No. 13 Ohio State Tops Indiana, 2-1, for First Outright Big Ten Championship

Oct. 25, 2017

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 13 Ohio State women’s soccer team clinched the first outright Big Ten championship in program history with a 2-1 win over Indiana Wednesday night at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. With the win, the Buckeyes conclude the regular season with a 14-3-1 overall record, 9-2-0 in the Big Ten play, while the Hoosiers fall to 6-9-4, 2-6-3 in conference play.

“This is an amazing feeling,” Lori Walker-Hock, Ohio State head coach, said. “I’m so proud of our team and our entire staff because they’ve made it a really fun year. Indiana certainly made it difficult on us tonight and I credit them for fighting. This is such a strong conference and we’ve been close in the past so it means a lot to us to finish this off tonight.”

EDWARDS GETS THE BUCKEYES ON THE BOARD EARLY
Less than three minutes into the match, Eleanor Gabriel bent a cross in from the right wing right to the foot of Sammy Edwards, who beat Indiana goalkeeper Bethany Kopel with a right-footed shot from eight yards for the 1-0 advantage.

WALTS FINDS EDWARDS TO DOUBLE LEAD
Less than four minutes later, Nikki Walts took a free kick from just inside midfield and found Edwards, who had snuck in behind the Hoosier defense, for a beautiful diving header that snuck just inside the right post to make it a 2-0 game.

EDWARDS, ROBERTS ALMOST PUSH LEAD TO 3-0
In the 22nd minute, Sarah Roberts ripped a volley from the top of the box but Kopel ranged to her right to make the diving save. Edwards was there for the rebound but a Hoosier defender was able to cut in at the last minute to deflect the shot wide left.

KILGORE MAKES IT A 2-1 GAME LATE IN FIRST 45
In the 41st minute, Indiana’s Sydney Kilgore crossed from the right side of the box to Annelie Leitner, for a finish from eight yards at the far post to cut the lead to 2-1 at the half.

PAIR OF CHANCES IN THE 75TH
Neither team had much in the way of opportunities in the second half until the 75th minute. Roberts possessed for the Buckeyes just outside the top of the box but her right-footed shot narrowly missed wide left. On the Hoosiers’ next chance down the field, Macy Miller gathered and lofted a shot from 25 yards out on the left wing and Kerr was able to deflect it over the crossbar to preserve the 2-1 win.

QUOTABLE
“It’s amazing,” Edwards said. “This team is unreal this year. To be picked where we were at the start of the season and to come out and win it outright at the end, making program history, it’s just so exciting.”

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Shots: Ohio State 24, Indiana 11
Saves: Indiana 8, Ohio State 2
Shots on Goal: Ohio State 10, Indiana 5
Corner Kicks: Indiana 6, Ohio State 4

BUCKEYE BITS
– The 2017 Buckeyes clinched the program’s second Big Ten title, joining the 2010 team which shared the conference crown with Penn State.
– With two goals against the Hoosiers, Sammy Edwards joined Nichelle Prince and Lara Dickenmann in a tie for eighth on the Ohio State career goals list with 27. The senior also moved into 10th on the Buckeyes’ career points list with 63.
– Nikki Walts moved up to sole possession of fourth place on the Buckeyes’ career assists list with 21.
– Ohio State improved to 36-1-2 when scoring at least two goals in a game since the start of 2014.
– The Buckeyes improved to 14-0-0 when scoring first in 2017 after going 10-0-1 a year ago.

UP NEXT
Ohio State has earned the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament and hosts eighth-seeded Iowa in a quarterfinal at 4 p.m. Sunday at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Match: Indiana vs. No. 13 Ohio State
Date: Oct. 25, 2017
Venue: Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium – Columbus, Ohio
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Attendance: 1,048
Weather: Cloudy and 44 degrees