The Ohio State men’s soccer team has had plenty of goals this season, outscoring its opposition 14-12. But no goal was bigger than Taylor Korpieski’s first career game-winner against No. 21 Akron.

After missing the bulk of last season to an injury, Korpieski has been working diligently to make up for lost time. The senior forward spent much of the season trying to duplicate his standout freshman and sophomore seasons, and on Sept. 26, he did something he had been waiting to do for over a year – score a goal.

Until the highly anticipated game against the Zips, the Buckeyes had struggled as they saw their chance of an NCAA tournament bid slip further and further away with every loss. But on that day against Akron, things began to turn around for the Buckeyes.

Following a scoreless first half, OSU continued its push for the team’s first big win of the season. The Buckeyes had played five ranked teams earlier in the season and came up winless in each, but against the Zips, they used every one of their 16 shots to upset the No. 21 ranked team in the country.

As the 70th minute ticked by, Korpieski found himself with a loose ball 25 yards from the goal. Standing outside the left corner of the box, he went one way, then the other and launched a blast into the opposite corner past the diving keeper: Goal.

“That was a giant goal for us,” coach John Bluem said. “You need a goal like that to beat a team as good as Akron. We had very few opportunities to score a goal in that game and for him to have the audacity to even take that shot from such a long rage … it was a big-time goal from a big-time player.”

That big-time player accomplished something he had not experienced in over a year. After leading the team in goals and points his freshman year, followed by four goals his sophomore year, Korpieski suffered a devastating injury last season. The injury occurred before the 12th game against Michigan State – an injury that forced him to miss the final 10 games of the season.

“It just happened in warm-ups,” Korpieski said. “I was taking shots and I felt something tear, it turned out to be one of my quad muscles. I knew something was wrong and I felt it was serious. Once the results came back, I knew it was going to take time and all I could do was just let it heal.”

Korpieski, who was a vital part of the team’s success in 2004, could only sit on the sidelines as his teammarched through the Big Ten tournament and into the NCAA tournament.

“Having to sit out and not be able to come out and practice with the guys was the most frustrating thing of the whole incident,” Korpieski said. “Having to just sit on the sidelines and not being able to help the team get a couple extra wins late last season was very hard.”

Though the unexpected injury hindered OSU, the Buckeyes were able to reel off a 5-2-1 record to close out the season. But, as Bluem pointed out, the loss of Korpieski hurt the team on and off the field.

“His injury was difficult for both him and us as a team,” Bluem said. “He is the best we have at the attacking element of the game. Combined with Xavier (Balc), they are the two that set up what we do on offense. He not only attacks well but he is an inspirational player on the team. He is a feisty player that really wants to win and is an absolute competitor.”

Balc, who currently leads the Big Ten in almost every offensive category, has played with Korpieski the past three years. He said it is Korpieski’s speed and ability to reverse fields that separates him from the other forwards in the conference.

“Taylor can play in all four directions at a pretty quick speed and I think that separates him from a lot of other forwards in this league,” Balc said. “He can get the ball from one side of the field to the other quickly and shoot when he has to, he can pretty much do it all.”

Bluem described Korpieski as a rare player whose biggest strength often doubles as his greatest weakness.

“Sometimes he gets in trouble with the referees a lot and often draws fouls, but that’s just the type of player he is and we are a better team with him on the field,” Bluem said.

In his second year with the team, Korpieski racked up 16 points behind a four goal, eight assist effort. Those eight assists tied a school record for assists in a season.

“I just try to be creative and control the game,” Korpieski said. “I try not to stick out too much and just play conservative. I think my sophomore year the players surrounding me made me a better player and it showed in assists.”

The surrounding players on that 11-8-2 squad may have made him a better player, but there is no doubt Korpieski’s drive and passion did the same for them. Missing the spark for the better part of last season, only time will tell how far his presence will take the Buckeyes this season.

Since his game-winning goal against Akron, the Buckeyes have strung together their first winning streak of the season. The most recent victory came Sunday against Penn State, as the Buckeyes came from behind to win 2-1. That win not only handed the Nittany Lions their first conference loss in over a year, but it also put OSU right back in the race for a Big Ten title.

“For me personally, I don’t look at it as such an important goal,” Korpieski said. “From a team perspective, I think it was much needed. We had to get back on track and hopefully that was a good starting point for the rest of the season.”

Sunday the Buckeyes will host current Big Ten leader Wisconsin in one of the biggest games of the season. An OSU win would move them to the top of the conference standings, a feat largely attributed to the play of Korpieski. But for those attending the game, the focus will lie on teammate Balc as he continues his quest to lead the Big Ten. Korpieski, however, would not want it any other way.