No. 20 Ohio State Squeaks By UMass Men’s Lacrosse

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Massachusetts	3	1	2	1	7
Ohio State	3	0	3	2	8

Massachusetts

Ohio State

GAME INFORMATION
No. 20 Ohio State 8, Massachusetts 7
Records: Massachusetts (0-2) • Ohio State (3-0)
Location: Ohio Stadium; Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 1,631

HIGHLIGHTS

Ben Spencer recorded his first collegiate hat trick with three goals at No. 20 Ohio State.

Tyler Bogart put in a multi-goal performance with two tallies as a starter on attack.

Isaac Paparo notched a personal best of six groundballs while he also collected a pair of caused turnovers for the second consecutive game.

Shane Rinkus and Jake Lisauskas each earned their first goals of the season against the Buckeyes. Rinkus added two caused turnovers and a groundball while Lisauskas also had an assist for a two-point game.

D.J. Smith turned aside 10 Buckeye shots, his second consecutive double-digit save performance after he had 12 against Army. He had three each in the first, second and fourth quarters at Ohio State.

Massachusetts was perfect on extra-man opportunities with a goal during each of its two chances. Ben Spencer accounted for both conversions.

FIRST QUARTER
An eventful first quarter saw the sides play to a 3-3 draw as Massachusetts and Ohio State traded goals back-and-forth. The Buckeyes went up first on Austin Shanks' score, but long-stick midfielder Shane Rinkus answered for the Minutemen. Colin Chell pushed Ohio State back in front five minutes in only to see Ben Spencer respond with the first of his three goals with seven minutes, 34 seconds to go.

Deadlocked at 2-2, Johnny Pearson connected for Ohio State on a feed from Tre Leclaire; however, Spencer recorded his second of the day moments before the end of the frame to match Pearson. Spencer capitalized on one of the Buckeyes' 13 turnovers after Luc Valenza won the Minutemen possession back with a groundball pickup.

SECOND QUARTER
Defensive intensity matched offensive output from the first quarter as Massachusetts notched the lone goal of the frame for a 4-3 lead at halftime. Tyler Bogart secured his first goal of the season on a pass from Dan Muller with 6:38 remaining in the stanza.

Evenly contested, both sides had three saves and won one faceoff in the second quarter. Ohio State led in shots, 8-6, but Massachusetts held the edge in on-target attempts, 4-3. Both sides were also perfect on clears without a penalty committed by the Minutemen or Buckeyes.

THIRD QUARTER
Offense took over again in the third, with five total goals scored during a hectic 15 minutes at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes knotted the game a 4-all on Leclaire's goal, but Massachusetts converted back-to-back possessions for a 6-4 lead. In the span of 19 seconds, Spencer struck for the third time on the day before Jake Lisauskas made it a two-goal lead.

Ohio State was undaunted and put in a pair to send the game to the fourth quarter tied at 6-6. Pearson and Chell teamed up and nailed attempts at the 6:19 and 2:35 marks, respectively.

FOURTH QUARTER
Play at Ohio State rotated back to a defensive standoff as the sides condensed scoring in the deciding frame to a span of 67 seconds. Bogart started the quick-strike streak with 11:46 left before the Buckeyes scored at the 10:52 and 10:39 marks of play. JT Blubaugh answered Bogart to make it a 7-7 game before Jeff Henrick put in the deciding goal during the ensuing faceoff play.

UP NEXT
Massachusetts hits the road to Ohio State for a game in Columbus, Ohio, on Sat., Feb. 18 at Noon.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow the team throughout the season on Twitter (@UMassMLacrosse) and Instagram (@UMassMLAX).

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Team Stats

Spencer Ben

Bogart Tyler

Rinkus Shane

Lisauskas Jake

Players Mentioned

Tyler Bogart

Jake Lisauskas

Dan Muller

Isaac Paparo

Shane Rinkus

D.J. Smith

Ben Spencer

Luc Valenza