Ohio State
Denver
Ohio State Falls to No. 4 Seed Denver in NCAA Quarterfinals, 15-13 – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
May 16, 2015
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DENVER, Colo. —In the NCAA Championship quarterfinals, the Ohio State men’s lacrosse team lost to No. 4-seed Denver, 15-13, Saturday afternoon at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo. The loss ends the No. 12-ranked Buckeyes’ season, with the squad 12-7 on the year. The No. 3-ranked Pioneers advance to the NCAA semifinals in Philadelphia. The game marked Ohio State’s third NCAA quarterfinal appearance in program history.
Each team had a big quarter in the first half. Ohio State led 6-1 after the first stanza before Denver outscored the Buckeyes 5-1 in the second quarter, putting the Buckeyes up 7-6 at halftime. The Pioneers scored the first four goals of the third quarter to tie the game and take the lead, but Ohio State scored twice in the final 1:30 of the quarter to draw within one (10-9). The Pioneers scored four of the first five goals of the fourth quarter to pull away 14-10. Ohio State outscored Denver 3-1 over the final 8:06 to pull within two with 27 seconds left, but could not get closer.
Senior Jesse King led the Buckeyes with a career-high nine points (3g, 6a0 against Denver, posting the ninth game in program history with six or more assists. His first quarter assist was the 200th point of his career. King concludes his collegiate career fourth in program history with 208 points and 119 goals, ranking fifth with 89 assists.
Senior Turner Evans had three assists and four points in the game, while junior Carter Brown and sophomore John Kelly each had two goals and an assist for three points. Freshman Colin Chell scored twice. Sophomore Jake Withers won a career-high 15 faceoffs vs. Denver.
Ohio State led 6-1 after the first 15 minutes, with King playing a part in five of the Buckeyes’ opening six goals. King set up Chell at 13:42 and the Pioneers tied the game at 12:06. Ohio State then scored five times in less than eight minutes. Kelly scored on a long shot at 10:32 to put the Buckeyes in the lead. King then scored off an assist from Evans at 6:35 and set up Carter Brown, who scored at 4:37. King scored back-to-back at 3:50 (assisted by Brown) and then tallied off a pass from Kelly at 2:59. Shots were 13-4 in favor of Ohio State in the quarter. The Buckeyes won 6-of-8 faceoffs in the stanza, with Withers earning all six for the Scarlet and Gray.
After the Buckeyes’ Brown scored (assisted by King) at 12:25, the Pioneers scored the last five goals of the second quarter to make it a one-goal game at the end of the first half, with the Buckeyes leading 7-6. Shots were 9-7 in favor of the Pioneers in the stanza. Denver ended the Buckeyes’ six-goal run with a tally at 9:10, adding a score a minute later. The Pioneers then tallied at 6:51, 6:30 and 3:38.
Denver scored the first four goals of the third quarter, part of a nine-goal run, to extend the lead to 10-7. The first score came at 14:24, followed by additional goals at 10:49, 6:28 and 5:32. The Buckeyes then found the back of the net twice in the final 90 seconds. Evans set up Chell at 1:30 before sophomore JT Blubaugh set up classmate Johnny Pearson with 36 seconds left in the quarter to make it a one-goal game (10-9). Ohio State outshot Denver, 11-8, in the quarter, with the DU goalie making six saves.
Denver’s Sean Cannizzaro scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter 26 seconds apart to push the lead to 12-9. King set up Withers for a goal at 12:03 – his first of the season and second of his career. Connor Cannizaro answered at 9:20 before a Buckeye man-up goal from senior David Planning, assisted by King. Denver’s Erik Adamson tallied with the man advantage at 3:04. Ohio State scored two goals in the last minute, with a goal awarded to Kelly, assisted by Evans, with 51 seconds left and Evans earning a goal of his own, assisted by King, with 27 seconds remaining. Ohio State had 11 shots in the quarter, with DU attempting nine.
For the game, Ohio State outshot Denver, 42-30. Tom Carey had five saves for the Buckeyes, while Denver goalie Ryan LaPlante made 13 stops.
Ohio State had the advantage in faceoffs (17-15) and Denver was ahead in groundballs (26-25). Withers won 15-of-29 draws, a career high, and had six groundballs to lead the Buckeyes. Ohio State had five caused turnovers, with senior Evan Mulchrone and freshman Erik Evans each forcing two.
?Additional Notes
- The game was the final career contest for the Buckeye seniors — Cameron Stephens, Turner Evans, Reegan Comeault, David Planning, Spencer Matches, Jesse King, Rick Lewis, Christopher May, Ben Karr, Kevin Duffy, Evan Mulchrone and Ryan Borcherding.
- King led the Buckeyes with 42 goals, 35 assists and 77 points. It is the fourth-most points for a Buckeye in a single season and the most for a Buckeye since 1979. His 35 assists tie for the fourth-most in a single year and tie for the most since 1979.
- Mulchrone had his seventh game with two caused turnovers this season and led the squad with 19 this year.
- Planning had a point in each of his last five games and posted a career high 25 goals, 16 assists and 41 points this season. As a Buckeye, he had 94 points, with 60 goals and 34 assists, in 61 games.
- Brown, with a goal and two assists, had his 15th multiple point game of the year. He was second on the team with 37 goals, 18 assists and 55 points, all career highs, and now has 132 points to rank 16th (tied) in program history.
- Chell had his ninth multiple goal game of the year (and fourth in the last five games). He had 22 goals and 26 points in his first year with the Scarlet and Gray.
- The Buckeyes scored 29 goals in their two NCAA Tournament games and end the year averaging 10.0 goals a game. The squad had nine or more in eight of the last nine games.
- T. Evans’ three assists and four points were a season high. He had nine goals, 12 assists and 21 points this year and had 97 points (54g, 43a) in 59 games for the Scarlet and Gray.
- Robby Haus and Planning both marked their 50th career start, while Brown played in his 50th game as a Buckeye.
- Kelly extended his point streak to nine and had his fifth multiple point game in the stretch. He had 12 goals and eight assists for 20 points on the year.
- Ohio State was making the fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and the second in three years.
