Ohio State Falls Short vs. No. 1 Notre Dame, 2-1, in NCAA Second Round – Ohio State Buckeyes

Sunday, November 23

Notre Dame, Ind.

Ohio State

9-8-5

Notre Dame

12-4-4

Team	1	2	Final F
Ohio State	1	0	1
Notre Dame	1	1	2

Ohio State Falls Short vs. No. 1 Notre Dame, 2-1, in NCAA Second Round – Ohio State Buckeyes

11/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Nov. 23, 2014

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NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Despite controlling play for the majority of the contest, the Ohio State men’s soccer team fell short against the defending champs and No. 1 seed Notre Dame, 2-1, in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament on a soaked Sunday night in Notre Dame, Ind. Tied 1-1 at half, the Fighting Irish (12-4-4) were able to put away the eventual game-wininng goal in the 69th minute to advance in the tournament. The Buckeyes conclude the 2014 season with a 9-8-5 overall record.

The rain began to fall in the South Bend area around 3 p.m. ET and it never stopped as more than a half an inch was recorded on the ground by the final buzzard. It didn’t slow down the Scarlet and Gray though. Like the 2014 Buckeyes did all year, it was just another challenge they were ready to face. Ohio State came out of the locker room stronger than ever, even after an emotional first-round finish against Akron three days ago. They completely controlled the game for 70 minutes on the road, putting the top-seeded Irish on their heels on their home field at Alumni Stadium. Overall, Ohio State claimed a 12-10 lead in shots, while holding a 9-4 advantage in corners as the underdogs.

Sophomore Danny Jensen claimed an equalizing score in the 34th minute when he sent in his team-best sixth goal of the season off a corner kick. Freshman Hunter Robertson serviced the ball into play before junior back Liam Doyle flicked it over to the OSU sophomore forward for the finish. The team started the game with a 5-0 lead in shots, including two on target in the opening 10 minutes.

However, Notre Dame’s Brandon Aubrey converted on a penalty kick at 29:42 with a shot into the back left of the net against senior goalkeeper Alex Ivanov to make it 1-0.

Junior back Liam Doyle knocked the first shot on goal from distance on the first of four first-half free kicks, forcing ND keeper Patrick Wall to make a save from his knees from the far post. The hero of the first round, junior co-captain Zach Mason blasted a shot to the far post at 9:59, but a diving Wall denied the early chance. With the score tied at 1-1, the Buckeyes thought they had their second goal in the 41st minute, but a handball was whistled to deny the team’s second goal. At half, shots were 7-4 in favor of the Buckeyes.

Halftime didn’t slow down the Buckeyes. The team continued where they left off with constant pressure on the Notre Dame back line. Senior midfielder Yianni Sarris sent a shot off a high cross on target, but Wall was in position for the save. Jensen had a strong run moments later down the near sideline and sent a low cross into the box, but no one could get a foot on it. At 51:10, Sarris had a sliding shot that went a foot wide of the far post. Four minutes later, junior midfielder Kyle Culbertson fired towards net but was kept out when it was blocked by an ND defender.

Thirteen minutes later, Notre Dame went on the attack and capitalized with the go-ahead goal when Jon Gallagher buried a shot into the back left following a well-timed pass by Jeffery Farina. The Buckeyes continued to battle and earned five corner kicks in the final 10 minutes of play, but could not find a second equalizer.

Ivanov concluded his final season as a Buckeye with a 9-8-5 mark with three saves vs. the Irish. A Senior CLASS Award Finalist, Ivanov collected 239 saves in his OSU career, which is third-best in program history. Six other seniors concluded their OSU careers, including Sarris, Konrad Kucharski, Zach Dobey, Max Moller, Andrian McAdams and Ryan Ivancic. The 2014 senior class led the Buckeyes back to the top of the Big Ten conference with the No. 2 seed in the tournament after picked to finish last in the preseason poll. Their leadership guided the Scarlet and Gray back to the tourney for the first time since 2010 and will have an impact on the program for years to come.