lacrosse-men-d1 flag

Anthony Chiusano | NCAA.com | April 22, 2017

No. 7 Ohio State knocks off No. 2 Maryland in overtime

The Buckeyes moved to 12-2 on the year with their Big Ten upset over Maryland.

Johnny Pearson netted the game-winner in overtime to lead No. 7 Ohio State men's lacrosse to an upset over No. 2 Maryland 11-10 in Saturday's Big Ten clash in Columbus.

Pearson scored at the 2:57 mark in the extra frame, coming off a ground ball following Eric Fannell's shot that rang off the post. Fannell finished with a team-high five goals while Pearson had two in the win.

The Buckeyes fell behind early against the Terrapins, trailing 7-2 in the second quarter, before scoring six straight goals to take their first lead of the day in the final two minutes of the third frame. From there, the two teams traded momentum, with Maryland scoring the final two goals in regulation to send the game to overtime.

Pearson's game-winning goal came on the opening possession of overtime, set up by senior Jake Withers' faceoff win. The Buckeyes won 18-of-25 faceoffs, which were all taken by Withers.

"Our seniors were incredible. They stepped up and made plays you expect seniors to make," Ohio State coach Nick Myers told reporters after the game. "Down three at half, we felt like coming in the third quarter it was all about us. We settled down and played much cleaner in the box and really felt like that was the key."

Ohio State clinched a spot in the upcoming Big Ten tournament with its victory and moved to 8-0 on its home turf this season. Maryland lost its first game since March 18 and dropped to 3-1 in conference play.