The Michigan’s men’s lacrosse team (1-5 Big Ten) failed to pull off a fourth-quarter comeback, falling 14-6 against No. 17 Ohio State (3-3 Big Ten) on Saturday.
The first quarter was evenly matched, with both teams getting offensive opportunities while their goaltender stayed strong in the net. The game looked to be a low-scoring affair after a 1-1 first quarter.
But in the second quarter, the Buckeyes launched a 7-0 scoring run. They maintained possession over the Wolverines for the majority of the second quarter, resulting in minimal opportunities for Michigan to jumpstart its offense. By the end of the first half, Ohio State tallied 27 shots compared to the Wolverines’ 13.
“Lacrosse is a 60-minute game,” Wolverines’ coach Kevin Conry said. “It’s not going to be won by a specific quarter. So, obviously, the second quarter we kind of sat back and then made a little bit of a run, but you gotta play for 60 minutes, especially in the big game (versus Ohio State).”
Going into halftime, Michigan trailed 8-1 and knew it needed to alter its game plan in the second half to make a comeback. Junior goaltender John Kiracofe came up with crucial saves in the third quarter to give Michigan the chance to do so.
Momentum appeared to be shifting when the Wolverines went on a 4-2 scoring run to make the score 10-6 heading into the fourth quarter. But it would not last long, as the Buckeyes erupted for a 4-0 scoring run to end the game.
Key contributors to this game include junior attackman Bryce Clay, who netted a goal and an assist while scooping four ground balls on the day, and Kiracofe, who made 12 saves.
Michigan hopes to learn from this game. Absent the poor second quarter, it was a 7-6 game. Consistency will need to be a factor going forward if they hope to be successful in their next game against Johns Hopkins.
“We are still learning and growing,” Conry said. “It is an unfortunate outcome, we can dissect the film, get back and turn it around and see if we can get on the positive train next week.”