Columbus, Ohio – The 16th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes outscored the Canisius College women's lacrosse team 8-3 in the second half to earn a 15-9 victory on Sunday afternoon at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The loss drops the Griffs to 5-7 on the season while the nationally-ranked Buckeyes improve to 9-1.

"We had a great team on the ropes as a result of an excellent first half," said Canisius head coach Scott Teeter. "In the second half, our intensity was there but we committed too many mistakes, didn't mix up our shots and turned the ball over carelessly at times. If this team ever learns how to play for a full 60 minutes, we would be able break into the top third nationally."

Senior Chelsea Martinez (Bethpage, N.Y.) led the Griffs with four goals with senior Ashley Gray (Syracuse, N.Y.) and sophomore Ashley Curtis (Peterborough, Ontario) each adding two scores. Junior Marissa Brown (Syracuse, N.Y.) rounded out the scoring for Canisius with a goal.

Sophomore Allison Daley (Peterborough, Ontario) stopped eight shots in goal with Martinez and Brown anchoring the Canisius defense on the afternoon. Martinez led the Griffs with six draw controls, three caused turnovers and three ground balls, while Brown chipped in five draw controls, three caused turnovers and one ground ball.

After Ohio State scored the game's first two goals in a 20-second span, Canisius quickly responded. Gray tallied her first goal of the afternoon with Brown and Martinez following to give the Griffs a 3-2 advantage 3:10 into the game.

The Buckeyes responded with three-straight goals but Canisius would once again answer with three goals of its own to grab the lead. Martinez notched two scores and Curtis finished the run with her first goal of the afternoon, giving the Griffs a 6-5 lead with 6:17 left in the first half. Ohio State scored the final two goals of the opening period to head into intermission with a 7-6 advantage.

Ohio State scored the opening goal of the second half 61 seconds into stanza but Gray scored her second goal of the day to pull the Griffs back within one, 8-7. However, the Buckeyes would score six of the next seven goals to seize a 14-8 advantage. Martinez tallied her fourth and final goal of the afternoon with 3:37 left in the game but Ohio State was able to hold on for the 15-9 victory.

The Buckeyes held a slight advantage in shots, 28-27, but the Griffs dominated the draw circle, 17-9. Alayna Markwordt led Ohio State with five goals, while Kristen Gilwee stopped 12 shots in goal to earn the victory.

The Griffs return to action with a MAAC contest against Iona on Friday. Game time at the Demske Sports Complex is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Game Notes: The meeting was the first between the two schools ... Canisius is now 0-7 all-time against ranked teams, including 0-3 in 2009 ... The six-goal margin of defeat was the closest loss for the Griffs against a ranked opponent ... Canisius has won the draw control battle in 10-of-12 games this season ... Martinez now has 112 draw controls in her career, two shy of the school record set by former teammate Erica Nasca ... Martinez also raised her career caused turnover total to 74, moving past Sara Schmitkons for second in school history.

2009-03-29