Ohio State
Dartmouth
Buckeyes Post 15-5 Win over Dartmouth – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Feb. 21, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team posted its third win in a row, downing Dartmouth, 15-5, Saturday afternoon inside Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Ohio State held a one-goal lead at halftime before scoring six third-quarter goals while shutting out the Big Green to take control of the game. Senior Jesse King notched five goals and junior Carter Brown had a goal and four assists in the win for the Buckeyes, who improve to 3-1 on the season. Ohio State held Dartmouth (0-1) to just two goals and 10 shots in the final 45 minutes.
“This was another positive step,” Nick Myers, Ohio State head coach, said. “I loved the way our men responded in the third quarter; that was our best quarter of the season so far. It was great to take care of business during this three-game homestand. Now, we hunt our first road win. A very challenging weekend lies ahead with two games in three days.”
With the win over Dartmouth, Ohio State is now 16-0 all-time inside Woody Hayes Athletic Center. The squad will head to Louisville for two games next weekend, facing Bellarmine at 7 p.m. Friday and Marquette at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Buckeyes will then return to Columbus to host Hofstra March 7 and Denver March 14, with both games slated for Ohio Stadium.
The teams were tied at three after the first quarter. The Buckeyes opened the scoring just 54 seconds into the game on a King goal, followed by a score from junior Ryan Hunter, assisted by senior Turner Evans, at 10:38. Just 11 seconds later Phil Hession put Dartmouth on the board and a goal from Dartmouth’s Taylor Topousis at 8:43 tied the game at two. Brown set up Evans for a score and 3-2 Ohio State lead at 6:46, but Dartmouth again responded, tying the game at 3:03 on a goal from Don Stephan. Shots were 10-9 in favor of Ohio State in the quarter and Buckeye goalie Tom Carey made two saves.
Ohio State regained the lead (4-3) when sophomore JT Blubaugh scored at 8:48 of the second quarter before the Big Green deadlocked the score for the third time on a goal from Jack McCormick at 3:32. With time winding down in the quarter, Brown came around the cage and scored with 10 seconds remaining, putting Ohio State ahead 5-4 at halftime. Ohio State had 12 shots in the quarter, holding Dartmouth to three.
The Buckeyes took control in the third quarter, shutting out the Big Green and scoring six goals. Brown set up goals from senior David Planning at 12:37 and King at 9:06 for a 7-4 Buckeye lead. Blubaugh netted his second of the game at 7:20 and just seconds later, King picked up the ball off the faceoff and scored. King tallied the next two Buckeye goals, finding the back of the cage at 4:21 and 1:29, assisted by Brown. Ohio State outshot Dartmouth, 11-2, in the quarter.
Dartmouth ended Ohio State’s seven-goal run with a tally by Stepan at 12:21 of the fourth quarter but the Buckeyes scored the game’s final four goals for the 15-5 win. Three Buckeyes picked up their first career goals – freshman Trevor Hodgins at 9:43, freshman Hank Bethke at 5:16 and sophomore Brian Ward at 2:40 (off an assist from Hunter). Hodgins collected his second collegiate tally at 1:17. Shots were 7-5 in favor of Ohio State in the quarter and Dartmouth’s goalie made three saves in the stanza.
For the game, the Buckeyes outshot the Big Green, 40-19. Carey had six saves while playing the first 54:44 to pick up the win for the Buckeyes. Sophomore Nick Doyle closed out the game and did not face a shot. Carey has a 5.88 goals-against average and .635 save percentage on the season. Dartmouth starter Blair Friedensohn made six saves in 45:00 and Colin Heffernan had three saves in the fourth quarter.
The Buckeyes won 15-of-23 faceoffs in the game. Sophomore Jake Withers was 8-1, graduate student Christopher May was 6-6 and senior Spencer Matches was 1-1. Ohio State had the edge in groundballs, 35-24. King had a team-best seven, with May picking up four and Withers grabbing three.
King, who extended his point streak to 40 games (81g, 56a, 137p in the stretch), had his second five-goal game in a row and the fourth of his Buckeye career. He leads Ohio State with 12 goals and 17 points this season. King moved into the Top 10 in career points among Buckeyes and now has 148 points to tie for ninth with Mike Avery (1988-91).
Brown’s four assists matched his career high set Feb. 9 vs. Detroit and he now leads Ohio State with seven assists on the year, ranking second with 11 points. Hunter is second on the team with five goals. Blubaugh had his first two-goal game since scoring twice at Delaware April 6, 2014.
