Marquette women’s lacrosse (3-2) heads to Ohio State Friday afternoon following a 19-15 comeback win against Kennesaw State.
Playing in Columbus will not be a breeze, though. This is the first meeting between Marquette and Ohio State, but the Golden Eagles are 1-7 against Big Ten opponents. The team is 0-5 against Northwestern and 1-2 against Michigan.
Ohio State senior Baley Parrott, a 5-foor-4 senior made the All Big-Ten Team last season and led the team with 35 goals. She was tied for eighth in the league with 2.33 goals per game and had 11 multi-point games. Ohio State junior Liza Hernandez, a 5-foot-5 junior, started in 10 games last season, finishing third on the team with 23 goals and fourth with 27 points. She had eight multi-point games.
In the goal, junior Jill Rizzo leads the Big Ten with 11 saves per game. The Queensbury, New York, native started all 15 games last season and led the NCAA with 12.47 saves per game. She finished her season with 187 saves, which was second in the Big Ten and eighth in conference.
The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in ground balls and are fourth in the NCAA with 29.3 ground balls per game. They are seventh in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten with 14.8 caused turnovers per game as well.
“They’re fast and aggressive and they go to goal a lot. Our defense has to be ready for a lot of one (on) ones,” Black said. “Defense is a position that is a constant progress. … It’s a matter of finding connections with each other on the field to grow as a unit.”
Ohio State was ranked No. 8 in the Inside Lacrosse Poll at one point last season, but a five-game losing streak prevented the Buckeyes from making their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Buckeyes, who are 3-1 on the season, have played similar teams as the Golden Eagles. Ohio State’s season opener was at the University of Cincinnati, beating them 16-6. Marquette lost 22-18 against the Bearcats Feb. 15.
Both teams beat Detroit Mercy, and both lost to Notre Dame. The Golden Eagles fell to the Fighting Irish during their season opener Feb. 8, 19-4. The Buckeyes did a bit better against the No. 20-ranked Fighting Irish, losing only 19-10 Feb. 22.
