It was a busy Saturday slate that included several ranked matchups and upsets, but the storyline that stands out most was the return of Ivy League men’s lacrosse.

OHIO STATE DOMINATES NORTH CAROLINA

Ohio State headed to Chapel Hill at 2-0 but battled its first ranked opponent of the season in North Carolina, led by Chris Gray. A win against the Tar Heels could prove valuable as the Buckeyes look to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017.

Nick Myers’ program learned at Dorrance Field that it had enough to compete with a top 10 team. Ohio State battled through a tight first half and broke the game open in the second to cruise to a 20-8 victory over No. 5 North Carolina. Jack Myers led the Buckeyes with two goals and seven assists, while Jason Knox scored four times. Gray, a Tewaaraton Award candidate, finished with three goals and four assists.

Five players scored in a back-and-forth first quarter that ended with the score tied at 2. Ohio State added four more goals, from four different players, to take a 6-5 lead at halftime despite two goals from Gray.

Myers led a run out of halftime that gave Ohio State a 9-5 lead midway through the third quarter. Gray took command of the North Carolina offense shortly after, scoring a slick low-to-high to cut the deficit to 10-7. But the Buckeye surge continued and engulfed the North Carolina defense. Ohio State scored 10 of the final 11 goals to pull away. 

HOPKINS HALTS LOYOLA

The Battle for Charles Street lived up the hype once again. With both teams already having been blown out by a team in the top 10, No. 15 Johns Hopkins and No. 12 Loyola both had something to prove.

Joey Epstein tallied five points, and the Johns Hopkins defense came up big late to help fuel an 11-10 victory over Loyola at Homewood Field. The defensive effort overshadowed a four-goal performance from Joey Kamish.

Neither team led by more than three goals throughout the game, but Seth Higgins gave the Greyhounds a 10-8 cushion with 10:06 remaining in the game. Ryan Evans cut the deficit to one goal less than a minute later, and Epstein tied it with 6:47 left.

Scott Smith gave Johns Hopkins the lead on a strong individual effort, but Connor DeSimone uncharacteristically turned the ball over with just over a minute left, allowing the Greyhounds one final chance.

Kevin Lindley rolled around X and attempted to shoot, but Beaudan Szuluk caused a turnover, and Blake Rodgers picked up the ground ball to run out the clock.

HOPKINS LOCKS IT DOWN @jhumenslacrosse halts @LoyolaMLAX in the final seconds to seal the 11-10 victory at Homewood Field. pic.twitter.com/gM9v3A4I1J

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) February 19, 2022

JACOBY FUELS RUTGERS

No. 7 Rutgers welcomed its first ranked opponent to Piscataway, and it came in the form of a familiar opponent in No. 13 Army. Ronan Jacoby delivered a career game to help the Scarlet Knights pick up an impressive victory.

Jacoby scored six goals to lead Rutgers to a 13-10 win and help the Scarlet Knights move to 3-0. Shane Knobloch chipped in three goals, including a beautiful one-hander, to help hold off the Black Knights. 

Jacoby’s big first half helped Rutgers jump out to a 7-1 lead early in the second quarter, but Army didn’t go away easily. Brendan Nichtern scored one of four straight goals to pull the Black Knights back into the game before halftime. 

Paul Johnson scored back-to-back goals in the third quarter to tie the score at 8, but Knobloch got hot and helped fuel a four-goal run as a response. Up 12-8 in the fourth quarter, the Rutgers defense helped halt another comeback effort from Army.

HOBART UPSETS LEHIGH

Hobart picked up its first ranked win since 2016 on Saturday, when No. 9 Lehigh traveled to Geneva for a non-conference matchup.

The Statesmen led by as many as four goals but held on in the final seconds to seal a 14-13 victory over the Mountain Hawks. Ryan Archer led a strong offensive effort with six points on three goals and three assists.

Up 14-10 with 6:02 left, the Hobart defense had to withstand a furious rally from Lehigh in the final minutes. Dakota Eierman, Scott Cole and Quinn Armstrong each scored to cut the deficit to 14-13 with 58 seconds left. 

Lehigh had a final possession as time expired, but Kevin Holtby made his 14th save on a shot from Eierman to seal the victory.

