Complete dumpster fire. That's the only way to describe the Ohio State lacrosse team that just choked on a scale the likes of which we haven't seen since "3-1" became a meme.
This senior class is the first to EVER lose to the Wolverines, and did so in such agonizing fashion that it could be played on repeat in CIA ghost prisons to extract information from ISIS.
Justin Inacio is the only Buckeye who should be allowed to walk into the facilities with his head held high, wearing the uniform. Everyone else needs to take a long look in the mirror.
This was an abomination of the game of lacrosse, and we're going to go through it in exacting detail.
Offensively, the unit should be renamed Jackson Reid and the Trash Panda middies. Reid scored 5 goals on 11 shots, but should have provided more help to others with the loss of Tre Leclaire.
Jack Myers had 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) and sophomore Colby Smith had 3 (2goals, 1 assist). All told, the attackmen accounted for 13 of the 14 total points for OSU in this game.
Which is where we come to the flamethrower part of our recap.
No midfield unit in the country was/is worse than the Buckeye midfield this year. The middies as a whole went 1 for 17 shooting today.
That comes out to 5.9%. That's it. That's all. Division 1 midfielders who start on a top 25 team should never, ever, EVER be shooting 5.9% collectively. Ever. That's so hilariously bad that anyone reading this could do the same job these athletes did today.
Added to their horrible shooting performance is the fact that the middies accounted for 8 of the 16 Buckeye turnovers today. I cannot emphasize enough how awful this unit has been.
Their struggles on the dodge have been well-documented (by me at least), and have led directly to the stagnation of the Buckeye O as a whole.
After this, all the team can do is hope this year's freshmen can do better next year. I am quite sure they couldn't do worse.
Defensively, the Buckeyes have been utter garbage the entire 1st 30 minutes since the Notre Dame game. That day, they were down 6-2 at half, only for the O to figure out a way to win.
This team plays in the Big Ten. The absolute best conference in the entire country (come at me, ACC!). Gifting opponents 4, 5, or 6 goal leads at halftime won't get it done.
That's how you get beat 4 out of 5 games in conference. That's how you go from a top 5 team to having no postseason. At. All. The shorties (Terefenko included) got beat topside way too often.
The poles were either lacking the necessary abilities (every LSM), too unseasoned (Salisbury), or too mistake prone (Henrick ballwatching, Borges committing penalties).
The Buckeyes have made their conference opponents look like rockstars, outside of the Maryland game. It's been abysmal.
Losing Freibott, Evans, and Randall completely cut the legs out from under the defense. And I don't know who is waiting in the wings to step up.
TTUN shot barely under 50 %, after going 8 for 10 to open the game. 8 for 10!
In goal, I don't know what happened to Skylar Wahlund, but Josh Kirson can't be the starter next year. His conference play has been unacceptable, and today just cements it.
Kirson had a save % of 31.6%. 31.6%! He's been under 50% since the Notre Dame game. And today it cost the Buckeyes everything.
Even keeping the Wolverines to their usual shooting % would have gifted the Buckeyes a 10-9 win, with the Buckeyes shooting exactly the same. Instead, TTUN shot 46% and completely ruined the Buckeye season.
FOGO was so special it's never been matched before. Justin Inacio, in the biggest game, went 23 of 25, for 92%.
He should be crowned king of the program and be given whatever he wants to stay through next year. Because it's gotta be mighty tempting to leave for an Albany, Maryland, or Penn State with his talent.
Special teams were surprisingly even, with both teams going 33.3%. Not much to say that hasn't been said. The Buckeyes have to be better, a refrain that has been repeated for years.
In what is almost certainly the final recap for 2019, I want to take the time to make special mention of the coaching staff. Coach Myers has taken the Buckeye program to heights it has never seen.
In 2017, the Buckeyes played for a championship, falling 3 goals short in one of the most boring title games in recent memory. That 2017 was the most talented roster ever to don the Buckeye uniform in lacrosse.
They set expectations that subsequent teams have failed to even approach. And, more disturbingly, subsequent teams have failed to improve as the season progresses. That's the mark of a well-coached team.
Failure happens, but taking advantage of opportunities to learn, get better, and move forward demonstrates exceptional coaching acumen.
For the second year in a row, the team has gotten much, much worse offensively as the year progressed, made new mistakes each week, and cratered out of the national conversation in skin-crawling fashion.
Something on the staff needs to change. I think that Coach Myers has been great for the program, now he needs to show his ability to adapt. This offense isn't working.
Fundamentally, the offense is intended to hold the ball for good shots, or great shots. The past two years, the offense has been a shoot-for-volume mess. Certainly, personnel has played an issue.
But the part of the coaches' jobs is to recruit the players needed for the system. Obviously, that didn't happen, since only one of the nine seniors graduating this year played significant minutes in that end.
And, looking to 2020, there are very few answers to looming personnel questions. I am in favor of a change at OC.
Fielding future professionals at 4 of the 6 offensive spots will make any team look special. Subsequent evidence has shown 2017 to be a fluke, not the rule. Now the question becomes "How do we make 2017 the rule, not the exception?" Only Coach Nick Myers can answer that.
