Buckeyes Fall to Louisville, 2-1, in 2019 Opener

Thursday, August 22

Columbus, Ohio

Ohio State

0-1-0, 0-0-0

Louisville

1-0-0, 0-0-0

Louisville

Ohio St.

Buckeyes Fall to Louisville, 2-1, in 2019 Opener

8/22/2019 10:04:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women's soccer team fell to Louisville, 2-1, in the 2019 opener Thursday night at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes remain home to take on Missouri at 1 p.m. Sunday.

QUOTE FROM THE COACH
"I'm pleased at the effort our team put in today," Lori Walker-Hock, Ohio State head coach, said. "We used a lot of young players. You could tell at the onset of the game, there was a lot of excitement in their eyes and that was a very good thing to work through. This was a quality Louisville team. Their style is very effective and difficult to play against because it's so direct but we created some really good chances and we battled. We definitely improved as a team tonight."

MATCH SUMMARY
– Ohio State jumped out to the early lead in the 18th minute Marissa Birzon finished off a loose ball in the box the 1-0 advantage.

18' Birzon puts the Buckeyes on the board! 1-0 on the fifth-career goal for the junior!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/9G8StYTnJJ

— Ohio State WSOC (@OhioStateWSOC) August 22, 2019

– Louisville responded in the 29th minute when Brooklynn Rivers possessed at the top-left corner of the 18 and fired a right-footed strike just inside the right post to knot the score at 1-1.
– The Buckeyes then kept the score tied at 1-1 in the final 20 seconds of the half with a pair of saves off the goal line on shots by Sarah Hernandez and Delaney Snyder to keep the match deadlocked after 45 minutes.
– Ohio State had another opportunity in the 70th minute when Haley Walker-Robinson slotted a through ball to Emma Sears but the freshman's shot from 12 yards on the right wing was gathered by a lunging Gabrielle Kouzelos.

70' Walker-Robinson slots it to Sears, who glide past the Louisville defense, but her shot from 10 yards is saved by Kouzelos. Still tied.#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/jKRORw9U4u

— Ohio State WSOC (@OhioStateWSOC) August 23, 2019

– The Buckeyes' Jordan Silkowitz made a fantastic save of her own in the 84th minute, making a sliding stop coming out from goal after Rivers had broken free again.

84' Silkowitz with a huge save on the right-footed strike by Rivers! Still 1-1.#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/MWsBjnJLY3

— Ohio State WSOC (@OhioStateWSOC) August 23, 2019

– Less than a minute later, Louisville found the game-winner when Niamh Nelson played a long ball to an open Maisie Whitsett, who placed her shot inside the right post from 10 yards on the left side of the box.

MATCH NOTES
– Eight Buckeyes saw their first game action in an Ohio State uniform including Silkowitz, Kitty Jones-Black, Ariella Pitty, Olivia Petit, Kamryn Davis, Emma Sears, Madison Alberty and Aliyah El-Naggar.
– Birzon's goal was the fifth of her career. The junior scored once as a freshman before finding the back of the net three times last year as a sophomore.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Shots: Louisville 13, Ohio State 9
Saves: Ohio State 7, Louisville 2
Shots on Goal: Louisville 9, Ohio State 3
Corner Kicks: Louisville 3, Ohio State 2

UP NEXT
Ohio State hosts Missouri at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Match: Louisville at Ohio State
Date: Aug. 22, 2018
Venue: Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium – Columbus, Ohio
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Attendance: 408
Weather: Showers around; 75 degrees

Scoring Summary 1 2 F
OSU 1 0 1
LOU 1 1 2