The Lantern The student voice of The Ohio State University
For every action, there is a reaction.That’s a good way to describe what happened Sunday when the Ohio State lacrosse team fought hard for it’s first win of the season over Mercyhurst, 13-10.’I feel a little bit relieved that we’ve got a win on the scoreboard,’ said coach Paul Caldwell. ‘We did a much better job controlling the ball.’ Continuous back and forth scoring occurred in the third quarter, starting when sophomore Kevin Johnson made a diving goal off an assist from senior tri-captain Tim Johnson. Mercyhurst was quick to answer as Bruce Alexander and Andrew Crane scored within two minutes of each other.One minute later Tim Johnson scored his third of four goals.The closest Mercyhurst came to catching the Bucks came in the third quarter when Brad Dairon and Jeff Roland both scored within one minute of each other, bringing the score to 10-8.The Bucks wouldn’t let up. Freshmen attack Buddy Lange scored three goals, two back-to-back in the fourth quarter of play. Lange was one of four OSU freshmen to score their first collegiate goals in last Sunday’s loss to Denison.’We worked the ball a lot more,’ Lange said. ‘We were passing the ball better and making more productive plays.’Caldwell admitted that beating Mercyhurst wasn’t the same as playing a team the caliber of Denison.’Some of the things, particularly defensively are mental errors,’ Caldwell said. ‘You’ve got to keep turning your head and know where your man is all the time.’ Simplicity on the field was enough to clinch the win, Caldwell’s sixteenth out of 26 games for Ohio State.’Sometimes you’re not the best coaches,’ said Caldwell. ‘I think today we coached a better game, and the kids played a better game.’Mercyhurst is now 0-4 in it’s first season of play. Coach Pete Ginnegar described the Bucks as a team that moves the ball well.’They certainly took advantage of our weaknesses,’ said Ginnegar. ‘We needed a little better shot selection and a little more smarts in some areas.’The Bucks next home game is March 15 when they host Niagara at 1pm.
