It was a glorious afternoon for college lacrosse – especially if you were a Buckeye. It was a mid-season clash between the University of Denver men’s lacrosse and [9/10] Ohio State at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. Following a 15-10 road loss to Yale the prior week, this was a chance for DU redemption against a Top 10 team. It was not to be as DU fell 15-11.

Ten seconds into the first half Ohio State found paydirt. DU’s Noah Manning answered less than a minute later, 1-1. The teams traded a pair of goals (MarekTzagournis/DU) the rest of the period, 2-2. DU’s defense looked stout with two consecutive OSU offensive-time penalties but the Buckeyes applied solid defensive pressure as well. The teams exited the first quarter even-up.

Less than a minute into the second quarter, the Buckeyes scored early, again. Denver countered at 11:40 with a passing shot and goal by Lucas Klokiw. Less than a minute later, OSU ‘s Gannon Mathews scored, 4-3. OSU extended their lead to two, 5-3, when Ben Mayer landed an overhead shot into the Pioneer cage. A minute later, the Buckeyes gained momentum with a rope from distance to double up DU, 6-3. Another Buckeye shot for the left flank evaded goalie Grayson Manning, 7-3. DU goalie Malcolm Kleban was summoned into the game to stop the onslaught. Still, the second quarter scoring skein continued, 5 in a row, when a minute later with OSU’s 8th goal to end the scoring for the period.

Denver got first blood to start the second half with two quick tallies, 8-5, by Cody Makowski and Daniel Clark. A minute later, OSU’s Ben Meyer stopped the run, 9-5. A rifle shot from OSU’s Alex Marinier the top of the circle restored the five-goal margin for the visitors. Denver countered with a quick two-goal strike from Marek Tzagournis, 10-7. Again, OSU responded with a rifle-shot from the left flank, 11-7. A Kleban stop and bobble turnover led to another Buckeye goal. Period three ended 12-7.

DU opened with a pair of goals in the early going of the final quarter when Noah Manning and Mic Kelly solved goalie Caleb Fyock. With ten minutes remaining, OSU’s Shane O’Leary scored, 13-9. A Buckeye goal with seven minutes left all but sealed the game for the Buckeyes, 14-9, as DU could never get the necessary stops to close the gap. The teams traded goals over the final seven minutes, final score 15-11.

Again, the game boiled down to a poor second quarter and the inability of Denver to make timely defensive stops. The game statistics were relatively even. Faceoffs were even and DU won the ground ball battle, 38-30. OSU had four extra shots-on-goal and they made them count.