Ohio State
Duquesne
Buckeyes Earn Hard-Fought Opening Game Victory
2/7/2020 10:17:38 PM | Women's Lacrosse
ADDITIONAL INFO
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – It was a night of firsts for the Ohio State women’s lacrosse team inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Friday.
Head coach Amy Bokker was on the sidelines for the first time leading the Scarlet and Gray and she watched as another newcomer, freshman Ashley Turner, scored a team-high three goals in her collegiate debut to lift the Buckeyes to a hard-fought 11-9 victory over Duquesne for Ohio State’s – yes, you guessed it – first win of the year.
“Our theme is to grow and keep getting better,” Bokker said after the game. “I don’t think we outplayed Duquesne tonight. I do feel as though we outlasted them and that’s a tribute to how hard and competitively we’ve been working at practice.”
The Short Story
Turner scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the second half as the Buckeyes were able to open to a 9-4 lead and didn’t look back after that. Liza Hernandez, who finished with two goals, pushed the lead to 11-6 when she scored off a pass from Turner at the 11:44 mark. Duquesne scored three times in the final 11 minutes but goalie Jill Rizzo made key saves in the final minutes to turn away the Dukes comeback attempt.
Seven different players scored goals for the Ohio State. In addition to Turner’s exploits, Hernandez finished with a team-high four points (2G, 2A) and Maura McGregor also had two goals. Rizzo finished with 12 saves, five of which came in the second half.
How The Goals Were Scored
• Duquesne came out of the gate in the first half and jumped to a 3-0 lead. Rilee Bradshaw, who had four goals on the night, had the third tally during the run on a free position shot.
• Ohio State answered with goals from Nicole Ferrara and Ali Beekhuizen to cut the deficit to 3-2, but the Dukes answered back with another Bradshaw goal at 5:01 to make the score 4-2.
• Ohio State ended the first half with three straight goals to take its first lead of the game. The scores came from Turner, Sophie Baez and Hernandez, the final one with 45 seconds remaining in the half to give the Buckeyes a 5-4 lead.
• Four straight by the Scarlet and Gray to open the second half made the run a seven-goal unanswered rally, giving Ohio State its largest lead of the game at 9-4. The two teams that traded two-goal runs, resulting in an 11-6 Ohio State lead with 10:44 remaining.
• Two of Duquesne’s final three goals over the last 11 minutes were from Bradshaw, but the Dukes couldn’t get any closer.
Quotable
“Knowing my teammates and them knowing me really helped,” said Turner, who is from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. “I knew what they wanted and they knew what looks I wanted. It was amazing how well it worked together. As a team, we had a hard time at the beginning but we were able to come together and pull out strong.”
Just the Stats
Top Scorers: Hernandez (2G, 2A), Turner (3G, 1A), McGregor (2G), Ferrara (1G, 1A)
Shots: Duquesne 34, Ohio State 28
Ground Balls: Ohio State 21, Duquesne 15
Draw Controls: Duquesne 12, Ohio State 9
Clears: Ohio State 14-of-16, Duquesne 13-of-16
Extra Man: Ohio State 2-of-5, Duquesne 2-of-5
Free Position: Ohio State 4-of-9, Duquesne 3-of-7
Saves: Ohio State (Rizzo) 12, Duquesne (Curtis) 10
Fouls: Duquesne 15, Ohio State 9
Turnovers: Ohio State 23, Duquesne 21
Ohio State has a quick turnaround before its next game, which comes on Sunday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center against Robert Morris. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m. and it came be seen live on BTN Plus.
