Buckeyes Drop Back-and-Forth Battle to No. 12 Syracuse

Friday, September 4

Piscataway, N.J.

3 p.m.

Ohio State

(1-2)

Syracuse

(3-0)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Syracuse	1	1	0	1	3
Ohio St.	1	0	1	0	2

Buckeyes Drop Back-and-Forth Battle to No. 12 Syracuse

9/4/2026 5:58:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State field hockey team fell to No. 12 Syracuse, 3-2, in its first game of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge Friday at the Bauer Field Hockey Complex in Piscataway, N.J.

The Buckeyes (1-2) led first in a back-and-forth battle against the Orange (3-0). Both teams took 15 shots and nine shots on goal in the game. Each goalkeeper faced eight shots but it was the Orange holding the one-save edge in the category for the win.

How it Happened

Ohio State opened the scoring in Friday's neutral site game, finding the back of the net on its first shot and penalty corner of the afternoon. Katie Fichtner, who returned to the roster for the game, made an immediate impact as she earned the team's first corner of the day. Autum Kernechel inserted the ball and connected with Fichtner right outside the circle. Fichtner brought the ball into the circle and passed it off to Phillippa Jowett, who took a shot that was deflected into the goal by Sienna Golden to give the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead at 3:50.
Syracuse tied the game at 9:55 to even the score at 1-1 through one quarter in Piscataway.
The second quarter was a defensive battle, with just one shot by either team allowed until the final seconds of the frame. The Orange recorded the only shot on goal in the second, and scored, with 11 seconds on the clock to take the 2-1 lead at the half.
Despite being outshot in the third frame, Ohio State held the goal advantage with a tally from Raleigh Kerst at 40:16. Anne Marie Krebs sent a pass through the legs of a Syracuse defender into the circle and onto the stick of Raleigh Kerst. Kerst got around her defender and had plenty of space to get a shot off and hit the back of the cage to knot the game at two goals apiece.
Freshman goalkeeper Avery Alleva recorded a save and the Buckeyes successful defended two penalty corners to keep the Orange scoreless in the third quarter.
Syracuse scored the game-winning goal at 51:49. Ohio State had six penalty corners in the fourth quarter but was not able to capitalize on the opportunities. The team pulled Alleva with under four minutes left for the extra field player and drew a penalty corner in the final minutes of the game, but couldn't find the equalizer.

Buckeyes By the Numbers

Golden scored in her second straight game for the Buckeyes with the first goal in each of the last two contests.
Kerst tallied her first goal of the season to tie the game at two. The goal is her fifth of her career.
Alleva made a career-high five saves in the game on a career-high eight shots faced.
Krebs and Jowett recorded their first points of the season with the assists on Friday's goals. Jowett's assist is her first point as a Buckeye.

Up Next
The Buckeyes close the weekend with a matchup against No. 5 Virginia on Sunday, September 6 at 11 a.m. at Bauer Track and Field Complex in Piscataway, N.J.

#GoBucks