Feb. 13, 2010
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio - In their first outing of the 2010 season, the Villanova men's lacrosse team fell 10-8 in a closely contested match against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
OSU dominated in the first quarter of play, scoring four uncontested goals from Logan Schuss, Dan Wertz, Jeff Tundo and Mike Pires at the 13, 11, 10 and 8 minute marks. Villanova sophomore C.J. Small (San Diego, Calif.) gave the Wildcats their first score of the match with three minutes remaining in the first quarter off an assist from classmate Kevin Cunningham (Garden City, N.Y.). The goal came from a man-up opportunity but gave the Buckeyes the lead, 4-1, going into the second quarter.
The second quarter favored Villanova with senior co-captain Mark Scioscia (East Hampton, N.Y.), freshman Jack Rice (Baltimore, Md.), senior Paul Webber (Manhasset, N.Y.) and sophomore Matt Bell (Serverna Park, Md.) all finding the back of the net. OSU tallied two goals in the quarter from Tundo and Schuss, giving Ohio State a slight lead of 6-5 going into the locker room at halftime.
In a defensive minded third period, OSU tallied the only two goals at the 10 and 4 minute marks from James Green and Dominique Alexander. Both goals were unassisted.
In the final quarter of play, VU rallied with two goals from Troy Higgins (Wayne, N.J.) and Webber with 10 and 8 minutes remaining in the game. Rice came back to score the third uncontested goal of the period on a man-up opportunity just 30 seconds after Webber. The final push from Rice was not enough to give the Wildcats the lift they needed to bring home a win, and the Wildcats were defeated 10-8 at the final horn.
Villanova led OSU in total shots throughout the game by a 32-25 margin and also dominated the Buckeyes 31-22 in groundballs.
OSU goalie Brandon Freeman made 11 saves in the win while VU sophomore keeper Dan Gutierrez (Chevy Chase, Md.) made three saves in the loss.
Villanova is back in action on Feb. 27th when the face Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa. Game time is slated for 1 p.m.
