Women’s Soccer Wins First-Ever Big Ten Championship with 2-1 Triumph over Wisconsin in Conference Title Match – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 10, 2002
Box Score
East Lansing, Mich.– Following consecutive thrilling shoot out victories over nationally ranked Michigan and Purdue in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, the Ohio State (10-10-1) women’s soccer team continued its late season run with a dominating performance in the championship match and a 2-1 victory over Wisconsin (12-8-3) to claim Ohio State’s first-ever Big Ten title and earn the program’s initial birth into the NCAA Tournament field.
Ohio State controlled play from the outset of the match as the two teams played to a scoreless first half with the Buckeyes out shooting Wisconsin by a 7-1 count. Ohio State sophomore midfielder Heather Miller (Centerville, Ohio) narrowly missed giving the Buckeyes a one-goal advantage heading into the intermission as she fired a 40-yard bomb that Wisconsin keeper Kelly Conway tipped over the crossbar at the last second.
The Buckeyes continued to dominate play in the second half, scoring two goals in less than a 13-minute span. The first Buckeye tally came from senior forward Lindsay Eckles (Hilliard, Ohio) at the 54:28 mark of play. Eckles played a well-placed corner kick by Ohio State senior defender Jen Miller (Centerville, Ohio) and netted a header from the right side of the six-yard box past Conway. The goal is Eckles’ 29th of her career, which puts her just one goal shy of tying the school’s all-time record for career goals at 30. Miller tallied her team-best sixth assist on the Buckeye score.
Ohio State sophomore midfielder Emily Gilbert (Cincinnati, Ohio) added the match-winning strike in the 67th minute of action as she tallied her first goal of the 2002 season on an unassisted goal from the right side just beyond the 18-yard box for the 2-0 advantage.
Wisconsin would rally with a goal from forward Laura Schmidt on a penalty kick in the 88th minute and would continue to apply pressure on the OSU zone as the Badgers recorded two of their three shots for the match in the waning moments of play. The Buckeye defense held strong, as it did for the entire match, to claim the 2-1 victory and the program’s ticket to its first-ever NCAA Tournament.
The Ohio State defense was the story of the day as it held the Badgers to just one shot until the final moments of the match. The Buckeyes, ultimately, out shot the Badgers 18-3, with eight shots on goal to Wisconsin’s one.
Ohio State now moves on to compete in the 2002 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament. OSU will await the NCAA seeding, which will be announced Monday, Nov. 11 at 4:30 p.m. via ESPN News. NCAA first round matches will be held on Friday, Nov. 15.
Goals by period 1 2 Tot OSU…………….. 0 2 – 2 WIS…………….. 0 1 – 1
SCORING SUMMARY: GOAL Time Team ## Goal Scorer Assists —————————————————————————————– 1. 54:28 OSU 11 Eckles, Lindsay 4 Miller, Jen Header off corner kick. 2. 66:42 OSU 13 Gilbert, Emily Unassisted Shot from right side, 18 yards out. 3. 87:22 WIS 14 Schmidt, Lauren Penalty kick
