Ohio men's lacrosse upset in national final four
By William Strome, Staff Writer
May 8, 2008 | noon
With high hopes of returning to Athens with a national championship, the Ohio University men's lacrosse team was stunned and dispirited following an unexpected loss for the first time in more than a year.
The previously unbeaten Bobcats were upset by Salisbury University, 10-9, in the National Collegiate Lacrosse League Tournament's final four on May 3 in Lynchburg, Va. Ohio did not trail in the game until the final 26 seconds of play.
Heading into the fourth quarter with a four-goal lead, the Bobcats were outscored 7-2 over the final period and were dealt their first loss in 19 contests. Their last loss was at the first round of the NCLL Tournament one year before Saturday's defeat on April 21, to arch-rival The Ohio State University, 9-5.
"Nobody could believe it, it almost felt like we were watching this happen in some kind of sick dream, and there was nothing we could do about it," midfielder Tony DeRoberts said.
Coach Kevin Andrick agreed. "In that last quarter we couldn't pass midfield, we couldn't possess, we pretty much just died," he said.
As for playing like a lifeless team, Ohio was anything but during the first three quarters of the game. Both teams possessed the ball back and forth until halfway through the first quarter when attackman Ben Miller found the back of the net to lift Ohio to an early 1-0 lead. Salisbury wasted no time answering and tied the game at one heading into the second frame.
It wasn't until the second quarter that the Bobcat arsenal woke up and started shining. Miller slipped through the Sea Gulls' defense for his second of four scores, all of which he scored in the first half.
Salisbury refused to let the ’Cats pull too far ahead and tacked on two more scores before the half. Ohio attackman Colin Baker had two scores to lift the 'Cats to a 7-3 halftime lead.
During the third period, both teams found the penalty box far more than they did the back of the net. With both clubs unable to capitalize off numerous man-up advantages, the 7-3 Bobcat lead carried over to the fourth quarter.
It seemed like Ohio would be in cruise control and coast into the national championship game, but Salisbury begged to differ. The Sea Gulls livened up after two quick goals to trail Ohio by only two scores.
"We played pretty relaxed in the second half, but after that second goal we started to worry and shut down," DeRoberts said. "We started to play not to lose instead of play to win."
Salisbury cut the Ohio lead in half when a pass deflected off long stick midfielder Nathan Farshchi's stick and snuck past goalie Cory Nyeste. The Ohio sideline was silenced when Salisbury tied the game for the first time since the first quarter.
With the game knotted at seven, Ohio midfielder Scott Seese drove from behind the goal on a man-up situation and scored to give the 'Cats an 8-7 lead. Again, the relentless Salisbury attack refused to go away and tied the game at eight with under five minutes in regulation.
Ohio attackman Alex Adkins, who averaged just under four points a game on the year, lifted the ’Cats to a 9-8 lead, their last of the game. Salisbury wasted no time in silencing the Ohio sideline by knotting the game up for the last time with under two minutes to play.
Ohio had a chance to take the lead but had to clear the ball out of their defensive zone with under a minute left, something they consistently had trouble doing in the second half. A Salisbury defender knocked the ball loose from midfielder Ryan Hanson and recovered the ground ball. With only one defender by the goal and two attackman, Salisbury scored on a point blank shot in front of Nyeste to take the lead and pull off the astonishing upset.
"We let up a little and things avalanched from there," defenseman Zach Crusse said.
Fellow defenseman Peter Dahlstrom credited Salisbury's unwillingness to throw in the proverbial towel. "They just never gave up," he said. "They didn't change up their game plan very much, they just pushed hard the entire game, and we stopped."
Salisbury lost in the NCLL Championship the following day to in-state rival the University of Maryland, 14-8, despite downing the Terrapins, 5-2, on March 29. Ohio defeated Maryland in Athens in the fall, 10-5, during the Bobcats' annual Halloween tournament.
As for next season, Ohio has high expectations for returning to the final four, if not to the national championship.
"I'd say we have a good shot at getting back to where we finished this season," Andrick said. "Maybe a few tougher opponents during the regular season wouldn't hurt but if we work hard, there's no reason why we can't be playing for the national championship next season."
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Will Strome is a junior, journalism major and a member of the Ohio men's club lacrosse team.