No. 4 Ohio State Wins Battle of Unbeatens 6-3 at Michigan

Friday, October 4

Ann Arbor, MI

7 p.m.

Ohio State

8-0-2, 3-0-1

University of Michigan

5-1-4, 1-1-3

Ohio St.

Michigan

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

No. 4 Ohio State Wins Battle of Unbeatens 6-3 at Michigan

10/4/2024 9:27:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Buckeyes are back home vs. Washington Monday

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No. 4 Ohio State (8-0-2, 3-0-1) scored twice in the first half and added four more in the second to win 6-2 at Michigan (5-1-4, 1-1-3) Friday at the U-M Soccer Stadium (Sellout/2,303) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The win extended Ohio State's best start in program history with no losses over the first 10 matches.

The Buckeyes have now scored five goals against a Big Ten opponent for the second time this season after a 5-0 win at Penn State. Ohio State has scored five times or more eight times against Big Ten foes all-time. The last time the Buckeyes reached five scores against a league foe twice in the same season was is 1999 at home vs. Northwestern (5-0) and at Wisconsin (7-3).

How it Happened
Marko Borkovic put the Buckeyes on the board first with a goal in the 3' with both Ashton Bilow and David Wrona providing assists. The score was the fourth of the year for Borkovic and ninth career goal.

Here's the Borkovic goal that put the Buckeyes up 1-0 in Ann Arbor. #GoBucksl pic.twitter.com/PjH10MJZIY
— Ohio State Men's Soccer (@OhioStateMSOC) October 4, 2024

Bilow earned his first point of the year with the assist. Wrona has three assists this year and seven for his career.

Ohio State has now scored first in nine of 10 matches this season and are 8-0-1 when getting the first goal.

Wrona then added his second goal of the year in the 15' when Michael Adedokun delivered a perfect cross from the left side that Wrona headed in for the 2-0 lead. Wrona now has seven career goals. Adedokun, who entered the match tied for the team lead in assists, took over the top spot with his fifth of the year and 15^th career helper.

31' | Wrona extends the lead with a phenomenal header. Ohio State 2, Michigan 0. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/2ekbiaJdOA
— Ohio State Men's Soccer (@OhioStateMSOC) October 4, 2024

Michigan cut the lead in half with a goal by Oliver Martin in the 60' to make it 2-1 Buckeyes.

Adedokun got the lead back to two goals with a score in the 70' off a feed from Bilow, his second assist of the night. Adedokun has the team lead with five goals this season and now has 12 for his career.

70' | Michael Adedokun scores to put the Buckeyes up 3-1. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/dCEbhCS3cz
— Ohio State Men's Soccer (@OhioStateMSOC) October 5, 2024

Wrona put another one in the net in the 75' with Bilow adding his third assist of the game to increase the lead to 4-1.

74' | Wrona nets his second goal of the night. Bilow and Pechota each credited with an assist. OSU leads 4-1. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/PztLZQ3MdI
— Ohio State Men's Soccer (@OhioStateMSOC) October 5, 2024

Luciano Pechota scored in the 79' and Borkovic added a score on a PK in the 80' to round out the scoring for the Buckeyes in the 6-3 victory.

79' | Pechota finds the back of the goal to extend the Buckeyes' lead to 5-1. Wrona is credited with the assist. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/mhj1gyegt6
— Ohio State Men's Soccer (@OhioStateMSOC) October 5, 2024

80' | Borkovic capitalizes on the penalty kick and scores his second goal of the night. The Buckeyes' lead 6-1. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/kk0wDDjX7X
— Ohio State Men's Soccer (@OhioStateMSOC) October 5, 2024

The Wolverines added a score in the 83^'on a goal by Beto Soto and another on a goal by Jason Bucknor in the 88'.

Michigan's first score ended a stretch of 305 minutes in which the Buckeyes held opponents scoreless on their home field over the last two seasons.

Ohio State had allowed just one goal in the last 435 road minutes over the 2023-24 seasons. The Buckeyes tied Penn State on the road 1-all Nov. 8, 2023 (PSU advanced 4-3, PKs) in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals after defeating Michigan State 1-0 Nov. 3, 2023 in the Big Ten quarterfinals. The Nittany Lios scored in the 24^th minute in the semifinals. Ohio State had just beaten the Spartans 3-2 in the 2023 regular-season road finale (MSU scoreless final 16 minutes). Ohio State defeated Akron earlier this season 2-0 before a 5-0 win at PSU Sept. 17. Michigan scored in the 60' minute Friday.

After holding Penn State scoreless over the final 66 minutes of the 2023 Big Ten semifinals and then blanking both Akron and Penn State this year on the road, the Buckeyes held opponents without a goal over the last 246 minutes away from home.

Up Next:
Ohio State returns to Columbus for an 8 p.m. Monday match at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium against Washington. The match is the first for Washington against the Buckeyes as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Big Ten Network will broadcast the match to a national audience.

#GoBucks