Men’s Lacrosse Closes Out Homestand vs. Fairfield – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 10, 2003
GAMEDAY
The No. 14 Ohio State men’s lacrosse team (5-2, 1-0 GWLL) closes out a four-game homestand when it plays host to GWLL foe Fairfield at noon Sunday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes enter the game on a four-game winning streak and are coming off a victory over Notre Dame in their league opener.
THE BROADCAST
Ohio State’s student radio station will broadcast the Buckeye men’s lacrosse game Sunday live online at www.underground.fm. Neil Sika and Aaron Stollar will be on the call.
DOUBLE DIP
The men’s game is the first part of an Ohio State lacrosse doubleheader Sunday. The 10th-ranked women’s team will play host to California following the men’s game, around 2 p.m.
STREAKERS
The Buckeyes enter the game with Fairfield on a four-game winning streak following victories over Drexel, Army, Delaware and Notre Dame.
THE ELDERS
The Buckeyes’ seniors – Peter Dillon, Pat Donohue, Sean Ireland, Anthony Kelly, Nick Miceli, Bryan Mulford, Pat Myers, Mike Norton and Curtis Smith – will be honored prior to the game against Fairfield. The group has been a part of over 25 wins in the last four seasons.
LAST TIME OUT
The Buckeyes beat Notre Dame, 11-5, at home, while Fairfield topped Air Force, 15-8, at home.
THE RANKINGS
The Buckeyes moved up to No. 14 in both national polls following their win over then-No. 12/15 Notre Dame last week. HONORED – AGAIN
Buckeye junior goalie Tony Russo earned GWLL Player of the Week honors for the second time in three weeks following his 11-save performance in OSU’s win over Notre Dame. He also was honored March 26 after posting 11 saves in the Buckeyes’ victory over Army. Russo earned league player of the week accolades one time in each of his freshman and sophomore seasons.
OSU VS. FAIRFIELD – THE SERIES
The Buckeyes lead the all-time series with the Stags, 2-1. Ohio State won the first meeting, 9-8, on the road in 2000, followed by an 11-10 victory in 2001 at home. The Stags posted their first win over the Buckeyes last season, winning 8-7 in double overtime in Fairfield, Conn.
SO CLOSE
The first three games between Ohio State and Fairfield each were decided by just one goal, including the Stags’ double-overtime victory last season.
THE 2002 MEETING
Fairfield’s Tom Werney scored with 3:18 left in the second overtime to give the Stags an 8-7 victory over the No. 13 Ohio State men’s lacrosse team April 13, 2002 in Fairfield, Conn.
The game was low scoring, as only five goals were scored in the first half. The Buckeyes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, on goals by Anthony Gilardi, Curtis Smith on the clock and Pat Donohue.
Fairfield scored the only two goals of the second, with Marc Torrey tallying at 14:46 and Werney scoring with 2:03 left in the half.
The Stags tied the game at three just over a minute into the third quarter on a goal by Rob Scipioni and took their first lead of the game when Werney scored at 8:21. Pat Myers scored the last goal of the third quarter, tallying an extra-man goal with 5:34 remaining off an assist from Tom Randisi.
Gilardi scored back-to-back goals just 20 seconds apart to give OSU a two-goal lead, 6-4, just under two minutes into the fourth quarter. Fairfield responded with goals by Keith Urgo and Werney to tie the game at six with 6:54 left. The score remained tied until there was 2:22 remaining in regulation, when Smith scored for the Buckeyes, assisted by Gilardi.
Fairfield’s Garrett Bamann tied the game with just 17 seconds remaining to force overtime.
The first overtime period was scoreless, as each team traded cautious possessions. The Stags won the opening draw of the second overtime, preventing Ohio State from getting the ball. Following a Fairfield timeout, the Stags eventually got the ball to Werney at the top of the 30-yard line, who scored to give Fairfield the win.
