Ohio State returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022 when they host Notre Dame this afternoon.
Fresh off their first-ever Big Ten Tournament Championship, Ohio State’s men’s lacrosse team hosts Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
In their third appearance in the conference tournament title game, Ohio State defeated Maryland 14-10 in Ann Arbor last Sunday. The Buckeyes were able to extract some revenge on the Terrapins after Maryland handed Ohio State just their second loss of the season in April, beating the Buckeyes 13-8 in Columbus.
Ohio State came out of the gates hot in Sunday’s Big Ten Final, jumping out to a 6-1 lead after the first period. Gannon Matthew’s opened up the scoring, while Garrett Haas added two goals in less than a minute to extend the lead to 4-0.
Haas would register a hat trick with a goal in the fourth period. Alex Marinier, Liam White, Jack McKenna, and Turner Griffin each had two goals in the victory. Marinier now has 46 goals on the season.
Ohio State Athletics
Goalie Caleb Fyock was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after tying a career-high with 19 saves. The performance against Maryland came after Fyock saved 14 shots in Thursday’s semifinal victory over Rutgers.
Fyock’s .620 save percentage is the best in the country, while his 7.72 goals against average ranks second. Sunday’s win for Fyock was especially sweet since the sophomore is from the state of Maryland.
With the Big Ten Tournament triumph, Ohio State now is ranked second in the country, which ties a program high. After starting the season unranked, the Buckeyes have now been ranked 11 straight weeks, sitting inside the top-10 over the last nine. By beating the Terrapins, Ohio State has now defeated all of last year’s Final Four teams this season. Earlier this year the Buckeyes beat Denver, Notre Dame, and Virginia.
In their first matchup with the Fighting Irish this season, Ohio State earned a thrilling 10-9 win in South Bend when Shane O’Leary scored with seven seconds left in the game. With the win, the Buckeyes closed the gap in the all-time series to 37-25.
Despite Notre Dams holding the edge in the series, Ohio State is 4-2 against the Fighting Irish since 2019. This marks the first time the programs have met in the NCAA Tournament. If the Buckeyes win they can guarantee they’ll know off the two-time defending champions.
Notre Dame enters the NCAA Tournament with an 8-4 record. In their last game, the Fighting Irish fell 14-12 to Syracuse in the ACC Tournament semifinal, their second loss of the season to the Orange. Prior to the second setback against Syracuse, Notre Dame had won three straight games.
After falling behind the Orange 3-0, the Fighting Irish was trying to play catch up the rest of the game. Playing from behind took its toll on Notre Dame, as Syracuse created a bit of distance in the second half, stretching their lead to four goals at one point. Devon McLane, Rick Angrick, and Chris Kavanaugh each scored two goals in the loss.
Leading the Fighting Irish in scoring this year is Kavanaugh, who has 33 goals and 56 points. Jake Taylor is second on the team in finding the back of the net with 26 goals. Rounding out the double-digit goal scorers this season for Notre Dame are McLane, Angrick, Jalen Seymour, and Jeffrey Ricciardelli.
The key for Notre Dame this year has been keeping their opponents off the scoreboard, as the Fighting Irish have won all eight games where they have allowed nine goals or less in games. Notre Dame has lost all four games where they have allowed at least 10 goals, including the Ohio State game where the Buckeyes scored 10 goals.
Thomas Ricciardelli has played all but 45 minutes at goalie this year for the Fighting Irish, posting a 8.99 goals against average and a .567 save percentage.
The winner of today’s game will move on to the quarterfinals to take on Penn State, who beat Colgate 13-11 in the first round, next Sunday in Annapolis, Maryland.
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2