No. 18 Buckeyes Handle Fairfield
from staff reports
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Led by four-point games from Jeff Ryan, James
Green and Mario Ventiquattro and 10 saves from Brandon Freeman, the
Ohio State men's lacrosse team beat Fairfield, 11-6, Saturday
afternoon inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. The Buckeyes
improve to 3-1 on the year, with Fairfield falling to 1-1.
Ryan and Green each had a hat trick and an assist, with
Ventiquattro adding two goals and two assists. Joel Dalgarno had
three points with a goal and two assists. Freshman Brock Sorensen
had two points, including his first career goal. The Buckeye
defense limited Fairfield to just two goals in the second half,
shutting the Stags out for 27:21.
Ohio State led 4-2 at the end of the first quarter. The Buckeyes
opened the scoring just 14 seconds into the game when Ryan set up
Dalgarno. Fairfield tied the game at 12:36 Chris Ajemian's
unassisted score. The Buckeyes outscored the Stags 3-1 to close out
the quarter. With Ohio State man-up, James Green put the Buckeyes
back on top with a rising shot, assisted by Dalgarno, at 11:06.
Ryan scored unassisted at 8:16 following a forced turnover by
Ventiquattro on a Stags clearing attempt.
Gary Raniolo scored for Fairfield at 4:23 to cut the Buckeye lead
to one (3-2). After a Buckeye faceoff win, Sorensen set up Brian
Lalley and his shot went high to put the Buckeyes ahead, 4-2. The
Stags outshot the Buckeyes in the quarter, 9-7, and won 5-of-7
faceoffs.
The game remained close in the second, with the Buckeyes taking a
7-4 lead into halftime. Fairfield's Logan Rausse scored man-up at
12:26 to cut the Buckeye lead to one (4-3). Ohio State responded
with a three-goal run to go ahead, 6-3. Mario Ventiquattro tallied
back-to-back goals at 10:01 and 8:08.
He scored off a pass from Bryce Woodson on a fast break at 10:01
and tallied on an assist from Green at 8:08. Ventiquattro then set
up Green for an EMO goal at 2:23. Brent Adams ended the Buckeye run
with a goal with just 13 seconds left before halftime. Ohio State
outshot Fairfield in the quarter, 12-4, and won all six faceoffs in
the stanza.
Ohio State outscored Fairfield, 2-1, in both the third and fourth
quarters. The teams traded goals early in the third. Dalgarno set
up Ryan just 50 seconds in and Rausse followed with his second
man-up score at 13:38. The Buckeyes' final goal of the third
quarter was an unassisted tally by Green at 12:43. Each team had
seven shots in the stanza.
In the fourth, Ventiquattro found Ryan for a goal at 11:29 and
Sorensen scored off a rush at 9:06. Ajemian scored for Fairfield
with 1:17 remaining, ending the Stags' scoreless streak. Fairfield
had eight shots in the stanza, with Freeman making three saves.
Ohio State had six shots.
In the game, Freeman played all 60 minutes and had 10 saves,
allowing six goals. Fairfield's Charlie Cipriano had seven saves
and allowed 11 goals in 60 minutes. Ohio State outshot Fairfield,
32-28, in the game.
The Buckeyes converted 2-of-3 man-up chances and Fairfield was
2-for-5.
Faceoffs were close, with Ohio State winning 11-of-21. Freshman
Stephen Tepsick won 9-of-16 for the Buckeyes.
