Buckeyes tie Badgers

The Ohio State men's soccer team battled the defending national champion Wisconsin Badgers to a 2-2 tie Sunday at home before a lively crowd of 350 fans. The Buckeyes built a 2-0 second half lead on goals scored four minutes apart by sophomore defender Matt Sprague and junior forward Jeremy Sloan. OSU couldn't hold the lead though, allowing Badgers Adam Kowalski and Christian Broadhurst to both score in the last 17 minutes, sending the game into overtime. OSU started the second half with immediate offensive pressure and controlled the midfield, while keeping the ball in the Wisconsin half for the first 15 minutes. The Buckeyes' first goal scored by Sprague came off of a corner kick by sophomore midfielder Matt Daniel in the 54th minute. Sprague leaped over the Wisconsin defense and headed the ball off of a Badger defender and into the goal. Four minutes later, senior forward Steve Muller dribbled around a Wisconsin defender and threaded a pass between two defenders to Sloan, who put a low shot to the left of Badger goalkeeper Todd Wilson. Although a tie is better than a loss, Muller was disappointed that the Buckeyes didn't win the game. "We were beating them pretty bad for a long time... we went up 2-0 and I think we got a little too excited," Muller said. "They scored a goal and we started to panic a little bit. We played well, real well, but we just couldn't finish them off." OSU head coach Gary Avedikian gave Wisconsin credit. "You're looking at the defending national champion," Avedikian said. "We're playing a first rate collegiate power." The Buckeyes improved their record to 5-2-3 overall and 1-0-1 in the Big Ten. The team will have a week off before they play Michigan State, 2 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center North Field.