Ohio State men’s lacrosse looks to lock up a top-four finish in the Eastern College Athletic Conference and a berth in the conference playoffs this weekend against Air Force.
OSU (8-3, 3-2) is currently tied for third in the ECAC with Fairfield.
About two weeks ago, the OSU men’s lacrosse team was reeling. The Buckeyes were coming off a 9-4 loss to Loyola (Md.) to cap off a month that saw them lose three of six games and drop to 1-2 in ECAC play. With dreams of making it to the postseason slowly slipping into fantasy, OSU needed to turn things around.
But two games later, the Buckeyes are coming off back-to-back conference wins against Hobart and Michigan as they head to Colorado to seal a top-four finish and a playoff spot.
Senior attacker Nick Liddil said it was about getting back to basics for OSU.
“We just had to focus on us and do the things that we know how to do and play within ourselves,” Liddil said. “That’s what got us out of our rough patch.”
A big issue for the Buckeyes during March was an inconsistent offense. Only scoring four times each during losses against Notre Dame and Loyola, OSU was struggling.
In recent weeks, though, Logan Schuss has helped turn the team around. The senior attacker’s five goals led the Buckeyes to a 17-8 victory against Michigan Saturday.
OSU coach Nick Myers said Schuss getting back in the swing of things was a contributing factor in OSU’s turnaround. “Offensively, we hit a bit of a wall I think,” Myers said. “After that Loyola game, we hit the rest button a little bit and got back to basics, focused on fundamentals, got a little faster. We’re sharing the ball and it’s been great to see Logan get back in a rhythm.”
Senior midfielder Dominique Alexander said he knows, though, the trip to the playoffs can be hard.
“The juniors and seniors, we’ve been up there before, and we know this is no cakewalk,” Alexander said. “Our coaches explained to us today that there are still two spots left in our conference tournament and about five teams that are competing for that.”
The Buckeyes are scheduled to take on Air Force in United States Air Force Academy, Colo., Saturday at 2 p.m.