It was not a good afternoon for the Ohio State men's lacrosse team in the first-ever NCAA Tournament game at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium.
The moment Ohio State – which entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2-ranked team in the coaches and media polls – was given the No. 4 seed and drew Notre Dame in the first round of the 18-team tournament, people were skeptical about how the Buckeyes were put in such a bad spot. Keep in mind, the Fighting Irish are two-time defending champions.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | 1 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 15 |
| ohio state | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Despite Ohio State beating Notre Dame in South Bend earlier in the season, those worries became a reality for OSU, as its magical run throughout the 2025 season came to an end Sunday afternoon with a 15-6 loss to Notre Dame.
After OSU took a 3-1 lead, Notre Dame finished the game on a 14-3 run, showcasing its postseason experience and just how good the Fighting Irish are despite their seeding. It was the most goals Ohio State had allowed since it lost to Utah, 19-13, in the season opener.
First Quarter
The first-round matchup started slow, with both teams trying to find a groove in the NCAA Tournament early on.
Notre Dame took the first lead six minutes into the game, but it didn't last long. Three minutes later, Alex Marinier, who averages 2.88 goals per game (18th in Division I), put the Buckeyes on the scoreboard with a fantastic snipe in the lower slot of the goal.
Marny doin' his thing
— Ohio State Men's Lacrosse (@OhioStateMLAX) May 11, 2025
We're even at one at the first media timeout#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/s599CZcmvr
Garrett Haas gave OSU a 2-1 lead with 1:16 left in the first quarter.
Caleb Fyock continued his dominance in goal, with four saves in the opening quarter.
Second Quarter
It was a bad second quarter for the Buckeyes, to say the least.
Unlike the first quarter, the second quarter was filled with plenty of scoring early on.
Ohio State took advantage of a man-up opportunity early in the second quarter, as Haas scored his second goal of the game following a brilliant pass to give the Buckeyes a 3-1 lead.
Back-to-back for Haas
— Ohio State Men's Lacrosse (@OhioStateMLAX) May 11, 2025
2Q | 13:54 // OSU 3, ND 1#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/9k4gyoCT1y
Notre Dame answered with two goals of its own, the first of the pair being a man-up due to a penalty, as the Fighting Irish tied the game, 3-3, with two goals in 62 seconds. Notre Dame then took a 7-1 lead with six consecutive goals, a stretch OSU seemed to rarely have the ball after struggling on faceoffs.
Marinier scored his second goal of the game with eight seconds left in the first half to cut the deficit to 7-4.
Hugeeeee goal for the Buckeyes. Haas hits Marinier for the step down bomb with :07 left in the half@OhioStateMLAX stops the bleeding pic.twitter.com/VOfF0goVcN
— Upstream Lacrosse (@upstreamlax) May 11, 2025
Notre Dame finished the second quarter with more goals (six) than Ohio State had shots on goal (four). The Fighting Irish also won 10 of 13 faceoffs in the opening two quarters, keeping possession of the ball throughout much of the second quarter.
| OSU | ND | |
|---|---|---|
| shots | 28 | 43 |
| Shots on goal | 21 | 30 |
| saves | 15 | 15 |
| faceoffs | 7 | 18 |
| groundballs | 20 | 40 |
| turnovers | 17 | 19 |
| extra man | 1/3 | 2/2 |
Third Quarter
Ohio State used some stellar defense to force a shot clock violation on the first possession of the second half by Notre Dame.
Marinier then used a ground-ball shot to secure a hat trick for Ohio State and cut Notre Dame's lead to 7-5.
The Fighting Irish answered right back with a goal of their own 44 seconds later. Much like Notre Dame did in the second quarter, it dominated the rest of the third quarter, scoring the final four goals of the quarter. The Fighting Irish took an 11-5 lead after three quarters.
Fourth Quarter
Notre Dame scored the first goal of the period to give the Fighting Irish a 12-5 lead with over 14 minutes remaining in the game.
Marinier then scored his fourth goal of the game for Ohio State to cut the deficit to 12-6 with just under 11 minutes left, but that was the final goal of the season for the Buckeyes.
Marinier with the twister #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/nCMbZSxYpH
— Ohio State Men's Lacrosse (@OhioStateMLAX) May 11, 2025
The Fighting Irish closed the game with three goals of their own to give the two-time defending champions a 15-6 win in Columbus.
