Sophomore midfielder Morgan Kile (8) battles for the ball in a game against Saint Louis on Aug. 28 at Buckeye Varsity Field. OSU won the season opener 5-0.
Credit: Kevin Stankiewicz / Asst. Sports Editor
A trip to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, ended up mostly successful for the Ohio State field hockey team, as it took a top-15 team to overtime on Friday before grabbing an easy win the next day.
In its first overtime appearance of the season, OSU fell short to the No. 11 Wake Forest Deacons (3-1) by a score of 3-2 on Friday.
The offense stayed strong through the second half with sophomore forward/midfielder Maddy Humphrey and senior forward Peanut Johnson in charge of both goals, which occurred a mere nine seconds apart in the second half.
On those two scores, sophomore midfielder Morgan Kile contributed her first two assists of the season.
A one-goal lead was maintained by OSU until the 57th minute, when Wake Forest’s Jule Grashoff scored a goal with an assist from teammate Heather Wiley, pushing the game to overtime with a score of 2-2.
Only a minute and 19 seconds of extra time later, Wake Forest’s Megan Anderson netted the game-winning goal.
The Buckeyes led the game in saves, with sophomore goalie Liz Tamburro pulling out eight stops for the second game in a row.
Despite Friday’s loss, OSU (2-2) came out on top the next day, scoring a season record of five goals against Missouri State (0-3) and taking the win with a final score of 5-0.
Outshooting Missouri 14-3 in the first half alone, the Buckeyes’ high energy and determination was evident from the start at Kentner Stadium. Senior back and captain Emma Royce opened the scoring in the 21st minute to give the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead.
After opening up the second half with an unassisted goal from junior midfielder Paige Hamilton less than three minutes in, OSU increased its lead to 3-0 with Royce scoring just three minutes later off a pass from Johnson.
In the 53rd minute, Humphrey scored off an assist from Kile, making it her fourth goal of the year and Kile’s third assist this weekend.
The fifth and final score was registered by junior forward Mercedes Hamilton near the 60-minute mark for the first score of her career, with an assist from sophomore forward Lauren Archibald.
The Buckeyes walked off the field outshooting Missouri 21-7 and leading penalty corners 9-5. Tamburro held the shutout with five total saves for her second win of the season.
The Buckeyes are next set to compete on their home field on Friday against Ball State at 3:30 p.m.
