Early in their game against Denver, it appeared that I would be writing about Ohio State’s first ever trip to championship weekend. Alas, it was not meant to be, as the Pioneers overcame a 7-1 deficit early in the second quarter and tallied nine unanswered goals en route to a 15-13 win.
Without further delay, here lies the 2015 Ohio State Buckeyes lacrosse season.
This was a team…
That could hang with the best of them, and lose to the worst of them. That’s partially why it made Ohio State so fun to watch, because you didn’t know if they were going to pull a win over Denver or Maryland, or lose to a team like Detroit or Rutgers. Their wins against Johns Hopkins and Duke were impressive. Their losses to Marquette, Notre Dame and the two aforementioned teams above were not so impressive. It’s clear and evident that Nick Myers has done a phenomenal job in establishing Ohio State lacrosse as a program that isn’t a pushover and will look to take the next step in achieving elite status in the next few years.
In the end…
This team’s downfall was something that had haunted them all year. The inability to maintain a lead.
Jesse King’s hat trick goal at the 12:25 mark in the second quarter put the Scarlet and Gray up 7-1. The visions of Bellarmine, Marquette, Penn State and their first game against Maryland reared their ugly heads as the Pioneers rattled off nine unanswered goals. The Buckeyes would cut the lead to 10-9 but that would be as close as they would come to getting the lead back.
The offensive stars for each team…
Came out to play. Jesse King had three goals and six assists and was involved in all but one of the Ohio State goals that gave them a 7-1 lead. His nine points in the game was a career-high, a fitting end to a tremendous career. Wesley Berg had six goals and an assist for Denver, as he had five of those nine unanswered goals.
And more on King…
He graduates as one of the finest players that Columbus has ever seen. His 208 career points are fourth-most all-time and his 77 points this season are fourth-most for a Buckeye and the most since 1979.
This is a player that you can’t replace. King drew double and sometimes triple teams throughout the course of his career, and could seemingly will the ball into the back of the net whenever he wanted. His vision was superb, the type of player that made everyone around him better. He will be sorely missed and his career in lacrosse has a very bright future.
As far as the rest of the graduating class goes…
There’s a lot of talent that Myers and his staff will need to recover from.
Cameron Stephens, Turner Evans, Reegan Comeault, David Planning, Spencer Matches, Rick Lewis, Christopher May, Ben Karr, Kevin Duffy, Evan Mulchrone and Ryan Borcherding are all seniors.
From an offensive standpoint, the loss of Planning hurts. He had a cannon for a shot, and was one of the many secondary scorers that complimented King. He finished third on the team with 25 goals and 16 assists.
Turner Evans contributed here and there, as he was fifth with nine goals and 12 assists, a consummate role player.
May is the biggest loss outside of King. He won 60.3 percent of his draws this year. Fortunately, they still have Jake Withers, but OSU will now need to find someone to compliment him at the faceoff x.
Mulchrone stepped up his game to another level this season, as more often than not he was placed on the opposition’s top gunner. He led the team with 19 caused turnovers.
But check out some of the names OSU has coming back…
Kacy Kapinos, Robby Haus, Ryan Hunter, Carter Brown, Chris Mahoney, Tyler Pfister, Tom Carey, Johnny Pearson, JT Blubaugh, John Kelly, Jake Withers, Trevor Hodgins, Colin Chell, Freddy Freibott, Brendan Barger and Erik Evans.
Kapinos is a formidable short-stick midfielder on the defensive side of the ball. Often the least recognizable player on the field, which is the highest compliment you can give a defender.
Robby Haus will be the anchor of the defense. He will be a senior along with Mahoney, and they will be surrounded by some promising young talent as the coaching staff found out this season in Barger, Evans and Freibott.
Brown, Chell and Hunter will be the big threats offensively next season for Ohio State. Brown finished second on the team in points with 37 goals and 18 assists.
Colin Chell was one of the more outstanding freshmen in the Big Ten, producing 22 goals and four assists. Look for him to be recognized on a national level in years to come.
Having Carey back between the pipes is also big because he came up very big in a lot of games this season. He finished the year with a 9.08 goals against average and a .513 save percentage.
Ohio State…
Was a lot better than what a 12-7 record indicates. Despite their losses player-wise, they will continue to succeed in the future. They reached the NCAA quarterfinals for the second time in three seasons and will look to get to Memorial weekend action next year
