In dramatic fashion, the top-seeded Ohio State men’s soccer team scored with 43 seconds left to win the Big Ten Tournament Championship.
It took 90 minutes of soccer, but OSU notched a 1-0 victory over Penn State on Sunday.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am for the guys,” coach John Bluem said. “They didn’t play well today, but they stuck with it and got the result in the end.”
The game looked like it was headed to overtime when OSU had its last chance. The Buckeyes’ Sam Scales had a throw-in opportunity on Penn State’s side of the field. Scales tossed the ball in toward the 18-yard box, which was redirected off the head of a Penn State defender.
The attempted redirect failed because the ball was grabbed by OSU sophomore David Tiemstra. He promptly drilled the ball into the upper right corner of the goal with 43 seconds left to give the Buckeyes the lead.
The sophomore’s only other goal this season was also a game-winner.
“I think this goal is bigger than the last one.” Tiemstra said. “We wanted to get this for the [NCAA] seed. Having the Regular Season Championship is huge but we needed this for the NCAA seed.”
With seconds remaining in the game, Penn State had one last shot, but failed to score, giving the Buckeyes the 1-0 victory in the championship.
It’s the first time the Buckeyes have won both the Regular Season and tournament championships in program history.
OSU and Penn State played to a scoreless half in Bloomington, Ind. Each team had a few opportunities, but the defense of both teams made the key stops when necessary to keep the game scoreless.
The second half was more of the same as defense dominated. OSU had some good opportunities on a free kick just outside the 18-yard box and several corner kicks.
Penn State also had plenty of corner kicks but failed to score on any of them. They had their best scoring chance off of a header that was blocked by OSU goalie Matt Lampson.
The win Sunday marked OSU’s second win of the season against Penn State. The Bucks defeated Penn State Oct. 18 in Columbus, 2-1.
The Buckeyes advanced to the championship game on Friday afternoon, when they defeated the Indiana Hoosiers, 4-2. They became just the third team to beat the Hoosiers twice in one season after waiting seven years since their last win against them.
It was the fourth time OSU has made an appearance in the tourney championship and they have now won it three times. The two previous championship wins were in 2000 against Penn State and in 2007 against Indiana.
The Scarlet and Gray will move on to the NCAA Tournament with the automatic bid. They will await word on what team they will face.
