Men's Lacrosse Opens Season at Ohio State on Saturday

Game 1
Saturday, Feb. 21: Dartmouth (0-0, 0-0 Ivy League) at Ohio State Buckeyes (2-1, 0-0 Big 10)
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Columbus, Ohio – Woody Hayes Athletic Center
All-Time Series: Ohio States leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: March 20, 2001 - OSU won, 14-10

WELCOME BACK
The Dartmouth men's lacrosse team returns to the field this Saturday, Feb. 21, for the 2015 season opener at Ohio State.

2014 SEASON
The Green played a tough schedule in 2014, facing five nationally ranked opponents throughout the eight-week season. Their victories came in the form of a 14-10 defeat of Sacred Heart on March 1 and a 17-12 win over Holy Cross at home to end the year.

ALL NEW LOOK
After a 2-10 campaign last season, the Dartmouth men's lacrosse team is looking to rebuild in 2015. That rebuild began last summer with the hiring of Brendan Callahan, who came to Hanover after spending the last seven years as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator at Lehigh. Callahan brought in Tucker Kear and Kevin Gould to round out the Big Green's new look on the sidelines.

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
Unlike Dartmouth, who is just starting its season, Ohio State has been playing since the start of February. The Buckeyes opened their season on the road against Detroit, dropping a heartbreaker, 9-8. They rebounded to win their next two games at home, defeating Robert Morris, 10-6, and Delaware, 10-3. Jesse King leads the team in all offensive departments with his seven goals, five assists and 12 points. Tom Carey, Ohio State's lone goalie, has made 34 stops while allowing 18 goals and has a 6.00 goals against average and a .654 save percentage.

LAST TIME AGAINST OHIO STATE
This is just the second time that the two teams have ever met. On March 20, 2001, the Buckeyes defeated the Big Green by a score of 14-10. Dartmouth had a 2-1 lead after the first quarter, but Ohio State answered back with a six-goal second quarter to take a 7-3 lead heading into the third. The Buckeyes remained comfortably ahead with five goals in the third, while allowing four and, even though Ohio State only scored five in the fourth quarter, it was able to hold on long enough to hand the Green their first loss of the season.

RETURNING FIREPOWER
This year, the Green will return four of their five leading scorers from a season ago. Juniors KC Beard and Billy Heidt, and sophomores Wiley Osborne and Jack McCormick are top returners on attack for the Big Green. Heidt and Osborne netted 10 markers apiece, while Beard was third among the Big Green with five assists. McCormick was second on the team with 18 points on 10 goals and a team-leading eight assists. He was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on April 7 for a four-point effort against Yale two days before and was the first Big Green freshman to be honored by the league office since March 30, 2009.

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Two of Dartmouth's four goaltenders from last year will be returning for the 2015 season. Junior Blair Friedensohn started all 11 games in which he appeared, stopping 116 shots while allowing 125 goals, and wrapping things up with a 12.87 goals against average and a .481 save percentage. Looking to spend more time in net this season is senior Colin Heffernan, who, at 6-for-7, is tied for tallest player in Division I lacrosse. He adds depth and experience in the circle for the Big Green.

FRESH FACES
Making their collegiate debut this year in the Class of 2018 are Willis Bocock, Jase Davis, Cormac Dugan, Cody George, Alex Kelly, Evan Key, Jack Korzelius, Patrick Lesch, Richie Loftus, James McJunkin, Sam Runkle, Doug Strazza and Ty Vandenberg.

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Big Green will play one more road game before opening their home slate. On Saturday, Feb. 28, Dartmouth will head to Indiana to take on No. 2 Notre Dame at 1 p.m. and, on Wednesday, March 4, it will host Sacred Heart at 3 p.m.

Schedules