On Sunday, the No. 3 seed Ohio State men's lacrosse team will take the field at Ohio Stadium against Loyola Maryland looking to keep its season alive.
Having suffered only one loss at home this season — to top-seeded Maryland in the Big Ten Championship game — history seems to be on the side of the Scarlet and Gray for their first-round matchup.
The team has been propelled to greatness by outstanding play by Buckeyes up and down the roster, but a few in particular have stuck out as the Buckeyes enter NCAA tournament competition.
Hailing from Surrey, British Columbia (Canada), freshman attackman Tre Leclaire has been a huge part of the Buckeyes' success this season. Leclaire scored 41 goals in 17 games so far this season, good for just over two per game. In addition, he's tallied 14 assists, putting him just over the three points per game mark.
Trailing Leclaire by only one point on the season, senior attacker Eric Fannell has also been huge for the Bucks. He hasn't scored as many goals (28) as Leclaire, but has almost twice as many assists (26) for the Scarlet and Gray. As a fellow Canada native, the chemistry between Fannell and Leclaire could be a huge reason as to why the duo has been so impressive this season.
Also, in terms of save percentage, redshirt senior goalie Tom Carey has been one of the 20 best at his position in the NCAA in 2017. Saving over half of all shot attempts to come his way, Carey has been an anchor for the Buckeyes on defense all season.
And finally, senior midfielder Jake Withers has been outstanding for the squad when it comes to ground balls this year. Serving as the team's de facto ground ball specialist, Withers has racked up 126 ground balls, good for eighth in the NCAA on a per-game basis and fifth as a total number of won ground balls.
(For those unfamiliar with what a ground ball is, I found this very helpful.)
While having three of the team's top four players be in their senior season might hurt next season, the experience should come in handy for the Bucks this season.
The team hasn't played Loyola Maryland this season, but there's no reason to believe the Greyhounds outmatch the Buckeyes as they went 10-5 this season, including three losses to non-tournament teams.
In the second round, however, things could get dicey.
If the higher seed wins, the Buckeyes will take on No. 6 Johns Hopkins in the second round. The Bucks beat the Blue Jays 13-9 at home April 9, but Johns Hopkins has a history in men's lacrosse that will undoubtedly help them in the tournament.
While Ohio State is pushing for its first title in men's lacrosse (in fact, the Scarlet and Gray have never even appeared in an NCAA title game for men's lacrosse), Johns Hopkins will be looking for its 10th NCAA title and its first since winning it all in 2007.
Should Ohio State make it through the first two rounds, competition will really begin to ramp up as the Bucks will likely take on the winner of No. 7 Penn State and No. 2 Syracuse in the semifinals at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
Penn State seems like the draw the Buckeyes would want, seeing as Syracuse is a higher seed, but one of the team's four losses came to the Nittany Lions April 2. In that game, the Bucks put up their lowest goal count of the season with four.
Syracuse would present another problem for the Buckeyes, as the Orange are another storied program looking for their 12th NCAA championship. The squad's most recent win came in 2009 and they finished as a runner-up in 2013.
Without having faced the Orange this season, both teams will be relatively unfamiliar with each other, which could spell trouble for the Scarlet and Gray.
Syracuse suffered only two losses on the season, both coming by only one goal. Their first loss came 14-13 to Army West Point, a team that didn't make the tournament, and their second came to North Carolina. The Tar Heels made the tournament, albeit unseeded, but are the defending NCAA champions and winners of five NCAA championships in total.
It's hard to predict which teams will make the finals, but if the Buckeyes are able to make it that far, they will have the luxury of likely facing off against one of the following teams: Maryland, who they lost to in the Big Ten Championship at home, Notre Dame, who they lost to March 25, or Denver, who they demolished 16-7 March 19 and will certainly be looking for revenge. If North Carolina is able to put together a few upsets, they could also present a sizable challenge for the Bucks.
Suffice all of this to say it will certainly not be a cakewalk for the Buckeyes as they try for a championship, but with a few lucky breaks and upsets here and there, the Scarlet and Gray seem to have as good a shot as any team in the tournament this year. The squad will need outstanding performances from its stars, including some otherworldly play from the offense against stout defenses to keep its hopes alive for its first-ever men's lacrosse championship.
