Men’s lacrosse: Ohio State’s two weekend wins give program best start since 1966

Ray Bruster
Mon, 06 Mar 2017 16:11:03 +0000
Lacrosse, News, Sports, Bellarmine, Buckeyes, colin chell, Eric Fannell, J.T. Blubaugh, Marquette, Matt Smidt, Ohio State men's lacrosse, osu, Tre Leclaire

OSU then-junior attackman Eric Fannell (20) during a game against Michigan on April 16 at Ohio Stadium. Credit: Lantern File Photo

The No. 20 Ohio State men’s lacrosse team defeated Marquette and Bellarmine on Friday and Sunday at the Midwest Classic in Milwaukee to improve to 6-0.

Marquette

The Buckeyes defeated the Marquette Golden Flashes in a pull away victory 12-6. Freshman attackman Tre LeClaire scored three goals and senior attackmen Eric Fannell and Austin Shanks added two goals to propel OSU to the program’s best start in 50 years.

OSU junior goalie Matt Smidt started in net for the Buckeyes, making eight saves on 14 shots. Senior midfielder J.T. Blubaugh also had two goals.

The scoring began late in the first quarter when Fannell scored with 1:16 remaining. OSU redshirt senior Lukas Buckley assisted LeClaire with his goal with only seconds remaining the in the quarter, tying the game at two.

The Golden Eagles scored twice at the start of the second quarter, however, moments later, OSU junior defender Freddy Freibott scored, which brought the Buckeyes closer to tying the game.

Marquette pushed the lead to 5-3 with 3:19 remaining in the half, but that would be the last of the Golden Eagles’ scoring until the fourth quarter.

Shanks and LeClaire added goals before the half to tie it at five. In the second half, it was all Buckeyes.

Shanks, LeClaire and Blubaugh each scored in the third quarter, and OSU added four more in the fourth before Marquette’s senior midfielder Andy Demichiei scored with 2:11 remaining.

At 14:22 left in the game, OSU freshman midfielder Ryan Terefenko scored his first goal of the game. Shortly after, Blubaugh scored his second goal of the game. OSU senior attackman Fannell scored with 12:36 remaining. As the quarter came to a close OSU sophomore attackman Jack Jasinski added his name to the scorer’s sheet with a goal.

Fannell assisted two early scores in the fourth quarter.

Bellarmine

The Buckeyes defeated the Bellarmine Knights 14-11 behind a dominant, eight-goal second quarter. Junior attackman Colin Chell was OSU’s leading scorer with a hat trick. The Buckeye offense exploded with two scores apiece from Buckley, Fannell and LeClaire.

After finding themselves down 2-0 in the first, Terefenko tied the game at two with just more than two minutes remaining in the quarter.

In the next period, the Buckeyes began to click offensively and outscored the Knights 8-2. Chell scored his first goal of the game with 13:47, then Buckley scored 11 seconds later to take a two-goal lead. Fannell and senior midfielder Jake Withers assisted on the goals. Following a Knights goal by senior attackman Tucker Ciessau, the Buckeyes’ offense continued to overwhelm the Knights with six more goals in the quarter — two from Chell and two from LeClaire.

The Buckeyes led 10-4 at halftime.

The Buckeyes offense prowess slowed down in the third, which allowed the Knight to hang around.

The Knights scored with 1:15 remaining in the period, cutting the OSU lead to 12-8. However, Fannell converted on a scoring opportunity with four seconds left in the quarter to maintain a five-goal lead.

The Buckeyes were only able to score once in the final quarter, but held off a comeback from the Knights. Ciessau scored his fourth and final goal of the game with 14 seconds left, bringing the final to 14-11.

Next Up

Ohio State returns home to face Cleveland State on Saturday at 1 p.m.