After the most surprising result in Ohio State lacrosse history, there's little time to rest on laurels. The Buckeyes are playing a neutral site game in Florida tomorrow, against a team very much in flux. That makes things a bit harder to preview, but definitely not impossible.
Offense
Coming off two years of rest and practice, the Crimson exploded for 17 goals against NJIT in their opener. That is a bit of a paper tiger, as NJIT just isn't a good team. Even with that, there's plenty of Crimson players to keep an eye on.
Miles Botkiss (#27) had three goals for Harvard as a true freshman, while senior Austin Madronic (#33) also had a hat trick. The Crimson scored 11 goals in the first half alone, before calling off the dogs a bit to keep things respectable. Having a game under your belt helps, but I really don't think the Crimson match up well against the Buckeye defensive midfield.
Something to watch is Bobby Van Buren's move to LSM. It was a surprise switch against the Tar Heels, but I think the move really helped against UNC. Between Zupicich and Van Buren, there's going to be a lot of lockdown defense Harvard will have to deal with.
Defense
Harvard hired Gerry Byrne as head coach with an eye towards improved defense, and he has delivered. Quickly. The Crimson are extremely stout defensively, as evidenced by the shutout they pitched in the first half of their opening game.
Byrne has rapidly overhauled the roster in recruiting, and will certainly have the team dialed in to take on Ohio State. The Crimson started Collin Bergstrom (#14), Thomas Martinson (#34), and Chase Strupp (#45) down low. As a team, the Crimson credited themselves beith 17 caused turnovers. That seems generous.
Regardless, the Buckeyes are going to have a much tougher time this week, as this will be the toughest defense they will have faced since Maryland last year. There may be a dramatic crash back to reality in the opening quarter or two. If so, the Buckeyes cannot afford to let Harvard build a four or five goal lead.
Faceoffs
Ohio State is the best team in the country at winning faceoffs (88%), and the team will need to exploit this advantage this week. Harvard really struggled against NJIT, winning 13 of 24 draws. The Crimson rolled with three different FOGOs, led by Andrew DeGennaro (#24) who went 5-8.
If any unit has a distinct advantage, it will be the Justin Inacio-Drew Blanchard duo. Ohio State had three goals directly in transition, and could have more this week.
Goalie
Caton Johnson was stout against UNC in his return to Chapel Hill. He will have to do the same this week, as Chase Mullin (#30) was perfect against NJIT, allowing zero goals and making three saves. From that statline, you can see how good the defense was in front of Mullin. All phases are going to need to be excellent this week in order to come away with a W.
Special Teams
Ohio State is converting 69% of its Man Up opportunities, and is only allowing opponents to score 10% of the time through 3 games. Harvard held NJIT scoreless on their lone opportunity, but also failed to score on Man Up. Much like faceoffs, this will be an area the Buckeyes can exploit. If laundry litters the field, the Buckeyes are going to feel good about their chances
This game should be much closer than the UNC game. Harvard is a really good defensive team, but may struggle to score for stretches. Of course, Ohio State is not a great starting team, so things could get dour early. By the final whistle, however, I think that Ohio State gets a close W.
Final prediction: Ohio State 11, Harvard 9.
Go Bucks!
