The No. 16 Ohio State men's soccer team (5-2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) tied the Kentucky Wildcats (3-2-3, 0-0 Southeastern Conference) 1-1 in double-overtime at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium Sunday.
"Kentucky is a legitimate program ... with very good tradition the last 10 years," OSU coach John Bluem said. "Their coaches have done a great job with their program."
Kentucky got off to a fast start as junior midfielder Nathan Li scored his first collegiate goal nine minutes into the game to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
The Buckeyes battled back when sophomore defender Eric Brunner scored the tying goal in the 65th minute of regulation. Brunner's second goal of the season came on an assist by freshman midfielder Danny Irizarry.
Brunner received Big Ten Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week honors and was also named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week last week before scoring the goal this weekend. Bluem said he has been very pleased with Brunner's athletic skills and play as of late.
"He's got great skill. He's got great soccer sense, and he's a tremendous competitor," Bluem said. "Not only does he have a great defensive effort, but he contributes to the attack as well."
The Buckeyes played without two of their starters Sunday. Junior midfielder Taylor Korpieski and sophomore forward Xavier Balc were both forced to sit out of Sunday's match after they were disqualified during OSU's 3-2 double-overtime loss to Bowling Green on Friday.
The Buckeyes nearly took the lead with five-and-a-half minutes to play after OSU junior midfielder Antonio Garcia was tackled by a Wildcat player. The play resulted in a yellow card and a direct kick. Senior defender Kyle Veris fired a shot that was blocked, and junior midfielder Brent Rohrer shot a follow-up that was just high of the goal.
Buckeye senior goalkeeper Ray Burse Jr. recorded one save in the first half before turning the net over to sophomore Casey Latchem. Latchem finished the game with one save during a scoreless second half and two overtimes.
It was the fifth overtime match of the season for OSU.
"Our play so far I think is the most aggressive we've been," Rohrer said. "Our defense is one of the best we've had, and it's really helped us win games."
Offensively they have continued to improve on the attack.
"We're scoring more goals this year, but I think there's been a couple games where we've just had one goal in overtime," junior midfielder Taylor Korpieski said. "I think we need to pick up that a little bit."
The Buckeyes entered Sunday's match-up coming off a tough loss at the hands of Bowling Green. The Falcons, who were 0-5-1 going into the game, were hungry for a victory and shocked the Buckeyes in double-overtime by a score of 3-2.
Bowling Green got off to an early 1-0 lead. Midway through the second half Korpieski received his second yellow card in the game and was disqualified, leaving the Buckeyes with 10 men on the field. The Falcons scored twenty seconds later on a goal by sophomore forward Omari Aldridge to put the Falcons up 2-0.
OSU battled back, starting with senior forward Kevin Nugent's third goal of the season on an assist from Veris at the 78th minute mark to cut the Falcon lead in half. Veris scored the tying goal in the 84th minute on an assist from Nugent and Irizarry. It was Veris' first goal of the season.
At the start of the second overtime, Falcon freshman defender Kyle Williams scored an unassisted goal to end the match after Balc was forced to leave the game after receiving a second yellow card.
Consistency is one aspect of the game that the Buckeyes still hope to improve on as they prepare for the remainder of the regular season.
"We have to become more dangerous in the attack at possessing the ball better and by moving the ball and working the ball around the field, so we create better opportunities to attack," Bluem said. "The entire team has to recognize the little things that we need to do to make ourselves more dangerous as an attacking team and if we do that then we'll continue to improve in our ability to score goals."
The Buckeyes will continue their homestand at 7 p.m. Wednesday when they take on Butler before traveling to Akron Friday to take on the Zips.
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