HOBART PULLS THE UPSET @HobartLacrosse holds on to down @LehighLacrosse thanks to a last-second save from Kevin Holtby. pic.twitter.com/Iwd5Y2XqRy

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) February 19, 2022

VIRGINIA SHAKES OFF SLOW START

The defending national champion looked like it was in a battle early at Johnny Unitas Stadium, but Virginia’s quality proved more than enough to stay unbeaten.

The Cavaliers trailed by three goals early in the first quarter but used a strong second half to pull away for an 18-9 victory over Towson. Payton Cormier had six points, and Connor Shellenberger chipped in five points to the winning effort.

Towson played strong defense and picked up a few timely goals to take a 4-1 lead in the first quarter, but Virginia quickly found its offense. Five different scorers led a run that helped the Cavaliers take a 7-6 lead into halftime. The Tigers continued to press the Cavaliers, but the defending champs scored nine straight goals through the start of the fourth quarter to take command. Cormier had two goals and Shellenberger had two assists during the run that helped Virginia take a 17-7 lead.

Virginia took 33 shots on goal and picked up 48 ground balls in the victory.

SNOW

Boston U and Bryant were in the midst of a battle when a snow squall rolled in. The scenes are amazing.

The Terriers, though, withstood the elements to upset the Bulldogs 13-8.

Somewhere amid the snow is an #UpsetAlert.@TerrierMLAX leads @Bryant_MLax in the 4Q. pic.twitter.com/lGzH166RHr

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) February 19, 2022

NOTABLE

• Connor Davis scored six goals to tie a Bucknell freshman record and lead the Bison to a 23-7 win over St. John’s.

• Brett Baucia scored four goals, and Tommy Lingner made 11 saves to seal UMBC’s 12-8 upset victory over Drexel in Baltimore.

• Corson Kealey scored six goals, and Taggart Clark added four goals to fuel Stony Brook’s 18-14 victory over Robert Morris.

• Michigan held Holy Cross to a program-low three goals in a 20-3 victory that included six points from Josh Zawada.

• Duke had nine different scorers overall and six different scorers during a pivotal stretch, as the No. 17 Blue Devils topped No. 10 Denver 19-10. More on the game here.

• The Ivy League is back. See how every team fared in their debuts here.

HOW THE TOP 20 FARED

No.1 Virginia defeated Towson 18-9
No. 3 Georgetown defeated No. 8 Penn 10-8
No. 4 Notre Dame defeated Detroit Mercy 24-2
Ohio State defeated No. 5 North Carolina 20-8
No. 7 Rutgers defeated No. 13 Army 13-10
Hobart defeated No. 9 Lehigh 14-13
No. 19 Duke defeated No. 10 Denver 19-10 
No. 15 Johns Hopkins defeated No. 12 Loyola 11-10
No. 16 Jacksonville defeated Marquette 14-10
Boston U defeated No. 18 Bryant 13-8
UMBC defeated No. 19 Drexel 12-8
No. 20 Cornell defeated Albany 16-8

FULL SCOREBOARD

Bucknell 23, St. John’s 7
Boston U 13, No. 18 Bryant 8
Brown 19, Quinnipiac 13
Canisius 13, Bellarmine 11
Colgate 11, Air Force
No. 20 Cornell 16, Albany 8
No. 17 Duke 19, No. 10 Denver 10
Fairfield 16, Wagner 9
No. 3 Georgetown 10, No. 8 Penn 8
Hobart 14, No. 9 Lehigh 13
Harvard 17, NJIT 4
No. 15 Johns Hopkins 11, No. 12 Loyola 10
Mercer 11, Cleveland State 9
Merrimack 8, Dartmouth 6
Michigan 20, Holy Cross 3
Mount St. Mary’s 17, Hampton 5
No. 4 Notre Dame 24, Detroit Mercy 2
Ohio State 20, No. 5 North Carolina 8
Princeton 22, Monmouth 6
Providence 13, Siena 8
Richmond 18, Marist 4
No. 7 Rutgers 13, No. 13 Army 10
Saint Joseph’s 15, Penn State 13
Stony Brook 18, Robert Morris 14
UMass 19, UMass Lowell 9
UMBC 12, No. 19 Drexel 8
No. 6 Yale 17, Villanova 14