Ohio State
Denver
Buckeyes Fall in Road Game at No. 1 Denver – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
March 19, 2016
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team fell on the road at No. 1-ranked and defending NCAA champion Denver, 15-6, Saturday in Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium in Denver. Ohio State (5-4, 0-0 B1G), in a stretch of four straight games vs. Top 15 teams, returns home to face No. 2 Notre Dame at 1 p.m. Saturday in Ohio Stadium.
Against Denver, the Buckeyes trailed 5-2 at halftime but scored three of the first four goals to start the second half to draw within one (6-5). The Pioneers then scored three in a row before Buckeye junior JT Blubaugh ended the DU run at 13:06 of the fourth quarter for a 9-6 game. The Pioneers scored six goals in the final 8:34 to close out the game and improve to 7-0 this season.
“The men fought and battled for three quarters against an excellent team,” Nick Myers, Ohio State head coach, said. “Credit Denver for their finish and fourth quarter. We have to play 60 minutes. We need to get home, get our rest and have an incredible week of practice leading up to our final nonconference game.”
Ohio State scored the game’s first two goals. Junior Eric Fannell set up classmate Austin Shanks for a goal at 13:51 and then scored a goal of his own at 9:39. Denver scored the next five to take a 5-2 lead into halftime. The Pioneers got on the board at 9:29 of the first quarter and then tied the game at 13:02 of the second. Connor Cannizzaro put Denver in the lead at 10:27 of the second quarter and the Pioneers also scored at 7:01 and 6:24.
The Buckeyes scored two of the first three goals of the second half, including the first two, to make it a one-goal game. Shanks set up seniors Ryan Hunter and Johnny Pearson for back-to-back goals at 13:52 and 10:22, making the score 5-4. Denver’s Jack Bobzien tallied at 6:45 to put the Pioneers ahead by two before Shanks found sophomore Trevor Hodgins for a score at 5:28. Cannizzaro scored at 2:39 of the third to give Denver a two-goal lead (7-5) after 45 minutes.
The Pioneers scored twice in the first 1:07 of the fourth quarter. After Blubaugh’s goal for the Buckeyes at 13:06, the Pioneers finished the game on a six-goal run.
Denver outshot Ohio State, 33-21, in the game. Buckeye junior goalie Tom Carey had six saves, with Denver’s goalies combining for seven stops, including three in the fourth quarter.
The Pioneers had the edge in faceoffs, 16-9, and groundballs, 32-20. Junior Jake Withers, who won eight faceoffs for the Buckeyes, led the squad with six groundballs. Senior defenseman Robby Haus and freshman midfielder Logan Maccani each picked up three groundballs. Withers leads the Buckeyes with a career-best 103 groundballs this season.
Shanks had a team-high three assists and four points in the game and now is first on the squad with 11 assists and 21 points on the year. He has a point in each of the last seven games and a goal in the last six outings. Fannell, who had a goal and an assist, is first on the team with 12 goals and second with 18 points, while Blubaugh is tied for second with 11 goals.
