Finally. FINALLY. The offense finally grasped the benefits of initiating from behind the goal last week and had a pretty solid day, which could have been even better with more consistent execution. The Buckeyes should have had 18 or more. Still, the defense was the biggest storyline in last week's win. Here's hoping the same thing shows up this week.
Rutgers welcomes Ohio State after a downturn in their form. The Scarlet Knights, after demolishing Ohio State, got walloped twice by Maryland. After getting crushed 18-11, the Knights were beaten 13-9 in the return leg. The biggest change since Ohio State's worst loss in a while has been the Rutgers offense.
The attackmen for Rutgers have taken a step back the past few games, especially Connor Kirst. Kirst was 1 for 9 against Maryland last week, a big reason Rutgers failed to score double-digit goals for the first time in 2021.
Adam Charalambides and Kieran Mullins have been steady, but not as explosive as the first few games. The matchup to watch will be the Buckeyes' close D against Rutgers' Big 3.
Against TTUN, the defense finally seemed in synch, suffocating a good Wolverines offense in the rematch. Holding them to 6 goals is a genuinely impressive feat, even moreso considering the struggles of the early season. If the Bucks can keep Rutgers to a reasonable number of shots alone, there's a really good chance Ohio State ekes out a win. Giving up 60 shots again, however, will just see more of the same.
Offensively, the thing to watch in this rematch for OSU is going to be the midfielders. Ohio State managed to finally find a dangerous dodging presence in Mitchell Pehlke, who exploded for 2 goals and an assist in his first meaningful action collegiately.
If that can continue against a much better Rutgers defense, Ohio State will finally find itself with an offense that's balanced. Off-ball Tre Leclaire is an All-American candidate. He just has never had the supporting cast to get to that level outside of 2017. With Pehlke, Hughes, the Mitchells, and Wiseman, the offense can really turn a corner here.
That's not even counting the best player Ohio State has on O, Jack Myers. This is a really, really solid group, if the middies can pull their weight. Didn't happen in round 1, let's see of round 2 will be different!
In terms of results, it's hard to really get a read on how things will play out tomorrow. Rutgers looked vulnerable the past three games, but two of those were against the best team in the B1G. That said, the blueprint for beating Rutgers is out there.
Will Ohio State have the discipline and talent to pull it off? I don't think this will be as much of a blowout. But I need to see a trend before going overboard on one defensive performance.
Final prediction: Rutgers 14, OSU 12.
Hope I am wrong. But Rutgers definitely isn't as bad as TTUN.
Go Bucks!
Game is tomorrow at 5 p.m. EDT, on BTN.
