After getting off to the best start in school history, the Ohio State men’s soccer team has now lost two consecutive games.
The most recent loss came at the hands of the Northwestern Wildcats, who scored an early second-period goal to take a 1-0 win on Sunday.
“Today was very disappointing because we lacked effort today,” coach John Bluem said.
“Mentally, we weren’t prepared to play the game, and we didn’t play with enough intensity.
The other team wanted to win the game more than we did. Northwestern wanted the game, and I don’t think we had that same energy.”
The first period was highlighted by several key saves for both goalkeepers that kept the game scoreless.
The closest call for the Buckeyes was a free kick, just outside the box, that glanced off the upper cross bar. It was a half of missed opportunities for both teams.
OSU had five shots on goal,and Northwestern had seven.
The Buckeyes’ luck ran out early in the second period when the Wildcats scored the game’s first and only goal of the afternoon.
It came off the foot of Northwestern’s midfielder Jack Hillgard, who drained a shot just over the OSU goalie in the 52nd minute of play. The play was set up by Wildcat players Oliver Kupe and Drew Pavlovich.
The Buckeyes had some chances to score but couldn’t connect and get the goal they were looking for. Northwestern’s goalie had several key saves that kept OSU off the scoreboard.
In the second period, the Buckeyes had eight shots on goal, but none of the shots found the back of the net. Meanwhile, Northwestern had only four, but all they needed was the one that found the net and gave Northwestern the 1-0 win.
After the loss, the Buckeyes now drop to 5-2-3 on the season and 1-1-0 in the Big Ten.
It’s been a tough week for the Buckeyes with a loss to Akron and now Northwestern, but the Buckeyes will look to rebound when they take on Oakland Wednesday night.
It will be a rematch of last year’s first round of the NCAA tournament. Kickoff for that matchup will be at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Rochester, Mich.
