 "Photo: David Heasley")
The Ohio State men's soccer team fell to conference leader Penn State 1-0 in a thrilling double-overtime defensive struggle Sunday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Penn State (6-6-2, 4-0-0 Big Ten) scored the only goal of the game in the 104th minute. Junior forward Simon Omekanda delivered a strike from 40 yards on a through ball from senior midfielder Brian Devlin. The ball sailed just high of OSU senior goalkeeper Ray Burse Jr. and hit the crossbar before bouncing in.
"We anticipated that it would be a tough match like this," coach John Bluem said. "Unfortunately we didn't create as much as I thought we might be able to against them, and so that was the downside - that we didn't create enough opportunities to win the game ourselves."
The Buckeyes (7-6-1, 1-2-0 Big Ten) entered the game with momentum after beating Louisville on Oct. 12. OSU was 4-0-1 against the Nittany Lions in their last five meetings in Columbus and held a two-game winning streak.
"I think we came out confident - thinking we're going to take it to them," sophomore defender Eric Brunner said. "We're not going to be hesitant to go forward. We're going to take our chances and play smart - play our game and not the other team's."
OSU controlled the game statistically, recording 12 shots in the game to Penn State's nine. The Buckeyes recorded seven shots on goal, but all seven of OSU's shots were saved by Nittany Lion goalkeeper Conrad Taylor. Burse had three saves of his own in the game. The Buckeyes also had nine corner kicks to Penn State's two.
"We left it on the field and gave it our all in the game," Brunner said. "It's unfortunate the way it ended. We had opportunities to score, and we should've finished those."
Sophomore forward Xavier Balc led the Buckeyes with four shots in the game, including two on goal. Senior forward Kevin Nugent and senior defender Kyle Veris each recorded two shots of their own.
"We created quite a few chances; we just didn't put them away," Balc said. "I thought we played pretty well defensively. We just missed a really good shot at the end."
The Buckeyes had early back-to-back scoring opportunities when Nugent set up junior midfielder Brent Rohrer, whose shot was saved by Taylor in the fourth minute. Nugent answered back by firing a solo shot in the fifth minute, which was also saved by Taylor.
OSU continued to battle after a scoreless first half. Veris shot a header just wide right of the goal in the 52nd minute off a corner kick from Brunner.
The Buckeyes, who played in their sixth overtime game of the season, had a chance to win the game two minutes into the first overtime period when Nugent was fouled just outside of the 18-yard box. Balc fired a free kick as a result, but the shot was saved by Taylor. It would prove to be the team's last shot on goal of the game.
"We need to put the ball in the goal," Brunner said. "We didn't really play bad today. There's nothing really we can do except work and concentrate on putting the ball in the goal."
The Buckeyes return to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. Wednesday to take on Oakland (6-6-0, 2-1-0 Mid-Continent Conference) before traveling to Bloomington, Ind., to take on the defending National Champion Hoosiers.
"You ask the guys to keep their heads up after a tough loss like this," Bluem said. "Sudden-death victories are really difficult to deal with. The good thing is you get to play again right away and redeem yourself."
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