COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s lacrosse team put up an impressive performance against No. 5 Northwestern on Thursday evening at the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in a back-and-forth, high-scoring contest. A five-goal run late in the second sealed the win for the Wildcats, as the Buckeyes fell 17-12. Ohio State finishes the season nearly doubling its win column from 2018, ending with a record of 9-8, 1-4 B1G. The Wildcats conclude the regular season at 12-4, 5-1 B1G. THE SHORT STORY The Buckeyes held their own against the No. 1 offense in the country, leading the Wildcats 5-4 just nine minutes into the first frame. Three consecutive goals gave Northwestern a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, and though Ohio State had plenty of answers for the Wildcat attack, a five-goal run late in the second secured the win for NU. Not giving up without a fight, Ohio State scored three goals in the final two minutes to close the Northwestern lead to five goals. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED • Northwestern was quick on the offense to start out the game, scoring just ten seconds in. Junior Liza Hernandez responded at 29:06, setting the tone for more quick offense to come in the half. • Wildcat Selena Lasota scored just one minute later, and Hernandez once again answered with a goal to even the score at 2-all. • Northwestern gained back the lead quickly, but goals from senior Baley Parrott and sophomore Lindsay Epstein gave the Buckeyes their first lead of the game at 23:10. • Keeping up the eventful first 10 minutes of the frame, Northwestern tied the score at 4-all at 22:31, followed by another go-ahead goal for the Buckeyes, this time from freshman Maura McGregor. • Northwestern netted three straight goals to take its first two-goal lead of the game at 12:22 in the half. • At 8:12, sophomore Sophie Baez outworked the Northwestern defense to put the Buckeyes within a goal. • The Wildcats ended the half on a two-goal run and took a 9-6 lead into halftime. • A less offensive half, the Buckeyes were the first to strike in the second when Parrott scored her 110th career goal at 28:52 to come back to within two goals of the Wildcats. • Determined not to relinquish the two-goal spread, Parrott responded again after a Northwestern goal as the Wildcats led 10-8. • Lasota was able to score a pair and with 11 minutes remaning in the second, Northwestern owned a four-goal lead. • Parrott added a fourth goal at 9:44, but the Wildcats went on a five-goal run to seal the victory. • Not going without a fight, Parrott, Hernandez and McGregor scored three straight for the Buckeyes closed the final gap to five goals, 17-12. THIS AND THAT • Baley Parrott finishes her career with 113 goals, good for No. 10 all-time on the Ohio State goal-scoring list. Her five goals led the Buckeyes, and the midfielder added two ground balls and two caused turnovers. • Liza Hernandez notched her seventh hat trick of the season, finishing with 61 points overall. • Maura McGregor posted the first multi-point game of her career with two goals. • Jill Rizzo finished with another 10-save effort, posting a number of key stops for Ohio State. She also led the team with three ground balls. • Senior Caroline Mackrides caused two turnovers. • Hernandez and Riley Ewing each claimed six draw controls for OSU. Six is a season-high for Hernandez. JUST THE STATS Leading Scorers: Parrott (5G), Hernandez (3G), McGregor (2G) Shots: Ohio State 35, Northwestern 33 Ground Balls: Ohio State 21, Northwestern 14 Draw Controls: Ohio State 13, Northwestern 18 Free Position Shots: Ohio State 0-of-4, Northwestern 5-of-10 Saves: Ohio State (Rizzo) 10, Northwestern (Weisse) 10 UP NEXT This event concludes the women’s lacrosse regular season.