I'm nothing if not willing to try something new, and I figured it might be time for some film review segments, as they're available. Full disclosure, still figuring out how to get clips from YouTube in a more easily digested format, but I'll get there.
I'm going to do a bit on offense and a bit on defense in this post, so there'll be something for everyone. Without a Man Up opportunity, that's all we'll really be able to get something out of anyway. Buckle up, and let's get messy.
Offensively, the Buckeyes showed off their third brand new philosophy in three years. And, if I do say so myself, it was a refreshing change. Under Coach Ross, the Buckeyes would try to dodge down the alley (side), pass the ball behind the cage, and try to get a good shot from the opposite side without really changing shape or sending a cutter. That was not exactly successful.
Last year, under Coach Sheridan, there was a bit better ball movement, and some changes in shape or cutters, but the underlying principle remained the same.
This year, however, it's all different. And, I think, it'll be for the better. Ohio State came out from the jump in an open set. An open set, or circle offense, is just like it sounds. There are no players in the middle of the field near the crease. In this case, Ohio State routinely went into an unbalanced version, which saw two players in close proximity at the high wing (top corner of the restraining box), and three players on the opposite side of the field, above Goal Line Extended (GLE). GLE, as an aside, is an invisible extension of the line inside the net showing where the goal should be.
Once the ball was at the high wing, the player in possession would dodge, looking to get to the middle of the field, or an open look down the alley. The other player would most often mirror (perform the exact opposite action of the dodger), circling underneath of the dodge. Sometimes a pick would occur, though that was rare this game.
In the first goal you see here, Grant Mitchell actually refuses (doesn't use) the pick set for him, and rolls back down the alley. His defender falls down on the play, and the slide (double team) is late, allowing Mitchell to get very close to the crease before shooting past his former teammate.
A fantastic dodge and finish, even if it was a bit lucky.
On goal two, we see the new side of Tre Leclaire for 2021, as well. I wondered in a previous post how the offense would fare dodging the ball. This game showed that the Buckeyes are going to ride Grant Mitchell, Griffin Hughes, and Tre Leclaire as their primary dodgers, with some Johnny Wiseman mixed in too. Tre had multiple dodges from the alley on his natural side, trying to utilize his natural box abilities to get to the goal. Here, Leclaire is able to punish his defender on the dodge after some action below GLE by teammates, and bury a hard shot from the middle of the field.
Tre Leclaire as a dodging threat was tried last year as well, with mixed success, especially when the defenses could match his physicality. It's not my favorite way to see him utilized, but Tre did score two goals off the dodge yesterday.
That previously mentioned high wing action led to a goal here from Griffin Hughes, who performs the exact dodge I described initially, with Tre Leclaire performing the role of the mirror.
It's pretty easy to see why this formation/plan is dangerous. Without a ready-made slide from the middle of the field, the defense is always in need of figuring out who will double team a dodger to the middle of the field. And you can be certain that 90% of the time, it's supposed to be the guy directly adjacent to the dodger, or from the opposite side defender whose man is below GLE.
Either case puts the defense in a terrible bind, as a fairly simple pass can lead to a goal. That's why these dodges so often led to Buckeye tallies. If you can beat the goalie, there's not a lot the defense can do to stop you. The big question will be what opponents do in the future now that Ohio State has put them on notice.
Defensively, Ohio State had a new look as well. While they started in a straightforward man-to-man defense at the beginning of the game, Ohio State switched to a rotating 1-3-2 zone defense, where the Johns Hopkins player on the crease was marked by a short stick defender, and the remaining 5 defenders rotated as needed. Here, you can see it set up for the first time, here with Omari DeBerry the top man in the zone, and true freshman Connor Cmiel in the middle of the field.
You can see a quick double-team from the adjacent defender, Jacob Snyder, as the dodger goes to his right-hand. As the ball moves behind the goal, you can see facet two of this zone: it doesn't allow a player free reign at X. The remaining defenders set up in a loose 2-3 zone above GLE, while a defender challenges the ball while it's below the net. I don't know how much time they've spent on it, as this section of the game shows them all be a bit tentative and out of place. But it's a nice change up to offer as the B1G schedule moves along.
In clip 2, you see Ryan Terefenko and Connor Cmiel stacked in the middle, then some very quick rotations once Terefenko moves out to meet the ball. Key to this defense is recovery from the backside defenders. Ryan Terefenko slides down to occupy the left-most point of the pentagram, while all the long-stick defenders essentially move counterclockwise one position to recover.
Given the Blue Jays' lack of practice time, Ohio State implemented this zone to see if Hopkins had put in enough work to break through it. It was clear from the start that the Jays were not in a position to truly make a run at busting the zone defense. They looked stagnant and out of sorts on offense all day long. Connor DeSimone was the lone bright spot for Johns Hopkins, though some of his goals were just individual brilliance you couldn't really have stopped.
It's easy to see why there was such a gap between Ohio State and Johns Hopkins in game one. The Buckeyes managed to manufacture offense via a new, aggressive approach to attacking the middle of the field. Grant Mitchell, Tre Leclaire, and Griffin Hughes all had some great dodges that resulted in goals. It remains to be seen if they'll have the same success against more stout members of the Big Ten.
Defensively, the pieces in place for Ohio State were just too much for Johns Hopkins to handle with their limited practice time. The zone defense was a smart move by Travis Crane, the defensive coordinator, as zones require a sound plan and cohesion to defeat. Johns Hopkins, through little fault of their own, was in no way prepared to deal with that aspect of the Buckeye gameplan. In man-to-man, the size and athleticism of the Buckeye defense was just as overwhelming. Connor Cmiel, who had some MAC football offers, had a tremendous showing in his first collegiate game, and start. Eric Wenz was very good also after transferring in from Hofstra.
Hopefully, this form continues through the rest of the schedule. If so, I think the Buckeyes could challenge for #2 in the regular season standings, and give Maryland a run for their money in a third meeting in the B1G title game.
Go Bucks!
