Senior Lisa Grubb set an Ohio State all-time assist record and sophomore Lisa Collison scored the team’s first hat trick since 2004, but the Buckeyes suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 double overtime loss to Northwestern on Sunday.
Collison scored her three goals in a 10-minute span in the first half. The forward answered the call of duty after Buckeye leading scorer Lara Dickenmann was injured earlier in the game. The third goal gave the Buckeyes a 3-2 lead and credited Grubb with the assist to give her the new record. It is the second record for Grubb this season – she also broke the all-time points record against Indiana.
“It’s my job to score,” Collison said. “The defense did their job getting (the ball) to me and ultimately, I need to finish those. Today, I did.”
Collison led the Buckeyes in goals scored last season as a freshman with 13.
“She is fast and dangerous. She makes great runs with the ball and it is easy to find her,” Grubb said.
Northwestern was unable to respond until halfway through the second half. The Wildcats had a corner kick opportunity that led to a hand ball penalty inside the goal box. Northwestern was able to kick the ball high inside the left post to even the score at 3.
Despite the return of Dickenmann, the Buckeyes were unable to produce in the last minutes of the game. In a sudden death overtime, the Wildcats midfielder, Alicia Herczeg knocked in a goal to win the game.
Despite the four goals, Grubb still has faith in the Buckeye defense.
“We are solid defensively,” she said. “Except for the last goal, the only goals we have given up were in set pieces.”
After this Big Ten matchup, the Buckeyes’ record fell to 5-5-1 overall and 1-3-0 in the conference. The Wildcats improved to 7-5-0 overall and 3-1-0 in the Big Ten.
The team kicked off its weekend with another Big Ten match up this past Friday. Adding their first conference win to their record, the Buckeyes outscored Wisconsin 2-1.
In a battle that stayed mostly in the midfield, coach Lori Walker said she believes her team’s ability to take control is what edged the Buckeyes to victory.
“I thought part of the difference for us was that we won the midfield battle,” Walker said.
The first goal of the game came when Dickenmann knocked down the ball in the box putting OSU on the board. Five minutes later, Wisconsin quieted the crowd with a goal, tying the game at 1-1. Coming off the bench for OSU, junior Jenna Greenwood took the ball all the way to the goal to score the final points of the game.
The OSU defense put alot of pressure on Wisconsin throughout the game. The ability to stop their opponent is something Walker said she has confidence in.
“The only opportunities Wisconsin had was to shoot from a distance and (goalkeeper) Lauren Robertson is going to cover most of those.”
However, the freshmen goalkeeper does not take all the credit.
“This team we have on the field is a great 11 players,” she said.
The road to the Big Ten Tournament continues Fiday, as the Buckeyes take on Iowa in Iowa City.
