No. 1 Ohio State Advances on Pks, 4-2, vs. No. 16 Stanford

Sunday, December 1

Columbus, Ohio

5 PM

Ohio State

15-1-4, 7-1-2

Stanford University

9-5-6, 3-2-3

Stanford

Ohio St.

Photo by: Jay LaPrete

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

Photo by: Jay LaPrete

No. 1 Ohio State Advances on Pks, 4-2, vs. No. 16 Stanford

12/1/2024 9:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

Buckeyes will face Wake Forest Saturday in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No. 1 seed and top-ranked Ohio State (15-1-4) advanced to the 2024 NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals on penalty kicks (4-2) after a double overtime scoreless draw against No. 16 seed Stanford (9-5-6) Sunday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Ohio State will face Wake Forest at 5 p.m. Saturday in Columbus.

Ohio State advances to the quarterfinals after a 4-2 decision in penalty kicks. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/tv8AIiW7iV
— Ohio State Men's Soccer (@OhioStateMSOC) December 2, 2024

How it Happened
After a full 90 minutes and a pair of 10-minute overtimes, the match remained scoreless between Ohio State and Stanford.

The match went to penalty kicks to determine the team that remained alive in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Using the north goal, Stanford was first up. The Cardinal opened with Will Reilly taking the first shot. His effort was denied by Ohio State keeper Max Trejo. The Buckeyes opened with Marko Borkovic, who put the Buckeyes up 1-0 with goal high and left.

Trejo was up to the task once again on Stanford's second effort, this time by Zach Bohane who made an attempt low to the left that was saved by Trejo. The ball was tipped and then hit the post. Thomas Gilej then scored for Ohio State to make it 2-0 Buckeyes.

Stanford made its next two efforts around a Parker Grinstead goal to put Ohio State up 3-2. Anthony Samways then sent the Buckeyes to the next round with a goal low middle to make it 4-2.

Stanford, the No. 16 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, advanced on penalty kicks (6-5) last Sunday after a 2-all draw in double overtime at home vs UC Santa Barbara.

Ohio State and Stanford had met just once previously, a 3-1 loss for the Buckeyes in the 2015 NCAA Tournament (3rd Rnd.) in Palo Alto, California, Nov. 29, 2015.

The Buckeyes are the first team to end the regular season ranked No. 1 after being unranked in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll since Wake Forest in 2015. New Mexico was unranked entering the 2011 season before climbing to No. 1 entering the NCAA Tournament.

Ohio State has played nine teams this season that qualified for the 2024 NCAA Tournament and have posted an 8-1-2 record in 11 matches: SIUE (1-0), UCLA (0-1), Maryland (1-0), Michigan (2-0), Washington (2-0), Akron (1-0), Indiana (0-0-1), Western Michigan (1-0) and Stanford (0-0-1).

In the 11 games vs the teams Ohio State has faced that made the NCAA Tournament this year, Michael Adedokun leads the Buckeyes with 15 points with five goals and five assists. David Wrona and Parker Grinstead each have been credited with two match-wining scores. Keeper Max Trejo was 5-0-1 while Patrick McLaughlin has posted a 3-1-1 record. In the 11 games, Ohio State has scored 25 goals while allowing 10.

Ohio State is playing in the NCAA tournament with a wealth of experience. Nine rostered players have played 50 or more matches over their careers to date. Michael Adedokun (65), Thomas Gilej (62), Parker Grinstead (82), Luciano Pechota (58), Anthony Samways (71), Deylen Vellios (77), Tommaso Villa (53), David Wrona (84) and Ashton Bilow (51) lead the way.

The 15 wins this season are the second-most in program history behind the 2007 team that finished 17-4-5 after making it to the College Cup finals.

Michael Adedokun's 11 assists this season are the second most in program history behind Xavier Balc's 14 in 2007. Adedokun's 29 points (9g/11a) rank fifth and 77 shots third all-time. The point total is the most since Balc had 30 in 2007.

Ohio State's current winning percentage of .850/15-1-4) is the highest in program history. The 48 goals scored to date rates first all-time, passing the 47 scored in 1983. Ohio State has improved its win total by nine games over the 2023 season (6-6-6), which ties for the most victory improvement in consecutive seasons (2 wins in 1973 to 11 in 1974 (+9).

Keeper Max Trejo has a goals against average of 0.54, a program record, with a 9-0-2 record. He's allowed just six goals on the year. Defender Anthony Samways has 14 career assists, good for the No. 10 spot all-time.

#GoBucks