10/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Buckeyes take on Vikings before hosting No. 22 Indiana Sunday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
COLUMBUS, Ohio The Ohio State men’s soccer team welcomes Cleveland State to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Buckeyes (8-4-2, 2-2-0) are coming off a 2-1 win over Wisconsin last Sunday and are in search of their 14th-consecutive win at home before hosting Indiana Sunday.
Cleveland State is 6-6-2 on the season and rides a five-game win streak into the game Wednesday. The Vikings last defeated Detroit, 1-0, Oct. 17.
LIVE ON THE WEB
Ohio State’s game against Cleveland State can be viewed online via Buckeye Vision streaming video at OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Click on the Buckeye Vision link on the main OhioStateBuckeyes.com home page for details on how to order annual or monthly subscriptions to this service. Live stats will also be available from the Ohio State Web site.
LAST TIME OUT
Konrad Warzycha and Danny Irizarry each scored in the second half to lead Ohio State over Wisconsin, 1-0, last Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes fell behind in the 50th minute off a goal from Brandon Miller, but came back with the tallies by Warzycha and Irizarry to take the lead in the 70th minute. Goalkeeper Byron Neal tallied a career-high 10 saves, including six in the second half.
NEXT UP
The Buckeyes host No. 22 Indiana Sunday at noon in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The match pits the last two Big Ten Champions against each other in a pivotal conference match. The game will be televised live by the Big Ten Network.
For those in attendance, the first 500 fans will receive free rally towels, courtesy of Nationwide Insurance, and will have the opportunity to meet the Buckeyes during a postgame autograph session. Alumni soccer players will also be recognized at halftime as part of the Homecoming festivities this weekend.
DOWN THE STRETCH
The Buckeyes are entering one of the toughest stretches in the regular-season schedule. After Wednesday, all three of the remaining opponents are currently ranked in the Top 25. Indiana is No. 22, while Michigan is ranked 21st and Akron is fifth.
Three of the team’s final four regular-season games are set to take place in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Following the match against Cleveland State, the Buckeyes face the Hoosiers Sunday at noon and Akron Nov. 7. The lone road game is at Michigan Nov. 1.
RANK AND FILE
After 14-consecutive weeks in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25 poll, the Buckeyes drop out of the rankings after splitting their games last week. They maintain the No. 10 spot in the Great Lakes regional poll. Ohio State is, however, still ranked Nos. 22 and 24 by SoccerTimes.com and College Soccer News, respectively.
SCOUTING CLEVELAND STATE
Cleveland State is 6-6-2 on the season and rides a five-game win streak into the game Wednesday. The Vikings last defeated Detroit, 1-0, Oct. 17. They are led by Mitch Boyer, who has scored five goals. Nick Harpel has played every minute of the 2008 season in goal, giving up 25 goals for a 1.68 goals-against average, while making 68 saves. The team was 3-12-3 a year ago and scored just 12 goals.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE VIKINGS
Ohio State trails in the all-time series with Cleveland State by a 6-14-1 margin, though the Buckeyes have won all five meetings under head coach John Bluem. The last meeting took place Oct. 10, 2001, with OSU coming away with a 1-0 victory in Cleveland. The series dates back to 1967 – the 15th season of Buckeye soccer.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Cleveland State men’s and women’s basketball teams play in the Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Convocation Center in Cleveland. The Wolsteins are the namesakes of Ohio State’s early season tournament.
SUNDAY FUN-DAY
The Buckeyes are 5-0-0 when playing on Sundays. The final regular-season Sunday match is Sunday at noon against Indiana in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
HOME, SWEET HOME
The win over Wisconsin last Saturday gave Ohio State its 13th-consecutive win and sixth this season at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The win streak dates back to Oct. 2, 2007, and a 1-0 shutout victory vs. Cal State Bakersfield. The Buckeyes’ last loss in JOMS was against Northwestern Sept. 23, 2007.
The previous longest streak was six. The Buckeyes are 58-20-11 there since the facility opened in 1999. The eight home wins last season tied the single-season stadium record.
TOUGH ROAD
Five of the teams on Ohio State’s schedule this season are currently ranked in the NSCAA Top 25, while two others have spent time in and out of the polls.
TENACIOUS D
The Buckeyes’ defense, anchored by Tim Gabel, Patrick Roan, David Tiemstra and Doug Verhoff, has given up just 12 goals this season with a 0.82 goals-against average. Both marks are second in the Big Ten behind Northwestern, who leads not only the conference, but the nation in both categories.
VS. RANKED TEAMS
Ohio State’s next game against a currently ranked team is Sunday against No. 22 Indiana. The Buckeyes are 1-1-1 against ranked teams this season after tying UIC Oct. 8. They preceded it by besting then-No. 18 Tulsa, 2-0, Sept. 7 before falling to seventh-ranked Northwestern, 1-0, Sept. 27. Last season, Ohio State went 7-3-2 against teams in the Top 25. a.
ONE AND DONE
Eleven of Ohio State’s 14 games this season have been decided by one goal or less with the Buckeyes holding a 5-4-2 record in those contests. In games decided by at least two goals, OSU is 3-0 with a combined 9-1 score.
CLEAN SHEETS
Ohio State is third in the Big Ten in shutouts with five so far this season (0.36 per game). The scoreless daw against No. 7 UIC Oct. 8 gave the Buckeyes their fifth and third-consecutive clean sheet
FINISHING STRONG
The Buckeyes have out-scored their opponents 12-5 in the second half this season.
MORE FROM MAGILL
With one goal and an assist against Penn State, sophomore forward Andrew Magill has 11 points on the season and the most of any Buckeye player. He has scored three goals, including the game-winner against Bowling Green, and a team-leading five assists.
