Ohio State’s men’s lacrosse team has faced a brutal stretch so far this year, as they are playing the third toughest schedule in the country. Things won’t get any easier on Sunday when they host Johns Hopkins, who come to Columbus as the fifth-ranked team in the country.

With tonight’s battle with the Blue Jays, the Buckeyes will have played four of the top-five teams in this week’s USILA poll this season, and six of the top 10 teams. Despite playing so many tough opponents, Ohio State is still 6-6 on the year and tied with Michigan, Rutgers, and Penn State for third in the Big Ten. In their last game, the Buckeyes lost 8-7 to Maryland, who was ranked ninth in the country at the time.

Tonight’s meeting will be the 18th all-time between the two schools. Johns Hopkins holds a 10-7 edge in the series, but Ohio State has had the upper hand since becoming conference foes with the Blue Jays, posting a 7-5 record. Last year these teams met in Baltimore, with Johns Hopkins winning 17-8. The last time these two teams met in Columbus was back in 2022, with Ohio State defending their home turf with a 12-10 victory.

Even though Ohio State won’t be playing their last regular season home game of the year, the Buckeyes will be honoring their senior class on Sunday. There will be a ceremony starting at approximately 6:05 p.m. ET to honor the 15 seniors on this year’s team. The senior class has won 30 games in their Ohio State careers, including four wins over Michigan. Along with the victories, the seniors were part of the 2022 team that made the NCAA Tournament, which was Ohio State’s first appearance in the tournament since 2017.

This year’s Ohio State squad relies heavily on a very stout defense. The Buckeyes are only allowing 9.42 goals per game, which leads the Big Ten and is ranked seventh in the country. Freshman Caleb Fyock has started 11 games in goal for Ohio State this year, posting a 9.27 goals against average, which is fifth-best in the country. After growing up in Maryland, Fyock will be fired to take on a team from his home state.

Along with how good the Buckeyes have been at keeping the ball out of their net, Ohio State has done a great job at taking the ball away from their opponents this year. The 107 turnovers the Buckeyes have caused are the team’s most since 2012. Senior Marcus Hudgins leads the team with 19 caused turnovers this year, which ranks third in the Big Ten. Ohio State also tops the Big Ten with 33.67 ground balls per game.

On the offensive end, Alex Marinier became the first Ohio State player to score 20 goals this year, and is leading the team with 22 goals. The junior’s best performance of the year came two weeks ago when he scored a career-high five goals in a 14-8 win at Rutgers. Marinier leads the team with 24 points on the season.

Sitting just behind Marinier is Ed Shean, who has dished out a team-high 10 assists as part of his 23 points this year. Ben Mayer is nearing the 20-goal mark this season, as he enters tonight’s game with 18 tallies. Gannon Matthews, Jack McKenna, and Shean are the other Buckeyes who have scored at least 10 goals this season.

Johns Hopkins enters tonight’s contest on a three-game winning streak, beating Rutgers, Michigan, and Penn State during that span. Even in their three losses, the Blue Jays have been impressive, losing to Denver and Navy in overtime, and 14-13 to Syracuse last month. Despite being a fixture in the NCAA Tournament, Johns Hopkins hasn’t been able to win it all since back in 2007, the last of their nine NCAA Tournament titles since 1972.

Ohio State’s defense is going to have their hands full against a Blue Jays offense that can put goals on the scoreboard. Leading the charge for Johns Hopkins is Garrett Degnon, who has scored 34 goals so far this season. The graduate student has been on a tear pretty much all season, scoring at least three goals in the last six games, and nine games overall. Jacob Angelus is leading the team in overall points with 29 assists and 47 points overall. Johns Hopkins has six players with at least 10 goals this season.

The Buckeyes can’t afford to allow Johns Hopkins to build an early lead, since Ohio State is a team that lacks the offensive firepower to play from behind. Not only do the Blue Jays have more scoring weapons that you’ll see from Ohio State, but they also have a strong goalie. Chayse Ierlan has played all but four minutes this year for the Blue Jays, allowing just under 10 goals per game. What the Buckeyes need to do is try and build a multiple goal lead and then rely on their defense to keep Johns Hopkins at bay.

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: Big Ten Network