Ohio State
4-3
Duquesne
2-4
Strong Second Half Leads Buckeyes to 18-8 Win at Duquesne
3/10/2022 4:13:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women's lacrosse team outscored Duquesne, 13-3, in the second half en route to an 18-8 road win Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh. The teams were tied at two after the first quarter and deadlocked at five at halftime. Ohio State scored the first two goals, and five of the first six, in the third quarter to push ahead and led 10-7 heading into the final quarter. The Buckeyes (4-3) scored eight straight goals in the fourth and a late Duquesne (2-4) goal led to the 18-8 final.
Senior Chloë Johnson had a career-high 13 draw controls, tying for the most by a Buckeye since at least 2015. Her previous best was 12, set a season ago. Johnson now has a team-best 59 draw controls this season and 144 in her career, standing in third place in program history.
Five Buckeyes had multiple goals on the day to pace the offense vs. Duquesne. Jamie Lasda led the way with a career-best five, with four on free position shots, and Sophie Baez scored four times, her highest single-game total in more than two years. Jamie Level had a hat trick, her second as a Buckeye, and added an assist for a career-high four-point day, and also had five draw controls. Nicole Ferrara notched three points with two goals and a helper and Maura McGregor scored twice, while Janie Cowley had two points with a goal and an assist and also had three ground balls and three caused turnovers. Lindsay Epstein had a goal, three ground balls, three draw controls and two caused turnovers. Regan Alexander made nine saves for the Buckeyes in the win, with five in the second quarter.
Up Next
The game vs. Duquesne was the first of three for the Buckeyes in the span of a week. The squad is slated to host Mount St. Mary's at noon Saturday and Marist at 3 p.m. Tuesday in Ohio Stadium.
How it Happened
- The teams traded goals twice in the first quarter. Lindsay Epstein scored for Ohio State just 40 seconds into the game off an assist from Ali Beekhuizen. The Dukes tied it at 11:40, but a minute later Sophie Baez put Ohio State ahead again. Duquesne scored with 3:18 left for a 2-2 game after 15 minutes. Dukes' goalie Mady Piersielak had eight saves in the opening quarter.
- The back and forth game continued in the second quarter, with Ohio State going ahead by a goal three times and Duquesne responding each time. Jamie Lasda scored the Buckeyes' first two goals, with Maura McGregor tallying off an assist from Jamie Level. The Dukes tied the game with just 12 seconds left in the quarter.
- Ohio State took control in the third, outscoring Duquesne, 5-2. Nicole Ferrara set up Baez at 12:33 and Lasda followed with a free position goal at 11:50 for the Buckeyes' first two-goal lead of the day. Duquesne scored just over a minute later (10:44) for a one-goal game, but that was the last time the Dukes would be within one. Janie Cowley found Ferrara for a goal 15 seconds after the Duquesne score for an 8-6 game. Lasda and Ferrara pushed the edge to four (10-6) with goals at 8:34 and 8:09. Duquesne stopped the Buckeye run at 4:19 for a 10-7 game entering the fourth quarter.
- It was all Buckeyes in the final stanza, with Ohio State scoring eight times in the quarter, including seven goals in the first 5:57. Level had a hat trick in the quarter, Baez scored twice and Lasda, McGregor and Cowley all tallied. The Buckeyes' final goal came at 6:09, with the Dukes scoring with 21 seconds left for the 18-8 final.
- The Buckeyes outshot the Dukes, 43-20, in the game, including 23-7 in the second half. Riley Alexander had nine saves for the Buckeyes and two Duke goalies combined for 18 saves.
- Ohio State had the advantage in draw controls, 23-6, with Johnson recording 13, Level five and Epstein three.
- The Buckeyes had the edge in ground balls, 25-19. Ohio State had 12 caused turnovers, the Dukes 14. Alexander and Caly O'Brien were first for the Buckeyes with four ground balls each and Cowley had three caused turnovers, with Level and Epstein each causing two.
Noting the Buckeyes
- Lasda leads the Buckeyes with 16 goals and 22 assists and is one of three Buckeyes with six assists, joined by Ferrara and Clare Johnston.
- Lasda extended her point streak to eight games, with 17 goals and 23 points in the stretch. Her five goals were a career best after three hat tricks and she matched the five points she recorded earlier this year vs. Marquette.
- Level had her second hat trick and first four-point game in the Scarlet and Gray. The five draw controls were her career best at Ohio State.
- Ferrara, who is second on the team with 13 goals and 19 points, pushed her point streak to 12, with 29 goals, nine assists and 38 points in the 12 games combined.
- Johnson has seven or more draw controls in each game this season. Her 59 draw controls rank sixth for a single season in Ohio State history, 20 back of the all-time leaders (79; Molly Wood/2016, Katie Chase/2015).
- Epstein's goal was the 50th of her Buckeye career. The three ground balls matched her career high.
- Baez had her first game with four goals since Feb. 12, 2020 and her fifth game with four or more as a Buckeye.
- Cowley had her first assist since 2020 and her fifth two-point day.
- Ohio State is 4-0 all-time vs. Duquesne.