DANNY IS THE MAN-NY
Senior midfielder and co-captain Danny Irizarry scored the game-winning goal against Wisconsin in the 70th minute for his team-leading fifth goal of the year. Irizarry opened the season by scoring in four of the team’s first six games, with two of those scores coming off penalty kick attempts, a stat category that he is 4-for-4 in during his career.
JUST JOSHIN’ WITH YOU
Freshman forward Joshua Breto scored his second game-winning goal of his career against Eastern Illinois. He is the only Buckeye player to score one GWG goal (let alone two) off the bench this season.
BENCH POWER
Including Breto’s two game-winners, six of the Buckeyes’ goals this season have come from non-starting players – including all three against Eastern Illinois Oct. 5. Breto, Julian Sisman and German Gomez each found the back of the net in the second half.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Outside of Danny Irizarry’s five tallies, Ohio State’s remaining 16 goals have been scored by 10 different players. The first 11 of the Buckeyes’ goals this season were scored by midfielders or defenders, including two on penalty kicks from midfielder Irizarry.
The Buckeyes hold a combined 80-59 advantage over their opponents in corner kicks. An opposing team has tallied more than Ohio State three times this season. Konrad Warzycha is the go-to player on corner kicks with Patrick Roan and Danny Irizarry each taking several opportunities as well.
DREW POINT
Goalkeeper Drew Czekanski is currently second in the Big Ten in goals-against average at 0.90 and third in save percentage with .804. Against Bowling Green, he tallied a season-high eight saves, including five in the first half.
Czekanski, who has split time with Byron Neal of late, has held opponents to one goal or less in 10 of 12 games this season.
GABEL IS ABLE
Senior defender Tim Gabel was named the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week and a member of the Soccer America Team of the Week after helping the Buckeyes to the win over ranked Tulsa Sept. 7. He is currently tied for fifth on the squad in points with four from one goal and two assists.
BUCKEYES IN THE RPI
The first Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of the 2008 season was released Oct. 10 by the NCAA. Ohio State is No. 14 and one of four Big Ten teams in the Top 25. Northwestern leads the conference at No. 7, followed by Indiana (No.11) and Michigan (No. 13).
In total, there are six teams on the Buckeyes’ 2008 schedule that appear in the top tier of teams. In addition to the conference foes, Akron, UIC and Tulsa were each pegged among the strongest teams in the country.
ALL GOOD STREAKS COME TO AN END
With the 1-0 loss to Northwestern, the Buckeyes’ streak of 12 games with at least one goal came to an end. The last time Ohio State was held scoreless was Nov. 11, 2007, in a 0-0 draw against Indiana in the Big Ten championship game.
RECORD CROWD
The 3,168 fans that came through the gates of Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium Sept. 21 were the most for a men’s and women’s soccer doubleheader since the Buckeyes began playing in JOMS in 1999.
BIG TEN BEGINNINGS
With the win over Michigan State Sept. 21, Ohio State is 14-4-0 in Big Ten openers, including a 10-2 mark under head coach John Bluem.
BUCKS WIN THE WOLSTEIN
Ohio State beat Florida Gulf Coast and Central Florida in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium to win the Bert and Iris Wolstein Classic, Aug. 30-31. Ohio State is 5-1-2 in its early-season tournament the last four seasons. Since 1991, Ohio State is 13-3-2 in its home opener.
BLUEM IN 12TH SEASON AT OSU
The winningest coach in program history, head coach John Bluem is in his 12th season at Ohio State and has guided the Buckeyes to three Big Ten titles and all five of the school’s NCAA tournament appearances (2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007). His 2004 squad went to the Sweet 16’ and his 2007 squad went to the national championship game.
Bluem owns a 126-85-30 record at Ohio State. His career record, which includes six seasons at Fresno State, stands at 216-112-42. In 29 seasons of coaching soccer, teams Bluem has been a part of have gone 389-138-74. A fullback at traditional soccer power Hartwick College, Bluem helped guide the Warriors to the College Cup in 1974.
BACK ON THE BIG TEN NETWORK
Ohio State’s game against Tulsa was featured on the Big Ten Network, extending its win streak to five games on the channel. The Buckeyes went 4-1-2 on the Big Ten Network last season, which included a 2-1-1 mark in the regular season and then all three games of the Big Ten championship.
BIG SHOES TO FILL
The 2008 Buckeyes must replace four starters who were all invited to the Major League Soccer combine last January. Two of those became Ohio State’s highest draft picks, including first-round (No. 11) midfielder Roger Espinoza to Kansas City and second-round (No. 16) central defender Eric Brunner to New York.
CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
The Buckeyes’ three returning senior starters were named tri-captains Aug. 19 for the 2008 season. Following a team vote, defender Tim Gabel and midfielders Danny Irizarry and Geoff Marsh were announced as captains prior to the exhibition match against Detroit Mercy.
PRESEASON PRINCES
Ohio State checked in at No. 3 in the Big Ten preseason poll, behind favorite Indiana and Northwestern. The Buckeyes were also picked third in the 2007 preseason poll and went on to win the Big Ten championship and advance to the national championship game. It marked the sixth-straight year Indiana has been picked to win the league.
BUCKEYES IN THE PROS
Ten Buckeyes have been drafted by Major League Soccer in the last 10 years, the second-most among Big Ten schools. In addition, head coach John Bluem is the radio color analyst for Columbus Crew home games.
In January 2008, midfielder Roger Espinoza became the first Buckeye to be selected in the first round, going No. 11 to Kansas City. Defender Eric Brunner then became the first second-round selection when he went No. 16 to New York.
When forward Xavier Balc was selected with the second pick in the supplemental draft, it marked the first time three Buckeyes were selected in one MLS draft.
