2/28/2004 - Men's Lacrosse
Ohio State Turns Back Mids, 12-9, in Lax Action
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Ohio State midfielder Shaun Lyons produced a career-high four goals and added an assist as the Buckeyes easily handled the Midshipmen, 12-9, in Navy's home opener Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Lyons entered the season with just a combined six goals and two assists in 25 games.
Navy looked to hold the momentum in the first quarter, outscoring the Buckeyes 3-1 before a horn-beating goal by sophomore middie Andrew Bender narrowed the gap to one goal heading into the second period.
Lyons knotted the score at 3-3 when he wrapped around the cage and stuck the ball past Navy keeper Seth DiNola (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) less than a minute into the second stanza. The Mids countered when freshman midfielder Billy Looney (Silver Spring, Md.) snuck the ball into the net to give Navy a 4-3 advantage.
Ohio State, though, scored back-to-back goals to take its first lead at 5-4 on Ben Wolff's unassisted score at 3:37 in the second period.
Sophomore attack Ian Dingman (Deferiet, N.Y.) tied the game when he bullied his way inside and powered the ball past Buckeyes keeper Tony Russo with 3:06 to play in the half.
The Buckeyes went on to score back-to-back goals once again and retake the lead when Lyons drilled his third goal with just 46 ticks left in the half.
Ohio State's momentum continued into the second half, as the Buckeyes tossed in the first-three goals of the third period, taking the Mids by surprise with a 10-5 advantage.
The Mids finally got on the scoreboard at the 5:32 mark in the third when Dingman found an open Ben Bailey (Memphis, Tenn.) who took the shot and scored his first goal of the season.
From that point on, the two teams traded goals. The Midshipmen put together a valiant effort in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Buckeyes 3-1, but it was too little, too late, as the Buckeyes battled to a 12-9 victory.
"I felt like these were self-inflicted wounds," said Navy head coach Richie Meade. "We had a lot of respect for Ohio State coming into the game, especially after its performance against Penn State last weekend. But, for us to give up 12 goals after how we've been playing was disappointing. Defensively, we just didn't execute our plays. They didn't do anything we weren't prepared for. Everything they did, we had practiced this week."
Perhaps the most impressive facet of the Mids' play was their face-off game. Junior specialist Chris Pieczonka (Hamburg, N.Y.) was 13-for-19 in the circle, while freshman Tommy Wallin (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) was 3-for-4 as the Mids outdrew OSU, 16-7. Meanwhile, Pieczonka scooped up 12 of Navy's 45 ground balls on the afternoon.
DiNola produced just three saves in the 24 shots he faced, allowing all 12 OSU goals. Russo, meanwhile, stopped 10 Navy shots among the 35 he faced and he gave up nine goals to the Mids.
Navy (1-1) returns to action next Friday when it travels to Chapel Hill, N.C. to face North Carolina. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Fetzer Field. The last four games of the series have ended in one-goal decisions with three of the four decided in overtime, including last year's four-OT victory by the Mids (9-8) at Rip Miller Field.
Goals By Period 1 2 3 4 OT F
Ohio State (1-1/0-0 GWLL) 2 5 4 1 - 12
Navy (1-1 / 1-0 PL) 3 2 1 3 - 9
Shots: Ohio State (24) 6-8-6-4; Navy (35) 4-3-9-19
Ground Balls: Ohio State (33) 9-13-5-6; Navy (45) 9-12-12-12
Saves: Ohio State (10) 1-0-2-7; Navy (3) 1-2-0-0
Face-Offs: Ohio State 7-for-23, Navy 16-for-23
Clears: Ohio State 18-for-25, Navy 16-for-21
Extra-Man: Ohio State 0-for-1, Navy 0-for-3
Penalties: Ohio State 3 (3:00), Navy 1 (1:00)
Scoring Summary
PD Time Team EMO Scorer/Assist
1 9:53 Navy E Adam Reel (2) from Ian Dingman
1 3:59 OSU E Shaun Lyons (1) unassisted
1 3:00 Navy E Joe Bossi (4) unassisted
1 2:20 Navy E Taylor Harris (1) from Joe Bossi
1 0:01 OSU E Andrew Bender (1) from Anthony Gilardi
2 14:11 Navy E Shaun Lyons (2) unassisted
2 9:24 Navy E Billy Looney (2) unassisted
2 5:45 OSU E Kyle Olson (1) unassisted
2 3:37 OSU E Ben Wolff (2) unassisted
2 3:06 Navy E Ian Dingman (6) unassisted
2 2:01 OSU E Tom Randisi (3) from Anthony Gilardi
2 0:46 OSU E Shaun Lyons (3) from Craig Nolan
3 11:28 OSU E Anthony Gilardi (2) unassisted
3 9:44 OSU E Kyle Olson (2) unassisted
3 6:06 OSU E Andrew Bender (2) from Kyle Olson
3 5:32 Navy E Ben Bailey (1) from Ian Dingman
3 0:48 OSU E Ben Wolff (3) from Shaun Lyons
4 14:00 Navy E Jon Birsner (1) from Ian Dingman
4 5:51 OSU E Shaun Lyons (4) unassisted
4 5:01 Navy E Ben Horn (2) unassisted
4 2:42 Navy E Graham Gill (1) unassisted
() - # goals this year
G-o N-a-v-y
