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Rutgers
Buckeyes Post 12-10 Senior Night Win over Rutgers – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 30, 2016
Highlights from the Buckeyes’ 12-10 Senior Night win over No. 16 Rutgers. #GoBucks #ThankYouSeniors https://t.co/5GkBIv2xEK
— Ohio State Men’s LAX (@OhioState_MLAX) May 1, 2016
COLUMBUS, Ohio – On Senior Night in Ohio Stadium, the Ohio State men’s lacrosse team defeated No. 16-ranked Rutgers, 12-10, to close out the regular season.
The win ends the Buckeyes’ year. The squad (7-8, 2-3 B1G) finished tied for fourth in the Big Ten standings, but did not earn a spot in the Big Ten Tournament, losing the head to head tiebreaker with Penn State.
The nine members of the Buckeyes’ senior class – Carter Brown, Dan Flake, Jarret Hassfeld, Robby Haus, Ryan Hunter, Kacy Kapinos, Tae Kim, Chris Mahoney and Tyler Pfister – were recognized pregame.
After allowing an early goal to Rutgers (10-4, 3-2 B1G), the Buckeyes tied the game and took the lead in the next 3:48 and never trailed again. Ohio State led 5-2 after 15 minutes and 8-4 at halftime. Rutgers drew within three (10-7) on a goal with one second left in the third quarter and made it a two-goal game for the first time since the first quarter early in the fourth. Ohio State answered to regain the three-goal lead and shortly after when Rutgers again made it a two-goal Buckeye lead. The final goal came from Rutgers with 5:50 remaining but the Buckeyes were able to hold off the Scarlet Knights and preserve the win.
Junior Johnny Pearson led the Buckeyes with four goals and five points, while junior JT Blubaugh had five points with a hat trick and two assists. Sophomore Colin Chell notched a hat trick and senior Ryan Hunter also had a multiple point night with a goal and an assist. Junior Jake Withers won 16 faceoffs and had a game-high seven groundballs. Junior goalie Tom Carey made nine saves, including four in the fourth quarter.
Ohio State led 5-2 at the end of the first quarter. After Rutgers opened the scoring at 12:48, the Buckeyes went on a four-goal run to take a 4-1 lead. Hunter tallied at 11:11 to tie the game, followed by a goal from Pearson, assisted by Blubaugh, at 9:40 for a 2-1 Buckeye lead. Blubaugh scored himself, set up by Pearson, at 1:46, with Rutgers answering 27 seconds later to end the OSU run. With time running down in the quarter, Buckeye junior Austin Shanks converted, scoring with just two seconds left to put the Buckeyes back ahead by three. Shots were 13-6 in favor of the Buckeyes in the quarter, with RU’s goalie making four saves.
Ohio State outscored the Scarlet Knights 3-2 in the second quarter for an 8-4 halftime advantage. Chell scored the first goal of the quarter at 12:55 for a four-goal Buckeye lead (6-2). Rutgers then scored back-to-back at 11:56 and 10:08 to make it a two-goal game (6-4). Pearson scored twice in a 1:40 span – at 7:40 unassisted and 6:00 off an assist from Hunter with the timer on – to push the lead to four. Ohio State had 10 shots in the quarter, with Rutgers attempting six.
The teams traded goals twice in the third quarter before a late Scarlet Knight tally made it a three-goal game (10-7) after 45 minutes. Rutgers’ goals came at 14:44 and 2:52, with Ohio State answering on goals from Pearson (assisted by Blubaugh) at 12:255 and Blubaugh at 1:50. The final goal of the quarter came from Rutgers with one second remaining. Ohio State was outshot, 10-6, in the stanza.
Rutgers cut the lead to two three times in the third quarter but could get no closer. At 13:11 Adam Charalambides scored to make it a two-goal game (10-8) for the first time since the first quarter. Chell answered at 10:10, stealing the ball just outside the crease and scoring on a behind the back shot. RU tallied at 8:44, but a Blubaugh goal less than a minute later (7:54) put the Buckeyes back ahead by three. Rutgers again drew within two on Scott Biega’s goal at 5:50, but neither team scored the rest of the way. Rutgers outshot Ohio State, 10-9, in the fourth quarter and Carey had four saves in the Buckeye cage.
The Buckeyes outshot Rutgers, 38-32, in the game. Carey made nine saves, while Rutgers’ Kris Alleyne had seven stops.
Ohio State won 17-of-24 faceoffs, with Withers winning 16-of-23 and Kim starting the game with a faceoff win. Ohio State had the edge in groundballs, 27-26, led by Withers with seven. Haus picked up five groundballs and had a caused turnover.
Each team had one man-up chance but did not convert.
Postgame notes: Shanks, the Buckeyes’ leader with 16 assists and 31 points, extended his point streak to 13 and has a point in all but one collegiate game … Pearson had 15 goals and 18 points in his last six games combined and ends the year with a career-high 20 goals, three assists and 23 points, sharing the team goal lead with Brown; it was his third four-goal game of the season, all in the last six outings … Withers won 184-of-303 (.607) faceoffs this season and had a team-best 110 groundballs, ranking among the nation’s leaders and leading the B1G in groundballs per game; he is just the second Buckeye with more than 100 groundballs since at least 2001 and his 7.33 groundballs per game average this season is the best in that span … Brown ends his career eighth in Buckeye history with 161 career points and sixth with 106 career goals … Blubaugh had his second game with five or more points this season … Chell had 14 goals and 20 points while playing in 14 games and had multiple goals in six outings … the Buckeyes played a team ranked in the Top 20 in eight of their last nine games.
