No. 22 Men’s Lacrosse Faces VMI in Home Opener – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/28/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Feb. 28, 2002
The Game
The No. 22 Ohio State men’s lacrosse team will face VMI in its home opener. The Buckeyes and Keydets will face off at 1 p.m. at the North Turf Field. Note the location has been changed from Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. There will be no admission charge because of the change of venue and expected weather conditions.
The Rankings
The Buckeyes were ranked No. 22 in the 2002 preseason coaches poll released by Face-Off Yearbook.
Honored
Curtis Smith (Jr., Victoria, British Columbia/Oak Bay) was named the Great Western Lacrosse League Player of the Week following his outstanding play in the Buckeyes’ first two games of the season. He scored four goals in each game and had a total of four assists.
Preseason Accolades
Anthony Kelly (Jr., North Olmsted, Ohio/St. Ignatius) was named to 360Lacrosse.com’s Division I Pre-Season All-American second team as a faceoff specialist.
A Look At The Keydets
VMI enters the game 0-1 after falling to Canisius in its season opener, 13-7. Ben Midura and Brian Niven led the Keydets with three goals each in the loss, while Doug Goodall tallied the other. Brian Ward made 12 saves in the game. The squad expects to be led by Leo McInerney, who had 15 goals and 14 assists last season and is VMI’s leading returning scorer. Doug Bartlett is in his 16th season at the helm for VMI.
The Series
Ohio State leads the series with VMI, 9-1. Last year, the Buckeyes recorded a 13-7 victory over the Keydets.
The 2001 Meeting
Ohio State posted a 15-7 win over VMI in Lexington, Va., March 24, 2001. OSU led by one at the half and then flexed its muscles in the second half, at one point scoring nine unanswered goals, to blow a close game wide open. The Buckeyes, led by Curtis Smith and Sandy Boyce, scored the first three goals of the game, but VMI then scored the next four to take an early lead. OSU then scored two goals with less than 30 seconds left in the first period to take a 5-4 lead. Smith had three goals in the game and Boyce had two. In the second quarter both teams traded two goals and OSU took a 7-6 lead into halftime. The Buckeyes scored four goals in the third and goalie Tony Russo closed the gates as VMI went scoreless in the period. At the end of the third OSU led, 11-6. In the final period, OSU netted four more goals and gave up only one. On A Roll
Curtis Smith, a second-team All-GWLL selection last season, has been the Buckeyes’ leading goal scorer in each of the squad’s first two games. He tallied four times in each contest. In addition, he had an assist against UNC and three against Georgetown. He leads the Buckeyes with 12 points, on a team-best eight goals and four assists.
Helpers
Curtis Smith and Mike Norton (Jr., Timonium, Md./Calvert Hall) are tied for the team lead with four assists each.
Preseason Honors – Part II
Buckeyes Anthony Kelly and Greg Bice were named preseason honorable mention All-Americans by Face-Off Yearbook. Kelly was named to the team as a faceoff specialist. Last season, he led the Buckeyes in faceoffs, going 134-92. He played in all 14 games, scoring five goals and recording 70 groundballs. Defenseman Bice saw action in all 14 games, posting two assists and 31 groundballs.
EMO-EMD
The Buckeyes have been efficient on extra-man offense this season, scoring on 6-of-9 opportunities. Against North Carolina, the squad was a perfect four-for-four. On extra-man defense, the squad has stopped 10-of-12 opponent chances.
Watch the Buckeyes in the Second
The second quarter has been the Buckeyes’ best so far this season. The squad has scored eight goals in the stanza. Its second-best quarter is the fourth, with five goals scored.
Efficient
This season, the Buckeyes have taken 33 fewer shots than their opponents (67-100), however, they have scored just three less goals. The Buckeyes have scored on almost 30 (29.9) percent of their shots this season. Their opponents have scored on 20.9 percent of their attempts.
Individual Efficiency
Shaun Lyons (So., Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) is first for the Buckeyes with a shooting percentage of 100 percent, as he scored a goal on his one shot this season. Curtis Smith ranks second, as he has tallied on 53.3 percent of his shots (8 goals/15 shots). Anthony Gilardi (So., Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) (4/8) and Pat Donohue (So., Huntington, N.Y.) (1/2) both have shooting percentages of 50 percent.
Contributors
This season, 12 Buckeyes have recorded at least one point. Curtis Smith ranks first with 12 points, followed by Anthony Gilardi (5), Mike Norton (5), Pat Myers (4), Tom Randisi (3) and Mark Engel (2). Pat Donohue and Shaun Lyons each have one goal, while Anthony Kelly, Mark Marion, Nick Miceli and Bryan Mulford all have one assist.
A Standout
Ohio State goalie Tony Russo (So., Fallston, Md./Calvert Hall), in his second season as the starter for the Buckeyes, has opened the 2002 season well. Russo posted 20 saves against the Tar Heels and had 15 in the loss to Georgetown. Russo has a goals-against average of 10.6 and a saves percentage of .603.
On The Board
Freshman Tom Randisi (Fr., Towson, Md./Calvert Hall) is third on the team with three goals this season. He had two against North Carolina in his first collegiate game.
The Captains
The captains this season, as voted by the squad, are Pete Dillon, John DiCamillo, Mark Marion and Kevin Stephan. Dillon and Stephan are in their second seasons as captains.
Last Week at Georgetown
The No. 22-ranked Ohio State men’s lacrosse team lost a close match to No. 7 Georgetown, 10-8, Saturday, Feb. 23 at Harbin Field in Washington, D.C. The Buckeyes were led by junior Curtis Smith, who had a hand in 7-of-8 Buckeye goals with four goals and three assists. The Buckeyes opened the scoring in the game, as Anthony Gilardi tallied, assisted by Smith, at 9:44. The Hoyas then scored back-to-back goals to go up, 2-1. Each team scored once more in the quarter, leaving Georgetown with a 3-2 lead. In the second quarter, Ohio State outscored the Hoyas, 3-1, to take a 5-2 lead. Smith scored at 13:31, assisted by Mike Norton, to tie the game. The Hoyas responded with a goal by Walid Hajj to take the lead before freshman Tom Randisi tied the game at four, assisted by Smith. Gilardi game the Buckeyes their second lead of the game scoring with GU in a two-man down situation. The Buckeyes ended the half up, 5-4. Georgetown scored the first goal of the third quarter, but Ohio State scored back-to-back goals to go up, 7-5. Shaun Lyons scored at 9:55, assisted by Smith, with Smith scoring the second goal, assisted by Gilardi. The quarter ended tied, 7-7, as the Hoyas scored twice, including a goal with just 14 seconds remaining. The Hoyas scored three consecutive goals in the fourth quarter to go up, 10-7. Upper Arlington native Steve Dusseau scored 35 seconds into the quarter, followed by goals by Kyle Sweeney and Mike Hammer. Smith ended the scoring with 35 seconds remaining, assisted by Norton. Ohio State goalie Tony Russo made 14 saves in the game, while GU’s Scott Schroeder also recording 14. The Buckeyes were outshot, 47-31.
Something New for OSU
This season, the Buckeyes will play host to two night games. Ohio State will face off against Denver at 7 p.m. April 19 and Butler at 7 p.m. April 27.
Up Next
The Buckeyes travel to Baltimore, Md., to take on the Quinnipiac Braves. The squads will face off at 4 p.m. on the campus of Loyola College Saturday, March 9.
