 13 unanswered goals.
• The second quarter was all Ohio State. Myers scored three times, Leclaire had four tallies and Reid had added two tallies in the run. The Buckeyes scored 15 first-half goals on 30 shots and also created offense in transition, holding Detroit to just 6-of-10 on clears while forcing nine turnovers.
• Hughes had two goals in the third quarter goals to complete his hat trick while Zach Ludd, J.T. Bugliosi and Connor Mitchell all got into the scoring column.
• The Buckeyes’ lone fourth quarter goal came from T.J. Hendricks.

IN THE GOAL
Josh Kirson, an 11 game starter in 2019, got the start in goal on Tuesday night and had seven saves. Three different goalies saw action, as sophomore Skylar Wahlund played nearly 22 minutes in the second half and Michael Clibanoff played the final 3:05 of the fourth quarter.

NEWS AND NOTES

• Twenty one of the Buckeyes’ 23 goals were assisted, the most in program history and most in an NCAA game since Manhattan had 22 vs. Wagner in 2000.
• Ohio State improves to 9-1 all-time against Detroit Mercy.
• The Buckeyes have won 10 of their last 12 season openers.
• Leclaire’s six goals matched a career high set previously vs. Johns Hopkins in the Big Ten Tournament in 2017. His eight points also match a career high, set in 2017 vs. Michigan. He has 115 goals in his 48-game career.
• Myers, who led the team with 20 assists last season, picked up right where he left off with five tonight. His nine points are a career high, topping the eight that he had last season vs. Bucknell.
• Eight different players had multiple points.
• Senior Christian Feliziani won 13 of 24 face-off in the X and a total of five different players took draws for the Scarlet and Gray. The 13 face-off wins were a career high.

JUST THE STATS
Shots: Ohio State 50, Detroit Mercy 32
Ground Balls: Ohio State 41, Detroit Mercy 31
Face-offs: Ohio State 19-of-36, Detroit Mercy 17-of-36
Clears: Ohio State 19-of-20, Detroit Mercy 13-of-21
Extra Man: Ohio State 0-for-1, Detroit Mercy 0-for-0
Saves: Ohio State 10, Detroit Mercy 7
Turnovers: Ohio State 17, Detroit Mercy 16
Top Scorers: Myers (4G, 5A), Leclaire (6G, 2A), Reid (4G, 3A), G. Mitchell (2G, 3A), Hughes (3G)

 WHAT’S NEXT
Ohio State has a quick turnaround as its back on the field Saturday at noon when it travels to Boston, Mass. to face Boston University.