Sports

Vicious Blindside Hit Creates College Lacrosse Rules Debate As Ohio State Steamrolls Denver

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Ohio State Denver College Lacrosse Truck Stick penalty debate unnecessary roughness
Big Ten Network

The college lacrosse game between Ohio State and Denver ended with fireworks for the second year in a row. These two unlikely rivals got into a brief kerfuffle after a questionable late hit during the closing seconds of the fourth quarter.

Tempers flared between two teams that have a history of shenanigans.

The rules of college lacrosse are very clear when it comes to unnecessary roughness. However, the call itself is subjective and officials are asked to make a snap decision based on their own judgement. The hit on Thursday could’ve gone either way. Fortunately, it did not have an impact on the result.

Ohio State beat Denver.

Ohio State currently ranks as the No. 7 team in the country with only one loss to Notre Dame. Denver ranks No. 13 with only one loss to No. 4 Cornell.

Well, now two.

The Buckeyes hosted the Pioneers in Columbus on Thursday night. It was a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle that took all 60 minutes to determine a winner.

Ohio State took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter that it would never give back. Denver tried and failed to mount a comeback during the second half. The home team went on to win by a final score of 6-4.

The Pioneers committed 21 turnovers in the game, with the Buckeyes causing eight and forcing another three on shot clock violations. Ohio State held Denver to its lowest scoring performance in the series since 2002.

Both of these programs are in position to make a run to the postseason if they can keep stacking wins, but the most recent result will have a major impact on the standings. The Buckeyes gave themselves a little bit of leeway with ranked games against Maryland, Johns Hopkins and Penn State on the horizon. The Pioneers can’t afford another loss if they want any hope of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

What is a late hit in college lacrosse?

There is something about these two teams that always seems to lead to mayhem. A vicious hit sparked a scuffle during the last meeting between Ohio State and Denver.

A similar thing took place on Thursday.

Buckeyes midfielder Logan Soelberg leveled Pioneers defender Russell Overly with less than 15 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The former has 25 pounds on the latter so he got knocked off of his feet.

That did not go over well.

Overly’s teammates immediately got in the face of Soelberg, which led to a scuffle. Ohio State and Denver converged on each other for some pushing and shoving.

Soelberg was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty because of the hit. Was it deserved?

According to Rule 5, Section 5 of the NCAA rulebook, unnecessary roughness must include:

  • An excessively violent violation of holding or pushing rules.
    • (Unfair restriction of an opponent’s movement)
  • Deliberate and excessively violent contact with a player who has established a legal screen (pick).
  • Deliberate, excessively violent contact using the body or the stick.
  • A check delivered with the gloved hand in a punching or thrusting motion.

Here is another look at the blow:

Did the officials make the right call? Let me know your thoughts at Grayson@BroBible.com!