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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s soccer team’s three-match win streak came to an end with a 1-0 defeat to Florida Gulf Coast Friday night at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. With the loss, the Buckeyes fall to 3-3-0 on the year while the Eagles remain undefeated at 5-0-0.
QUOTE FROM THE COACH
“A loss can teach you a lot if you’re willing to pay attention and learn from it,” Lori Walker-Hock, Ohio State head coach, said. “We gave Florida Gulf Coast a little bit too much space and they capitalized on it from the set piece. We came out strong in the second half and suffocated them but it was just too late. When you’re chasing the game, your style is going to change and we lost a lot of rhythm by playing long balls. That’s not our strength. We have to learn from a loss and get better at digging out of adverse moments with some composure.”
MATCH SUMMARY
– Florida Gulf Coast scored in the 12th minute when a free kick from just inside midfield on the left wing by Holly Fritz found the head of Evdokia Popadinova, who flicked it far post from eight yards for the 1-0 advantage.
– Ohio State’s best chance of the first 45 minutes came in the 32nd minute when an Izzy Rodriguez outswinging corner came to Haley Walker-Robinson but Florida Gulf Coast goalkeeper Melissa Weck dove to her right to make the save on the header from eight yards.
– The Buckeyes came out of the locker room controlling possession but just were unable to find the back of the net despite multiple shots and corners. The best opportunity of the game for the Buckeyes came less than five minutes into the second half when Emaly Vatne tried to loft a shot from 20 yards over the head of Weck but the goalkeeper was able to get back to deflect the attempt over the crossbar. With less than 10 minutes remaining, a long ball from Kayla Fischer found Eleanor Gabriel but the off-balanced attempt from the Ohio State senior narrowly missed wide left.
MATCH NOTES
– Ohio State’s three-match win streak was snapped with the defeat.
– Popadinova’s goal ended a Buckeye shutout streak over more than 313 minutes.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Shots: Ohio State 16, FGCU 6
Saves: FGCU 6, Ohio State 5
Shots on Goal: Ohio State 6, FGCU 2
Corner Kicks: Ohio State 10, FGCU 2
UP NEXT
Ohio State opens Big Ten play at Penn State at 6 p.m. Sept. 14.
Match: Florida Gulf Coast at Ohio State
Date: Sept. 7, 2018
Venue: Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium – Columbus, Ohio
Kickoff: 5 p.m. ET
Attendance: 481
Weather: Cloudy and 80 degrees
Scoring Summary 1 2 F
OSU 0 0 0
FGCU 1 0 1
