At long last, the season is here. And it starts, as usual, with a game against the only other D1 team in Ohio, Cleveland State.

The Vikings are an independent team, playing a fairly difficult schedule as fodder for some serious blue bloods. The Buckeyes beat the Vikings 13-6 in Cleveland last year, and this year should yield a similar result.

As a team, the Vikings are exceedingly young. They had a single senior graduate from last year's squad, who played a minor role in the 2018 campaign.

The Vikings are still getting established, trying to bring in talent from all over the country to lay the foundation for a fledgling program, including the first player from Nebraska to ever play D1 lacrosse.

Cleveland State plays tough, but still is in a developmental phase for its players. Wins are hard to come by, and the Buckeyes should have a fairly easy time with their northern brethren.

Offensively, the Vikings aren't especially deep. Attackman Michael Wilson (#11) led Cleveland State with 35 points last year (21 G, 14 A), and returns to anchor an offense that averaged an anemic 8.64 goals per game.

Attackman Jack Frickleton (#26), was second on the team with 20 points in 2018 (15 G, 5 A). Frickleton is a load at 6'5", 200 pounds, and will try to use his size to his advantage.

No other player for Cleveland State had more than 13 points, and there were a lot of them.

Schematically, Cleveland State was very traditional last year, and figures to be the same this season.

Dodges start from the high wing, go down the alley for a shot, or try to spin the ball through X. Occasional transition goals occur, as a pole scored on the Buckeyes last year.

But really, Cleveland State is fairly predictable. They will grab a few goals, but take a while to convert their opportunities.

Defensively, the Vikings are still pretty rough. All 3 starters at close D return this season from a unit that gave up 11.36 goals per game last year.

That figure, given the schedule and offensive struggles, is actually pretty respectable. Skyler Jimenez (#14) and Brandon Ruditz (#17) started every game at close D for the Vikings, with Jimenez leading the team in Caused Turnovers at 14.

Ruditz had 18 groundballs and 9 CTs for the Vikings. They'll look to lead a defense that really struggles against the dodge.

Cleveland State's SSDMs are, bluntly, not good. Zach Whitenack (#9) led the shorties with 7 CTs, and 5 goals, but had 9 of his own turnovers while looking like a turnstile against opposing middies.

Shorter, slight, and slow, Whitenack is someone the Buckeyes will likely try to pick on, with both Jasinski and Reid from all points on the field.

Even the second-string middies should be able to dodge at will down both alleys and across the middle.

In goal, the Vikings return all 4 goalies who saw action last season. Three different keepers got at least one start for Cleveland State over the course of 2018.

Stephen Russo (#10) led all goalies in games played and started last year, making him the most likely candidate to step between the pipes against the Buckeyes.

He allowed 10.99 goals per game for the Vikings, a fairly stout number given the issues CSU had defensively. While not a worldbeater, Russo is an adequate option in net.

We will see if this year's Buckeye squad can shoot better than last year's in pretty short order.

At the faceoff X, Cleveland State returns all four players who took a draw last season. Junior Danny Tesler (#5) will start at the X, having taken 82% of the Vikings' faceoffs last season.

Overall, Tesler was fairly mediocre, winning just 50.6% of his faceoffs. No other player took more than 23 faceoffs all of last year for the Vikings, so Justin Inacio should have a pretty easy time of it.

Tesler DID manage to collect 70 groundballs in 2018, so when he wins the draw, he usually gets possession as well. That said, look for Feliziani to take over the dot in the 2nd half to keep Inacio healthy for a very, very tough B1G schedule.

Since CSU hasn't played yet, special teams are a bit of a mystery, but looking at 2018, Man Up opportunities will be very difficult for the Vikings.

Last year they only converted 25% of their opportunities into goals. As I said in the stat preview, this stat really lays bare how much Cleveland State struggled offensively last year.

Ohio State was right there with them, unfortunately, converting only 27% of their Man Up opportunities. With only a few additions, and no significant talent upgrades, this should continue to be a difficult spot for CSU.

Hopefully Ohio State can improve on its abysmal 49% opponent conversion rate from last year on Man Up. It won't turn the tide, but special teams would be the area Cleveland State could most likely have an edge.

Overall, Cleveland State is not a great team. Or a good team. They're a fledgling program trying to make a place for themselves in a game with more bluebloods scooping up top talent than you can name.

They've got a good coach, and are laying solid foundations. If Cleveland State can start inking some upper tier Ohio talent, then things could get very interesting.

This year, though, it should be an easy Buckeye win.

Final prediction: 16-7, Buckeyes.