Ohio State men’s lacrosse falls to Notre Dame in snowy matchup, 13-7

Brett Amadon
Wed, 26 Mar 2014 02:46:01 +0000
Lacrosse, Sports, Buckeyes, lacrosse, ohio state

Junior midfielder David Planning (center) is hit after completing a pass during a game against Notre Dame March 25 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. OSU lost, 13-7.
Credit: Shelby Lum / Photo editor

An unseasonal winter storm set the mood for the Ohio State men’s lacrosse team’s tilt with No. 7 Notre Dame at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Coming off its first win in more than three weeks, the Buckeyes (2-6, 1-0) could not keep the momentum going as they fell to the Fighting Irish (4-2, 2-0), 13-7, Tuesday after the field was coated with a layer of snow prior to the start of the game.

OSU coach Nick Myers said the Buckeyes didn’t take advantage of some opportunities throughout the course of the game and they can learn from their mistakes in the future.

“I thought we battled hard,” Myers said. “It’s something that we can take away in terms of lessons learned — we have managed some situations better than we did today.”

OSU got off to a quick start when sophomore attackman Carter Brown buried the ball past Notre Dame freshman goaltender Shane Doss, who made five saves in the game.

But Notre Dame sophomore attackman Matt Kavanagh scored two goals in 21 seconds and added a third four minutes later to give the Irish a 3-1 lead.

OSU senior defenseman Joe Meurer said Kavanagh is a dynamic player and he personally didn’t do a good enough job limiting the attackman’s chances.

“He’s a great player and he makes a lot of plays,” Meurer said. “I was guarding him and I didn’t do my job today. I really don’t have anything else to say about that.”

After two more goals pushed the Notre Dame lead to 5-1, OSU went on a run of its own. Junior midfielder Turner Evans scored for the Buckeyes with 45 seconds left in the quarter and junior attackman Reegan Comeault added another 40 seconds later off a pass from Evans that narrowed Notre Dame’s lead to to 5-3 before halftime.

Coming out of the break, the Buckeyes continued their strong play after junior midfielders Jesse King and David Planning tallied goals to tie the game at 5.

However, late goals by junior attackman Connor Doyle and Kavanagh gave Notre Dame a 7-5 heading into the fourth quarter.

After Notre Dame added another goal less than a minute into the fourth quarter, OSU once again went on a run as Evans and Planning each scored their second goals to cut the lead back to one.

But Notre Dame proved to be too strong as the Fighting Irish ended the game on a five-goal run to close out the victory.

“We let it get away from us, that’s a team that can get on a run, they got on a run with their faceoffs and that’s where we let the game get away from us there in the middle part of the fourth quarter,” Myers said.

Notre Dame won 15 of the 24 faceoffs in the contest, including six out of nine in the fourth quarter.

OSU junior defenseman Evan Mulchrone said he was proud of his team for never giving up, but it’s important for them to come out next weekend and get the win.

“We started the game with a whole lot of energy … you need that when you play a good team like Notre Dame,” Mulchrone said. “The energy was there to start, we had guys fighting until the end, but overall we just have to rebound next weekend.”

The Buckeyes are back in action Saturday as they are set to finish their three-game homestand against the Jacksonville Dolphins at 2:30 p.m.

“We just have to stick to our game plan,” Mulchrone said. “As long as we stick to the scheme and come out and play together we should get a W this weekend, looking forward to the challenge.”