3/12/2021 10:33:55 AM | Men's Lacrosse
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Another chapter in the Ohio State-Michigan men’s lacrosse rivalry will be written on Sunday afternoon inside historic Ohio Stadium as the 15th-ranked Buckeyes and Wolverines meet for a key Big Ten game at 4 p.m. in front of a national TV audience on ESPNU.
The Basics
No. 15 Ohio State vs. Michigan // Sunday, March 14 // 4 p.m. // Ohio Stadium
Watch: ESPNU // Live Stats // Twitter Updates
Ohio State/Michigan: A Series History
- Since Michigan’s arrival as a Division I program in 2012, the Buckeyes own a 7-1 record against the Maze and Blue.
- Four Buckeye senior classes went undefeated against Michigan in their careers.
- The last time the two teams met in Columbus, Tre Leclaire scored three goals and the Buckeyes went on a 4-1 run in the third quarter to come away with an 8-5 victory.
- In six Ohio State wins from 2012 through 2017, Ohio State never scored less than 10 goals and won by six or more goals three times.
Unbeaten at ‘The Shoe vs. UM
- Ohio State brings a perfect 3-0 all-time record against Michigan at Ohio Stadium into Sunday’s contest.
- The Buckeyes won 15-6 in 2014, 10-7 in 2016 and 8-5 in 2018.
- The games in 2014 and 2016 were part of the “Showdown in the ‘Shoe” prior to the spring football game.
Career vs. the Wolverines
- Tre Leclaire is Ohio State’s active leading career scorers against the Maze and Blue. In two games (2017-18), he’s produced 11 points on six goals and five assists.
- Jackson Reid has played twice against Michigan with six goals and two assists in those contests.
- In Jack Myers’ only outing against Michigan, he had two goals and two assists in 2019.
- Two of the best games of Justin Inacio’s career have come vs. Michigan. In 2018 as a freshmen, he went 10 of 14 in the dot and in 2019 he was 23 of 25 with 19 ground balls. The 23 faceoff wins was a record at the time that he later broke in 2020 vs. Cornell.
- In two career games, Inacio has won nearly 85 percent of the faceoffs that he’s taken against UM: 33 of 39 with 22 ground balls.
Myers vs. Myers
- Jack Myers will see a familiar face wearing the opponents’ colors when he’s on the field Sunday.
- Myers’ cousin, Avery, is a graduate student on Michigan’s team and was UM’s third-leading scorer last year.
- Both Jack and Avery attended Gonzaga in Washington, D.C.
Briefly on the Buckeyes
- Ohio State is 1-2 on the season and coming off a narrow 15-13 loss at Penn State last Saturday.
- In that game, Ohio State battled back from two separate four-goal deficits (one in each half) but couldn’t fully complete the comebacks.
- The Buckeyes’ top two goal scorers are Griffin Hughes and Tre Leclaire, who have each found the back of the net 10 times in the first three games.
- Jack Myers, who scored three times vs. the Nittany Lions, has eight goals and a team-high three assists.
- Jackson Reid is tied with Myers for the team lead with three assists. He’s also scored two goals.
- Ohio State has the conference’s third highest-scoring offense at 13.00 goals per game. Only Rutgers (18.33) and Maryland (17.00) are higher.
Win No. 500
- Ohio State is closing in on a significant program milestone and could reach it on Sunday afternoon.
- The Buckeyes need just one more win for No. 500 in program history.
- Ohio State would be the 23rd Division I program that reach the 500-win mark.
The X Factor
- Sunday’s game will feature two of the Big Ten’s best faceoff specialists: Ohio State’s Justin Inacio and Michigan’s Nick Rowlett.
- Rowlett leads the conference, winning .586 of the draws that he’s taken (51 of 87). Inacio is second in the league at .538 (35 of 65), despite missing one game.
Closing In on a Record
- Tre Leclaire is just three goals shy of etching his name at the top of the Ohio State record book for career goals scored. When he breaks the record, he’ll pass fellow British Columbia native Logan Schuss, who scored 147 from 2010-13.
- Leclaire’s 145 career goals is currently the seventh most of any active player in the country.
- He’s scored at least one goal in 28 straight games, dating back to March 25, 2018. In that span, Leclaire’s scored 83 times.
- This season, he’s been remarkably consistent: he has at least three goals in every game so far.
Bright Lights, Big Stage
- Sunday’s game will be one of four over the next seven weeks that are on national TV for the Buckeyes.
- Chris Cotter and Paul Carcaterra will have the call Sunday on ESPNU.
- In three weeks, the Buckeyes’ game at Rutgers will appear on BTN (April 3, 5 p.m.). They also have a BTN game slated at Maryland on April 18 (5 p.m.).
- Ohio State’s regular season finale vs. Penn State on April 24 is slated to appear on ESPNU (4 p.m.).
Big Ten-only in 2021
- Ohio State’s 10-game schedule will feature five home contests and five road games versus each conference opponent.
- The second half of the schedule was announced on March 10. It will begin on March 27 when a trip up north to face Michigan, followed by another road trip to New Jersey to take on Rutgers (April 3).
- Ohio State’s two home games during the back half of the schedule are vs. Johns Hopkins (April 10) and Penn State (April 24).
- The 2021 Big Ten Tournament will include all six conference teams, with the top two teams in the standings at the end of the regular season receiving an opening-round bye. The first-round games will be hosted at the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds on Saturday, May 1. The semifinals (May 6) and final (May 8) will be hosted at Penn State.
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