Christian Soldat Nets Game-Winning Goal in 2OT as Buckeyes Defeat BGSU, 2-1 – Ohio State Buckeyes

Wednesday, October 7

Columbus, Ohio

Ohio State

5-4-2, 1-1-1B1G

Bowling Green

6-5-0, 0-1-0MAC

Team	1	2	OT 3	OT 4	Final F
Bowling Green	1	0	0	0	1
Ohio State	1	0	0	1	2

Christian Soldat Nets Game-Winning Goal in 2OT as Buckeyes Defeat BGSU, 2-1 – Ohio State Buckeyes

10/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Oct. 7, 2015

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Junior Christian Soldat scored in the 110th minute to give the Ohio State men’s soccer team a 2-1 win over Bowling Green Wednesday night at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The win extends the team’s unbeaten streak to six-consecutive matches, including four straight wins. With a win in the 14th-annual Connor Senn Memorial Match, the Buckeyes improve to 5-4-2 overall, while the Falcons drop to 6-5-0 in 2015.

“Everyone thought the match would end in a tie but we were able to earn a free kick and at that point we hoped we could get a service in before time ran out,” head coach John Bluem said. “The clock continued and there was a cluster of players in front of the net. Liam stepped up and hit a quality service for Christian to make the play. He has remarkable timing in the air for his size. I was not surprised he was able to finish for us tonight. It was a great win for our guys.”

Soldat, a native of Rockwall, Texas, played 80 minutes off the bench for the Buckeyes and none was more important than the final second of play. With three seconds to go before the horn, Soldat leaped in the air with his right leg extended and deflected in a free kick by Liam Doyle into the back left of the net at 109:57 for the OSU golden goal.

Like coach Bluem said, timing was everything. Marcus McCrary was fouled following a physical run from the far side with less than 30 seconds remaining to set up the scoring play for Soldat.

“Marcus made a good play in and was fouled and that’s exactly what we wanted,” Soldat said. “The referee didn’t stop the clock so Liam just had to hit it quickly. I made a dead sprint for the net and was able to get a foot on it. I’m happy I could get this win for my team. I’ll never forget this moment.”

With Soldat’s big goal, the Buckeyes improve 7-0-1 in their last eight meetings against the Falcons. Ohio State is now 4-1-1 in Columbus.

In regulation, junior back Austin Bergstrom scored in the eighth minute when he connected off a corner by Doyle from the far post to give the Buckeyes the early 1-0 lead. Bergstrom, who has played in 42 games in his OSU career, kicked in the service into the top of the net at 7:30. That native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Bergstrom was then hounded by his OSU teammates, and for good reason, scoring the first goal of his collegiate career.

“It feels pretty good to finally score a goal,” Bergstrom said. “The game plan was to go in for the header, but that time, it went right to my foot and I put it in. We came out strong tonight and built some character. We battled all 110 minutes and got the result we wanted.”

Bowling Green played the equalizer in the 39th minute when Max Auden headed in the Falcon goal at 38:28. Alex Souahy and Jacob Roth were credited with the assists. Knotted at 1-all both teams held strong on the defensive end to send the contest into overtime. The battle continued in the first OT period as both teams could not put a shot on the board. Ohio State had the lone corner of the first OT, but a header by Kyle Culbertson went high over the bar at 98:47. A last-second throw-in in the 99th minute was denied as the whistle blew for an OSU foul.

Overall, shots were 13-11 in favor of the Buckeyes, while Ohio State held an 8-4 lead in corners. Chris Froschauer made two saves and improves to 5-4-2.

A moment of silence took place in remembrance of Connor Senn, a freshman on the OSU squad who passed away during a match at Akron Sept. 26, 2001, from a congenital heart defect. Donations were accepted for the event that raises awareness for sudden cardiac arrest in athletes with proceeds benefiting the Connor Senn Memorial Fund. At halftime, Gail Hogan recognized Connor’s father, Dr. Lance Senn, Columbus Crew and head coach Gregg Berhalter and Lori Fowler at halftime for their continued support for the fight against cardiac arrest.

The Buckeyes hit the road to face Indiana at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday in Bloomington, Ind. The match will be streamed on BTN Plus ($).

MATCH NOTES

The Connor Senn Memorial Match raises awareness for sudden cardiac arrest. Before the match;
- CPR demonstrations were available at the gates of Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Columbus Crew was also in attendance to support the great cause.
- Gail Hogan, Columbus TV personality and friend of OSU Medical Center, spoke to the crowd before the match sharing the story of Connor Senn. She also was the halftime speaker during the Connor Senn Fund recognition.
- The MedFlight touched down outside the gates around 6:15 p.m. ET as fans could check out the ins and outs of the helicopter as well as truck No. 13 from Columbus Fire. The Mended Little Hearts & Children’s Heart Foundation were tonight’s Anthem buddies.
Nine different Buckeyes have scored goals for the Buckeyes in 2015.
Liam Doyle leads the team with four assists this season.
Ohio State is now 1-0-2 in OT games in 2015.