COLUMBUS, Ohio – In the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday afternoon in State College, Pa., the No. 23 Ohio State women’s lacrosse team lost to No. 16 Rutgers, 19-13. The No. 4 seed Scarlet Knights (6-7) advance to face No. 1 seed Northwestern in the semifinals Friday, with Ohio State (4-9) eliminated from the tournament.
The Short Story
The first half was back and forth, with neither team able to extend the lead beyond two goals. Ohio State scored first and led 2-1 at 26:29. Rutgers scored four of the next five for a 5-3 advantage at 12:46. The Buckeyes answered with back-to-back goals for a 5-all game at 8:37 but Rutgers went on a run of its own to lead 7-5 at 7:32. The teams traded goals for an 8-6 game with 3:28 left. Ohio State notched the last two goals of the first half, at 2:44 and :41, for an 8-all deadlock at halftime.
The teams traded goals to start the second half before back-to-back RU scores put the Scarlet Knights ahead 11-9 with 22:37 left. Ohio State drew within one (11-10) at 21:48 but a three-goal Rutgers run pushed the lead to four for the first time at 17:56. Ohio State tallied three of the next four to make it a two-goal game (15-13) at 9:55, but Rutgers held the Buckeyes scoreless the rest of the way, adding four goals before the final horn.
Buckeyes Liza Hernandez, Nicole Ferrara and Lindsay Epstein all had five points in the game vs. the Scarlet Knights. Epstein notched a career-high four goals, while Hernandez also scored four times and Ferrara had a hat trick and two assists. The Buckeyes won 15 draw controls, led by Chloe Johnson with seven, and Ohio State had nine caused turnovers, paced by Hernandez and Epstein with two each.
Epstein was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the tournament. In addition to her four goals, five points and two caused turnovers, she had four draw controls and two ground balls.
Rutgers 19, Ohio State 13
Stats Synopsis
Buckeye This and That