COLUMBUS, Ohio – Nine Buckeyes scored goals, led by hat tricks from juniors Jeff Ryan and Peet Poillon and sophomores James Green and Mario Ventiquattro, as the No. 19 Ohio State men's lacrosse team began the 2008 Great Western Lacrosse League schedule with an 18-7 road win at Quinnipiac in Hamden, Conn. Junior Joel Dalgarno had a team-best four assists and five points in the win, with Ryan (3g, 1a) and senior Kevin Buchanan (2g, 2a) each recording four points. The Buckeyes, who led 12-2 at halftime, now are 5-3 on the year, while they handed the previously undefeated Bobcats (6-1) their first loss of the season.

Ohio State was ahead, 4-1, at the end of the first quarter. Poillon opened the scoring 45 seconds into the game, off an assist from Ryan. The Bobcats tied the game on Anthony Poerio's tally with 11 minutes remaining in the quarter. The Buckeyes regained the lead on Ryan's goal at 4:58 and then scored two man-up goals to extend the lead to three (4-1). Green tallied at 3:26, followed by Ventiquattro's score, set up by Dalgarno, at 2:04. The Buckeyes outshot the Bobcats, 13-4, in the opening quarter.

The Buckeyes outscored the Bobcats, 8-1, in the second quarter to take a 12-2 lead into halftime. Buchanan tallied just eight seconds into the second quarter and Green added his second goal of the game at the 9:33 mark to make the score 6-1. Doug Ruhnke found Dalgarno for a goal at 7:24 and Poillon scored his second of the game with 3:22 remaining in the half. Defenseman Scott Matthews added his first career goal with 2:20 on the clock, pushing the Buckeye lead to 9-1. The Bobcats' Sean Endicott ended the Buckeyes' eight-goal run with a score at 1:57. The Buckeyes closed out the half with three goals in the final 34 seconds, including two scores by Ventiquattro. He scored unassisted at both the 34 and 13 second marks, surrounding a goal by Poillon, assisted by Dalgarno, with 19 seconds left.

The teams combined for just three goals in the third quarter, with OSU outscoring QU, 2 -1. The Buckeyes scored in the opening minute for the third-consecutive quarter when Ryan scored nine seconds into the third. QU's Gary Messina scored a man-up goal at 7:46 but OSU responded just 29 seconds later when Buchan found Green. Each team had 10 shots in the quarter. OSU led 14-3 at the end of the third.

Each team scored four times in the fourth quarter. QU added its second man-up goal of the day when Anthony Poerio scored at 12:29 and the Bobcats made the score 14-5 when Jack Oppenheimer tallied a man-up goal at 11:03. Dalgarno found Ryan at 9:31, followed by A.J. Alessi's goal seven seconds later (9:24). Dalgarno set up Buchanan at 8:11 before freshman Mike Pires scored at 5:20 on an assist from Buchanan. Sophomore Andrew Stimmel then scored a man-up goal at 2:15. QU's Alessi closed out the scoring with 23 seconds on clock

Three goalies saw time in the cage for the Buckeyes. Senior Stefan Schroder started and played the first 45 minutes, allowing three goals and making five saves. Sophomore Brandon Freeman played 11:41 and allowed three. Senior Bill Curry saw his first action since Feb. 23, 2007 and made two saves, allowing one goal.

The teams combined for 17 penalties in the games. Ohio State was 3-for-9 on man-up chances and Quinnipiac was 3-for-8.

Game Notes

Ohio State returns home with two games next week. The team will host Bellarmine at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Air Force at noon April 6 (Sunday).

The game opened Great Western Lacrosse League action for both squads.

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2008-03-29