Sept. 25, 2016
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Behind Lindsay Agnew’s first-career hat trick, No. 17 Ohio State topped Iowa, 3-0 Sunday afternoon at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 7-4-1, 1-2-1 in the Big Ten, while the Hawkeyes drop to 6-6-0, 0-4-0 in conference play.
“We felt like we were playing pretty well in the first half so we knew we just needed to stay the course,” Agnew said. “Getting that first goal was huge for us and to get two more was awesome. We really needed this game for our confidence so we need to carry that forward into next weekend.”
AGNEW ALMOST GIVES THE BUCKEYES THE EARLY LEAD
Agnew came within inches of giving the Buckeyes the early advantage in the 18th minute. Nichelle Prince made a run down the right wing, beating a Hawkeye defender before playing a cross toward the center of the box where Agnew volleyed it toward the left post but Iowa goalkeeper Claire Graves ranged to her right to make the diving save.
PRINCE AND AGNEW CONTINUE TO CONNECT WELL IN FIRST HALF
In the 28th minute, Prince again was able to connect with Agnew on a cross from the right wing but a Hawkeye defender thwarted the chance by blocking Agnew’s shot wide from the center of the box.
With four minutes remaining in the half, Prince again played a through ball to Agnew, who dribbled past an Iowa defender but had her shot from the right wing blocked wide for the Buckeyes’ fifth corner of the first 45 minutes.
BUCKEYE GOALS COME IN BUNCHES IN THE SECOND
The match quickly went from a scoreless contest to a 3-0 Buckeye lead in the first eight minutes of the second half, courtest of three goals from Agnew. In the 49th minute, Nikki Walts played a short corner from the left side to Agnew at the top left corner of the box, where the senior took one dribble and finished from 15 yards off the hands of Iowa goalkeeper Claire Graves for the 1-0 advantage.
Two minutes later, Prince swiped the ball from an Iowa midfielder just inside midfield and dribbled up the left wing before crossing to Agnew, who slotted the ball from 10 yards on the right side of the box just inside the far post to make it 2-0.
Then again, two minutes after that, Sammy Edwards possessed inside midfield before playing a long ball toward Agnew at the six-yard box where her diving header snuck just inside the right post to extend the lead to 3-0 and cap off the 13th hat trick in Ohio State history.
SHUTOUT PRESERVED
After Ohio State starting goalkeeper Megan Geldernick made a pair of saves to keep the Hawkeyes off the board in the first 68 minutes of play, Devon Kerr came on and made a pair of clutch saves in the 88th minute to preserve the shutout. Kaleigh Haus broke free down the right wing and Kerr came out to stop the initial shot before Haus tried to follow with the rebound from six yards but Kerr again was able to hold the save to give Ohio State its third clean sheet of the season.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Shots: Ohio State 13, Iowa 10
Saves: Ohio State 4, Iowa 4
Shots on Goal: Ohio State 7, Iowa 4
Corner Kicks: Ohio State 8, Iowa 1
BUCKEYE BITS
– The hat trick by Agnew was the 13th in program history and first since Edwards scored three times in a 4-2 win against Dayton in 2014.
– Agnew now sits in a tie for second in the Big Ten with eight goals on the season.
– Freshman Selina Vickery came off the bench to see her first action in a Buckeye uniform.
QUOTABLE
“It’s important to find your groove this time of year and I think we did that today,” Lori Walker, Ohio State head coach, said. “We gave the players a little more space to do their thing and I think they stepped up and found a good rhythm. All in all, I’m very proud of where we are right now. We have a single-game weekend next week which should really help give us more rest this week. We’re in a good position right now.”
UP NEXT
Ohio State hosts Northwestern at 7 p.m. Saturday.