A LOOK AT THE FAIRFIELD STAGS
The Stags are 5-3 on on the year, with wins over Holy Cross, Harvard, Providence, Brown and Air Force and losses to Penn State, Syracuse and Butler. The squad was scheduled to face Hofstra Tuesday, but the game was cancelled because of bad weather and poor field conditions.
Fairfield is led in scoring by Rory McCarthy who has a team-best 18 goals and 25 points. Matt Buecker is second in points with 22 and in goals with 14. Matt Baglio has a team-high 12 assists. C.J. Kemp, the 2002 GWLL Player of the Year and an honorable mention All-American, has started all eight games in net, with a goals-against average of 9.50.
AT THE HELM
Ted Spencer, a 1985 graduate of UMass, is in his eighth season at the helm of the Stags. He is 61-51 overall. Spencer, who also served as an assistant coach at Brown and Yale, was the 2002 GWLL Coach of the Year.
FAIRFIELD IN 2002
The Stags went 7-6 last season and were 4-1 in the GWLL to tie for first. With a better head-to-head record than co-champion Notre Dame, Fairfield earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. It was the squad’s second full season competing in the league.
BUCKEYES AND STAGS TOGETHER
Buckeye freshmen Drew May and Patrick Dunleavy were teammates of Fairfield’s Josh Thornton at DeSmet Jesuit High School in Missouri last season. The squad won the state championship in 2002.
AROUND THE NATION
Ohio State players rank among the best in the nation. Curtis Smith is second in the nation averaging 3.29 goals per game, only 0.09 behind Sean Hartofilis of Princeton. Smith also ranks fourth in points per game, averaging 4.57. Tony Russo is 10th in the nation in the goals-against average category with 7.33.
As a team overall Ohio State’s 3.71 scoring margin is 10th in the nation. Massachusetts leads with a 6.56 scoring margin.
IN THE GWLL
Ohio State and Butler both are 1-0 in league action to tie for first place. The other four teams all have one loss, with Notre Dame and Fairfield 1-1 and Air Force and Denver 0-1. The regular season champion receives the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
A LOOK BACK
The No. 19/20 Ohio State men’s lacrosse team outscored No. 12/15 Notre Dame, 6-1, in the second half to post an 11-5 victory over the Fighting Irish in a Great Western Lacrosse League game at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in front of 863 fans Sunday, April 6. The OSU win stops a three-game losing streak against the Irish.
Anthony Gilardi got the Buckeyes on the board with a goal, assisted by Shaun Lyons, at the 10:27 mark of the first quarter. The Irish then posted three-consecutive goals to end the first stanza leading, 3-1.
Curtis Smith then scored back-to-back goals just 11 seconds apart early in the second quarter to tie the game at three. UND’s Patrick Walsh put the Irish ahead with an unassisted goal at 10:04, but Randisi scored twice on long-range shots, at 7:55 and 5:25, to send the Buckeyes into the locker room at halftime with a 5-4 lead.
ND’s Brian Giordano tied the game for the last time with a goal at 12:19 of the third period. The Buckeyes then scored six-unanswered goals, with two in the third and four in the fourth, for the win. Curtis Smith put OSU ahead at 6:37 of the third (assisted by Norton), followed by a Randisi score. OSU controlled the play in the third quarter, outshooting the Irish, 16-3.
Gilardi scored at 11:02 of the fourth quarter, assisted by Ryan Laffey. Laffey scored a goal of his own at 10:10, followed by a Pat Donohue score. The Buckeyes held their 10-5 lead until Gilardi closed out the scoring with an unassisted goal with 1:23 to play.
TRICKY TRIO
The Buckeye trio of Curtis Smith, Anthony Gilardi and Tom Randisi each scored three goals in the victory over Notre Dame.
ONE MORE THREE
Senior Mike Norton posted a season-high three assists against the Irish. He is first on the team with 10 helpers this season.
