Ohio State
Towson
Buckeyes Clipped in Overtime by No. 10 Towson, 10-9 – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
March 15, 2016
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team rallied from a 9-2 deficit, but fell in overtime to No. 10 Towson, 10-9, Tuesday in Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes trailed 6-1 at halftime and 9-2 with 10:42 left in the third quarter but went on a seven-goal run and deadlocked the game with 3:48 left in regulation.
Ohio State (5-3, 0-0 B1G), in a stretch of three games in eight days, travels to face No. 1 Denver at 3 p.m. ET Saturday. The matchup vs. the Pioneers will be televised by Fox College Sports. The Buckeyes will then return home to face a fourth consecutive Top 15 team, hosting No. 2 Notre Dame at 1 p.m. March 26 in Ohio Stadium.
Against Towson (6-1), junior Eric Fannell led the Buckeyes with three goals and five points, while senior Carter Brown and junior JT Blubaugh each had two goals and an assist for three points. Junior Jake Withers won a career-best 16 faceoffs and had a game-high 12 groundballs. Junior Tom Carey had 12 saves in the cage for the Buckeyes.
Watch @MikeTWolf & @GBice44 recap #10 @Towson_MLAX roller-coaster 10-9 OT win over @OhioState_MLAX tonight on BTN. https://t.co/JwkPP7sDRv
— Lacrosse on BTN (@LaxOnBTN) March 16, 2016
Towson scored the first six goals of the game. The Tigers led 4-0 after the first quarter, with goals at 12:43, 11:37, 6:55 and :07, and scored the first two goals of the second quarter (10:33, 3:53). Ohio State got on the board with 39 seconds left in the first half when senior Ryan Hunter scored from right in front, assisted by Fannell. Shots were 6-5 in favor of Towson in the first quarter and 9-7 with the Tigers ahead in the second. Carey had four saves in the Buckeye cage in the second quarter.
Just 32 seconds into the third quarter Blubaugh scored man-up with a long shot, assisted by Brown, to make the score 6-2. Towson answered with three goals in less than three minutes (13:12, 11:39, 10:42) to take a 9-2 lead.
Ohio State then scored seven consecutive goals to tie the game. Fannell scored three in a row, unassisted at 9:44 and 5:45, before Blubaugh set him up at 4:18. The Buckeyes trailed 9-6 heading into the fourth quarter. Ohio State had 12 shots in the third quarter, with Towson attempting nine. Carey made four saves in the period.
Brown came around the corner for back-to-back goals at 13:42 and 9:16 of the fourth to make it a two-goal game. At 7:10 the Buckeyes converted a man-up chance, with Blubaugh scoring off an assist from Fannell, to cut the lead to one. Junior Austin Shanks deadlocked the score at nine with 3:48 left in regulation, scoring on a tough angle shot. Each team had a possession with the score tied, but neither was able to get a shot on cage. Ohio State outshot Towson, 10-5, in the quarter and Carey had three stops.
Ohio State had the first possession of overtime and was able to get one shot, but a turnover, followed by a groundball, led to a 30 second penalty for pushing with possession on the Buckeyes on the play at 1:59. Towson was unable to convert the man-up chance, but with 34 seconds left in the overtime period, Ian Kirby scored on an low to high shot, assisted by Spencer Parks, to give the Tigers the win.
Coach Myers and senior Kacy Kapinos talked after the overtime loss to Towson. https://t.co/PiLc7Q2Efm
— Ohio State Men’s LAX (@OhioState_MLAX) March 16, 2016
Ohio State outshot Towson, 35-31, in the game. Carey made 12 saves for the Buckeyes, his fourth game with double digit saves this season. Towson’s Tyler White had eight stops.
Withers won 16-of-22 faceoffs for the Buckeyes and picked up 12 groundballs, both career highs. He has won 95-of-154 (.617) faceoffs this year and has a team-high 95 groundballs, ranking among the NCAA leaders in groundballs per game.
Ohio State had the edge in groundballs, 33-22. Withers led the Buckeyes with 12, with senior Robby Haus and freshman Matt Borges picking up four each.
Shanks leads the Buckeyes with eight assists and 17 points this season, while Brown and Fannell are tied for first with 11 goals each and tied for second with 16 points. Blubaugh is third with 10 goals and fourth with 14 assists. Fannell’s five points were a career high and it was his second career hat trick.
Buckeye highlights from the 10-9 OT loss to No. 10 Towson. @Inside_Lacrosse @laxfilmroom @STXmlax @LacrosseMag
https://t.co/Yjq76q2sS1— Ohio State Men’s LAX (@OhioState_MLAX) March 16, 2016
