With No. 7 Indiana coming to town, the Ohio State men’s soccer team looked to take down another Big Ten foe at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Coming off a dominant 3-0 win over Oakland on Tuesday, the Buckeyes looked to ride momentum in hopes of improving their conference record of 2-3.
OSU redshirt freshman goalkeeper Parker Siegfried (1) prepares to return the ball to midfield during the Buckeye’s game against Valparaiso on Sept. 21 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes won 4-1. Credit: Janaya Greene | Lantern Photographer
Ohio State and Indiana played to a 2-2 draw on Saturday afternoon, with neither team able to find a game-winner through two overtime periods.
“It could have gone either way,” OSU coach John Bluem said. “Earlier in the year we lost three games in sudden-death overtime. I think our guys were determined not to let that happen again.”
The Buckeyes opened up the scoring early in the first period.
In the 5th minute of play, junior forward Nate Kohl secured the ball in the box after a failed clearing attempt by the Indiana goalkeeper. Kohl deflected the ball off his chest then slid down to redirect it into the back of the net, giving the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead.
For Kohl, it was his team-high fifth goal of the season.
Indiana netted an equalizer in the 18th minute with a header by sophomore midfielder Jeremiah Gutjahr.
However, it did not take long for the Buckeyes to answer back.
In the 20th minute, Kohl worked a ball down the sideline. He slotted a pass through the middle in between a couple Hoosier defenders, finding senior midfielder Ben Fitzpatrick, who used a good first touch to get around his defender. He then fired it into the back of the net from 12 yards out, putting OSU back on top 2-1.“Me and Ben have worked on and off the ball together pretty well,” Kohl said. “I know how he plays and he knows how I play so it just keeps getting better. Its sad it took until the end of the season to start working, but I guess it’s as good a time as any.”
Just as it seemed like the Buckeyes had the game in the bag, Indiana upped the tempo and started applying pressure deep in the offensive zone.
With just seven minutes remaining in regulation, senior defender Billy McConnell deflected an Indiana shot inside the box that rolled just out of reach of OSU redshirt freshman goalkeeper Parker Siegfried to tie the game up at two.
Neither of the two teams had many scoring opportunities in the two overtime periods, as the game ended in a tie.
“When you let up an equalizing goal that late, your team could fold,” Bluem said. “For those last 27 minutes, our guys strapped them back up and fought hard to not allow that winning goal.”
The Hoosiers outshot OSU 14-5, including an 8-1 advantage in the second period. Siegfried made five saves.
The two teams seemed to have some bad blood, as things got chippy as time went on. Indiana accumulated a staggering 28 for calls, including four yellow cards for Indiana. OSU amassed 12 total fouls.
“They were getting a little upset that they are the No. 7 team in the country and we were putting the pressure on them and taking the wind out of them,” Kohl said. “Things got a little chippy, but nothing we couldn’t handle.”
Bluem said he was very proud of how his team played despite missing a few of their key guys to injuries.
“We have a lot of talent sitting on our bench that can’t play,” Bluem said. “Yaw (Amankwa) couldn’t play today. Danny (Jensen) is out. (Marcus) McCrary is out. The guys that are being called upon in their place are really doing a great job.”
Next up for the now 4-9-1 Buckeyes is a road contest against No. 4 Louisville on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