AT FIRST
The Buckeyes’ win over Notre Dame in their GWLL opener this season was their first victory in a league opener in the last four seasons.
CONSISTENCY AT ITS BEST
Anthony Gilardi has scored at least one goal in his last 21 games, dating back to the season opener last year. After opening this season with one goal in each of the first four games, he has back-to-back-to-back multiple-goal performances, with two scores vs. Army and three against Delaware and Notre Dame.
HOME BODIES
The Buckeyes are in the midst of a four-game home stand. The squad is 3-0 with one game remaining. OSU’s victories have been against Army, Delaware and Notre Dame. The Buckeyes will face GWLL-foe Fairfield Sunday. OSU is 3-2 at home this season.
A NEW START
Sophomore defender Peter Frantz has started the last six games for the Buckeyes, the first starts of his Ohio State career. He saw action in four games last season before suffering an injury.
MOVING IN
Junior goalie Tony Russo moved up to ninth all-time at Ohio State for goalie saves following an 11-save game against Notre Dame. He has 407 saves in his career. Russo replaced Bill Leahy, who recorded 398 saves from 1983-86.
THE LEADER
Curtis Smith leads the Buckeyes with 23 goals and 32 points this season. He is averaging 4.57 points per game and had a career-best nine points against Quinnipiac. He has two four-goal games, as well as a seven-goal outing vs. the Bobcats.
BACK ON TRACK
Mike Norton is back on track after recording three assists against Notre Dame. Norton was on a four-game streak of posting at least two points per game before he was stopped by Delaware when the Blue Hens held him to just one assist. Norton has an assist in 20 of his last 21 outings.
NO. 1
Anthony Gilardi ranks second for the Buckeyes with 21 points this season, on 12 goals and nine assists. He opened the year with back-to-back four-point outings, posted three points vs. UNC and had two points against Drexel. Currently on a two-game scoring streak, Gilardi tallied three goals against Army and Notre Dame.
MOVING UP
Curtis Smith moved into 10th place in OSU history after posting a team-best four points against Notre Dame to give him 134 in his career. Smith is 10th all-time in program history with 92 career goals, after scoring three goals against Notre Dame. He replaced Roger Allen, who recorded 89 goals from 1982-85. Mike Norton moved up to fifth place all-time in assists with 66, after tallying three assists against Notre Dame.
AT THE FACEOFF X
As a team, the Buckeyes have won 55.6 percent (85-of-153) of their faceoffs this season. Anthony Kelly has taken the majority of the draws, winning 62-of-111 (.559), including an 13-for-16 performance against Notre Dame.
SCOOP IT UP
Greg Bice took over the Buckeye lead in groundballs after scooping up nine against Delaware for a season total of 26. Curtis Smith is three behind, followed by Nick Miceli with 21. Anthony Kelly, the squad’s leader the last three seasons, has 20.
AT THE HELM
Joe Breschi, a 1990 graduate of North Carolina, is in his fifth season at the helm of the Buckeyes. A standout player for the Tar Heels, he was a two-time All-ACC selection, a two-time All-America honoree and a North-South All-Star Game participant in 1990. Breschi was a member of the U.S. National Team in 1994 and 1998. Prior to coming to Ohio State, Breschi served as an assistant coach at Brown (1993-97) and at UNC, his alma mater (1991-92).
His career record stands at 43-31. Breschi moved into second place all-time in OSU history for coaching wins after the Buckeyes’ victory over Delaware. Paul Hartman’s 57 wins from 1961-66 rank first.
THE END – FOR A WHILE
The game vs. Delaware marks the end of non-conference play for the Buckeyes until April 30. The squad’s next five games will come against GWLL opponents. Ohio State then will close out the regular season with games vs. UMBC April 30 (rescheduled from March 1) and Penn State May 3.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes travel to Colorado next weekend where they will take on Air Force at 4 p.m. April 18 and Denver at noon April 20.
