The #8 Ohio State Buckeyes paid a visit to the #15 Johns Hopkins Blue Jays on Sunday and came away with a close 14-13 win. Jackson Reid capped a five-goal day with the game winner with 49 seconds left in the game.
The Buckeyes went 8-0 before conference play started, but this was their first conference win in three tries, with previous losses to Rutgers and Penn State. Hopkins is 6-5 overall and 2-1 in Big 10 play. It was a big win for the Buckeyes, who are 4-9 all-time against the Blue Jays.
Hopkins led 3-1 after the first and 8-3 at halftime. Senior Alex Concannon led the Blue Jays in the first half with a hat trick and an assist on Luke Schilling’s man-up goal. Joey Epstein scored back-to-back goals just over a minute apart to help lead the offense.
But the Buckeyes wouldn’t be denied, and roared back in the third quarter. JT Bugliosi and Reid scored early goals to cut the deficit to 8-5. Concannon’s fourth, assisted by Forry Smith, was the only bright light early in the quarter as the Buckeyes then went on a five-goal run, started by Tre Leclaire’s 30th goal of the season. Hopkins scored twice more before the period was out but the damage was done – the Buckeyes had crawled back into the game, and though they trailed 11-10, showed no signs of losing any energy.
Jack Keogh put Hopkins up by a pair 3:33 into the fourth quarter but that sparked another run from the Buckeyes. Their three goals suddenly had them out front 13-12. Cole Williams put away a low shot through traffic to tie the game with 2:02 left, but Reid finished off a transition opportunity that started with Buckeye’s goalie Josh Kirson for the game winner.
“Hats off to Coach Pietramala and a great Hopkins team,” said Buckeyes’ coach Nick Myers. “I loved the way our men responded in the second half to being challenged. We got a lot of contributions from a lot of different people and that’s what it takes to win big games on the road.”
Reid finished the game with five goals and one assist, while Leclaire added to his team-leading total of 32 goals with a hat trick and one assist. Johnny Wiseman also recorded a hat trick and one assist. Jack Jasinksi scored twice and assisted once.
Concannon led the way for the Blue Jays with a career-high four goals and two assists. Joey Epstein scored three times and also added a pair of helpers, while Kyle Marr (2G/1A) and Cole Williams (2G) also contributed on the scoresheet.
Kirson got the win in goal for the Buckeyes with 12 saves, while Ryan Darby took the loss, also making 12 saves.
NOTE: It was Senior Day for Hopkins, with seven players making their last appearances at Homewood Field: Concannon, Kyle Marr, Patrick Foley, Jake Fox, Robert Kuhn, Danny Jones and Ryan Coulter.
Photos by Laura Kupsey. More here.
