Our #2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-1) take on the #15 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1) this Saturday at Arlotta Stadium at 2:00. The game will be streamed on the ACC Network.

This is a great chance for the boys to get back on track with a win over a ranked opponent.

The Opponent

The Buckeyes opened their season with a loss to Utah.  They’ve been on a roll since, with wins over Detroit Mercy, Cleveland State, Bellarmine, Air Force, Virginia and Bryant.  The convincing win over Virginia certainly got our attention.

Ohio State is led offensively by Alex Marinier with 21 goals through 6 games, an impressive stat line. Marinier has a pretty good supporting cast around him consisting of Garrett Haas with 12 goals 9 assists, Ryan Donnery with 11 goals 5 assists, Griffin Turner with 5 goals 10 assists, and Ed Shean with 9 goals 5 assists. They do not want for options on offense and will be difficult to control. But if we keep up the way we played defensively against Maryland then there shouldn’t be much to worry about.

On the defensive end of the field, they are led by one of the best defensemen in the country in Bobby Van Buren. Van Buren has 10 CTOs and 13 GBs this season. It is the first time in a few years the boys will face a healthy version of him. Van Buren is supported on defense by Cullen Brown with 17 CTOs and 30 GBs and Greg Langermeier with 10 CTOs and 11GBs. This is a pretty good unit.

Between the pipes the Buckeyes have the nearly 300 lb Caleb “Big Tasty” Fyock. Big Tasty is one of the best goalies the Irish will face this year and will require a great shot selection which the boys have had a bit of a challenge with thus far in the season.

This team is  beatable but has the ability to give the boys a lot of trouble. The sloppiness shown in the Maryland game could make this much more difficult than it needs to be, but we trust them to get back under control.

Our Questions

The aftermath of the Maryland game has resulted in some new pregame questions:

  1. Winning Transition: Last week against Maryland we lost the transition battle on both ends of the field. Defensively, we can’t expect them to win every fast break, though we should break up a good share of them. On the offensive end of the field we will need to convert more consistently. Additional, we hope to see the boys push transition a bit more.
  2. Offensive Identity: With the loss of some many impactful players last season, our offense this season has looked different to say the least. Throughout these first few games it has looked like they are trying to figure out what kind of offense they are. As we get further in the season and continue to play challenging opponents, we will need to figure this out and quickly. Most importantly, we hope to see some settling of the lineups, including some clarity at the third attack position and consistent midfield line personnel.
  3. Staying in control: While we hate to continuously harp on it, sloppiness has really been big issue this season. In the Maryland game the sloppiness finally caught up with them. The boys will need to bounce back well and control the game like we know they can.

This is a great opportunity to add another ranked win to the season and bounce back after a heartbreaking loss. This game will play a major role in how the season will go and how quickly the team can develop into the best it can be. Don’t miss it!

#GoIrish

ND-ATL 2.0