NCAA Men's Lacrosse Preview: Getting Offensive at No. 19 Ohio State

USA Lacrosse Magazine is beginning its countdown to Feb. 1 — the first day of the 2025 men's lacrosse season — by releasing one team preview per day beginning on Monday, Jan. 13.

We continue the countdown with No. 19 Ohio State, a team two seasons removed from its last NCAA tournament berth that focused on a new offensive approach this fall.

The Buckeyes went to work following their second straight sub-.500 season. Ohio State played several ranked teams tough last year but came away with just one significant win over Rutgers and three one-goal losses.

“We felt like we were just close and couldn’t get over the hump in those key moments,” head coach Nick Myers said. “We had a couple one-goal games that really could have changed our season.”

Almost 20 players, including some new transfers, stayed in the Columbus area to work out together over the summer and get a jumpstart on turning around their fortunes.

Ohio State mixed things up in the fall to achieve better results. The staff broke the team into three squads to play sixes. They charted stats and wins, which nurtured their competitive side.

“The guys loved it,” Myers said. “The chance for us as coaches just to kind of evaluate without really putting any scheme or anything in, it gave us a really good feel of guys’ strengths and allowed them to play with a lot of freedom, compete, build really some of our cultural pillars.”

The Buckeyes come into the season relying on a strong group of senior leaders and a new determination to get over the hump.

TOP RETURNERS

Greg Langermeier, M, Sr. (20GB, 8CT)
Gannon Matthews, M, Sr. (19G, 7A)
Bobby Van Buren, D, Sr. (2023 stats: 18GB, 5CT)

Langermeier and Van Buren both were voted captains. Langermeier is stepping in to shore up the defensive midfield void left by the graduations of standouts Connor Cmiel and Eli Fisher. Van Buren’s return from an injury that limited him to three games in 2024 is huge for the defense and for team dynamics.

“He brings a certain energy and enthusiasm to the locker room,” Myers said.

The defense ranked 12th last year in goals allowed but graduated Marcus Hudgins and Jacob Snyder. Van Buren can help soften their departures.

KEY ADDITIONS

Ryan Donnery, A, Gr. (at Quinnipiac: 30G, 29A)
Shane O’Leary, M, Gr. (at UMass: 22G, 12A)
Liam White, M, Fr. (23G, 15A)

The trio of newcomers should all help boost a Buckeye offense that ranked 52nd in scoring. Donnery “was a need for us,” Myers said. The transfer is one of the players that came in the summer to work out with his new team after a second-team All-MAAC selection at Quinnipiac.

O’Leary, too, comes in after making the Atlantic 10 second team at UMass. He has a chance to run with the first midfield. White is also an offensive midfielder who has impressed early.

“He’s been as advertised,” Myers said. “I think he’ll be really impactful in our offense.”

NOTABLE DEPARTURES

Graduations: Kurt Bruun, A; Tommy Burke, FO; Connor Cmiel, M; Trent DiCicco, M; Eli Fisher, M; Thomas Greenblatt, M; Marcus Hudgins, D; Jacob Snyder, D
Transfers: Gavin Begonia, M (UMass); Aiden Bodonyi, D (Delaware); Sam Burns, M (Boston U); Matt Caputo, A (Marquette); Keaton Zavitz, M (Ohio State)

X-FACTOR

Blake Eiland, M, Jr. (12G, 9GB)

Eiland has had a steady role over his first two years and shown bright flashes. He had a hat trick against Notre Dame and scored twice against Maryland last year. He’s on the wing and is the Buckeyes’ top defensive middie. Ohio State plans to expand his role and allow him to show more of his talents.

“He does a bit of everything,” Myers said. “We ask a lot of Blake. In year three, he’s ready for even more on his plate.”                                         

THE NARRATIVE

The Buckeyes feel a deeper, more experienced offense could be a difference maker this year. The offense returns its top five scorers, with starters Alex Marinier, Jack McKenna and Matthews all back.

“There’s been a different sense of urgency offensively with the returners that we have,” Myers said.

The returning core is being pushed by the newcomers mentioned, along with Hofstra transfer Griffin Turner and Garrett Haas, who is coming into his own in his second season and vying for a starting spot.

In six of last year’s losses, the offense scored 10 or fewer goals.

“We’ve got to shoot the ball better,” Myers said. “We’ve got to generate more quality looks and we’ve got to play with good tempo and pace, and that’s been kind of the theme of the fall with sixes.”

Ohio State needs to duplicate its defensive strengths. The defensive midfield added Ari Allen and Salisbury transfer Braden Glushakow, and sophomore Alex Dixon has played well. The close defense is solid with Van Buren, Cullen Brown and Kyle Foster, while the goalie position is a battle between Caleb Fyock, who played all last year, and Henry Blake, who started the first game of 2024 before an injury cost him the rest of the season.

Jack Oldman returns to man faceoffs, and the Buckeyes are hoping that converting more offensive chances leads to a double-digit-win season and a return to their first NCAA tournament since 2022.