Women’s Lacrosse: Ohio State gears up for No. 1 Northwestern Saturday

Antonia Campbell
Fri, 12 Apr 2024 15:06:37 +0000
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The Ohio State women’s lacrosse team celebrates after a goal during their 16-6 win over Louisville at OhioS atet Lacrosse Stadium Mar. 28, 2023. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor

With two straight losses under their belt, the Buckeyes look to defy the odds.

The Ohio State women’s lacrosse team (7-6, 1-3 Big Ten) will go up against the No. 1 Northwestern Wildcats (11-2, 3-1 Big Ten) on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Illinois. The game will close out the Buckeyes’ three-away game stint, as the Buckeyes fell to Cincinnati Friday and Louisville Tuesday.

“We play the No. 1 team in the nation next, so that is definitely going to be a hard game,” freshman midfielder Kampbell Stone said. “Our team did not have a good game against Louisville, so I think just focusing on what we couldn’t capitalize on during Louisville is very important for Northwestern.”

While the Wildcats hold the No. 1 spot, the Buckeyes boast a victory over Penn State, a team that handed Northwestern a rare defeat.?

Penn State rallied to secure an overtime 14-13 win against Northwestern on March 22, but then fell short on March 28 after Ohio State tied things up in the fourth quarter and scored with 10 seconds left in the game to down then No. 19 Penn State 9-8.

However, the Buckeyes’ big Penn State win was followed by two consecutive losses to unranked opponents. Cincinnati shut the Buckeyes down and beat them 13-11, while Louisville downed the Buckeyes 22-10, marking their toughest loss of the season thus far.

Head coach Amanda Moore said she recognized that the Buckeyes didn’t follow through on what they had intended for both games.

“In both instances, we were not making stops consistently from a defensive standpoint,” Moore said. “We weren’t really playing to our standards on either end of the ball.”

The Wildcats, fresh off a 17-9 triumph over No. 2 Maryland on Saturday, enter the matchup with momentum as they stay atop of the rankings.

With wins over other highly ranked opponents, such as Syracuse, Notre Dame, Denver, Johns Hopkins and North Carolina, the Wildcats are favored to win. But Moore said the focus for the Buckeyes is on self-improvement.

“The focus is going to be on ourselves, how we can improve from the last time out and how we can play a little bit tougher,” Moore said. “From a defensive standpoint, it will be about digging your heels and bringing a more physical brand of both defense and offense to our game to take ground from our opponent.”?

For Stone, she said the Northwestern matchup will be about staying enthusiastic and the team giving it their all.

“I guess I’m open-minded because they are very good,” Stone said. “It’s hard to look past that because they are the number one team in the nation, but I want to have a good game against them and I think having a positive mindset and just leaving everything out on the field against Northwestern is important.”

Despite their recent struggles on the road, Moore said she is urging the Buckeyes to ignite their intensity for the matchup.

“I think for us, it’s to play our best game, to play tough, both offensively and defensively,” Moore said. “I think it’s OK for us to take a game a little personal and come out with a little fire.”

The game will be streamed on Big Ten Plus with live stats available on ohiostatebuckeyes.com.