No. 12 University of Michigan beat the Ohio State men's soccer team 0-1 in Ann Arbor Saturday. A late goal by forward Perica Marosevic sealed the victory for the Wolverines.
Both teams traded shots in the first half with the best chance coming from a free kick by senior defender Tim Gabel, which was saved by Wolverines goalkeeper Patrick Sperry in the 24th minute. Junior defender Doug Verhoff's goal was called back due to an offside call, taking the Buckeyes into the second half tied 0-0.
Andy Gottesman/The Lantern
Sophomore Sam Scales clears the ball against Indiana on Oct. 26. The Ohio State men's soccer team will play its regular season finale against No. 4 Akron on Friday at 7:30 p.m."In the second half, we were clearly the better team," OSU coach John Bluem said.
Despite plenty of chances from the Buckeyes, the Wolverines broke through in the 82nd minute when Marosevic received a pass from forward Cam Cameron and finished a shot into the lower right corner, beating junior goalkeeper Byron Neal. Bluem said his team was unlucky conceding a late goal.
"It was a perfect time for them to score because we didn't have enough time to recover," he said.
Bluem knew his players' backs were against the wall. The Buckeyes (9-6-2, Big Ten 2-4-0) were hoping to boast their NCAA tournament resume with two big wins against ranked opponents. An extra time free kick and a late goal were the difference in the Buckeyes' losses against No. 23 Indiana and Michigan.
"We have a pretty good resume … but now we're in a little bit of a hole," Bluem said.
The Buckeyes need a positive result in their regular season finale against No. 4 Akron to gain momentum going into the Big Ten and possibly the NCAA tournament. A third-straight loss would leave a tough road ahead for a team that might have let too many victories slip away this season.
"Now we're forcing ourselves to get results against the best teams on our schedule," Bluem said.
The showdown with Akron at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium Friday will showcase the nation's top-scoring sophomore Steve Zakuani. The Zips forward has scored 17 goals this season, leading his team to a 14-1-3 record. The Buckeyes offense will be facing goalkeeper Evan Bush, who has posted 11 shutouts this seasons. The Zips are unbeaten in 13 games dating back to Sept. 12.
"We're going to have a tough time matching up against them," Bluem said.
Time is running out for the Buckeyes, and the prospect of being left out of the NCAA tournament has Bluem calling the game against Akron a must-win.
"We're going to be desperate. We're going to be going for it," he said.
Tyler Gillespie can be reached at gillespie.113@osu.edu.
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