The Ohio State men’s soccer team ended its regular season against Wisconsin on Sunday, as five seniors played their final game at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
After the scoreless draw, coach John Bluem and members of the senior class seemed to realize how quickly the time does fly.
“You remember back to when you were recruiting them five years ago,” Bluem said. “It’s just amazing that the time is gone already.”
The five seniors, forwards Chris Hegngi and Joshua Breto, midfielders Austin McAnena and Sebastian Rivas, and defender Chris Gomez, were individually recognized for their achievements prior to the game.
Bluem called the seniors “soldiers” and praised them for being “good students and great ambassadors for the program.” He also said he was proud of the leadership they showed during a season that saw the Buckeyes struggle to a 6-9-3 record and 0-4-2 mark in the Big Ten.
“They’ve never let down, they never hung their heads and gave up on the season,” Bluem said.
McAnena walked on to the program as a freshman but evolved into a star for the Buckeyes. As a senior captain, he led the team with 11 points and four goals.
While McAnena said the realization of playing the final home game of his career hadn’t sunk in, he echoed his coach’s words.
“It was just awesome that I was able to choose this and then be able to come on to the team,” McAnena said. “Ever since then, it has just kind of been a blur.”
Gomez, a co-captain, said he tried to enjoy his final game at home and will miss the camaraderie that he shared with his teammates.
“I’ll miss all the joking around in the locker room before the games, before practice,” Gomez said.
Gomez and the Buckeyes will have at least one more game together, though.
The Big Ten tournament begins on Nov. 7 as OSU enters as the seventh, and lowest, seeded team. The Buckeyes are slated to play Northwestern at 7 p.m. in Evanston, Ill.