Oct. 13, 2016
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 17 Ohio State women’s soccer team fell to Indiana, 3-2, in a back-and-forth match Thursday night at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. With the loss, the Buckeyes fall to 9-5-2 overall, 3-3-2 in the Big Ten, while the Hoosiers improve to 6-7-3, also 3-3-2 in conference play.
“We gave up a goal early off our own mistake and didn’t respond to it quickly enough,” Lori Walker, Ohio State head coach, said. “I liked our response after going down 2-0 in the second half but we have to take care of the ball inside the box and mark better. Players displayed some great leadership tonight and we had the right people in the right spots but we have to find a way to finish a game like this. This is a tough loss.”
HOOSIERS TAKE EARLY LEAD
Indiana took the early lead in the seventh minute on the first goal of the season by Chandra Davidson. Mykayla Brown broke free and fired a shot from the top of the box but Ohio State goalkeeper Megan Geldernick was there to deflect the shot wide. However, Davidson was there for the rebound and was able to finish into the empty net from 12 yards out.
BUCKEYES WITH CHANCES TO EQUALIZE
In the 20th minute a Lindsay Agnew cross from the right wing deflected off an Indiana defender and trickled to the top of the box where Nichelle Prince was there for a left-footed strike from 18 yards but it flew right into the arms of Sarah L’Hommedieu.
With less than eight minutes remaining in the half, Nikki Walts played a corner from the right wing to Morgan Wolcott at the center of the box but Wolcott’s volley narrowly sailed over the crossbar as Indiana took the 1-0 lead into the break.
JORDEN DOUBLES IU LEAD
Against the run of play at the start of the second half, Allison Jorden was able to double the Hoosier lead in the 62nd minute when she headed home a Meghan Scott far-post corner from inside the six-yard box to make it a 2-0 contest.
FIRENZE ANSWERS
Less than two minutes later, Emma Firenze cut the Indiana lead in half on her second goal in the last three matches. Prince beat a pair of Indiana defenders to cut inside the right side of the box and played a cross on the ground through the box where Firenze was there to make it a 2-1 game on a left-footed strike from eight yards.
AGNEW TIES IT
Then in the 68th minute, Agnew possessed 30 yards out from goal, and single-handedly beat the Indiana defense to blast a shot from 12 yards off L’Hommedieu to knot the score at 2-2.
BUCKEYES’ LEAD IS SHORT-LIVED
Five minutes after Agnew tied it, Caroline Dreher broke free on the left wing for the Hoosiers and played a cross to Sydney Kilgore, who put Indiana on top with a volley from six yards out on the far post.
ROBERTS, KAMMERDEINER BOTH TRY TO RESPOND
In the 77th minute, Sarah Roberts possessed just outside the top of the box and blasted a volley with the outside of her right foot but it caromed off the crossbar and was cleared away. On the ensuing Buckeye possession, a long ball was played by Nicole Miayshiro from just inside midfield on the right wing toward Meghan Kammerdeiner at the far post but her header from six yards narrowly missed wide left.
ONE LAST CHANCE FOR PRINCE
In the final minute, Walts played a long ball that was flicked on by Agnew to Prince. The senior dribbled past a pair of Indiana defenders to get inside the box but L’Hommedieu was there to make the save on Prince’s deflected shot to preserve the Hoosier win.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Shots: Ohio State 19, Indiana 8
Saves: Indiana 4, Ohio State 2
Shots on Goal: Ohio State 6, Indiana 5
Corner Kicks: Ohio State 8, Purdue 2
BUCKEYE BITS
– Ohio State suffered just its first loss when scoring at least two goals dating back to the start of 2014. Ohio State is 24-1-2 when scoring twice in that span, including 8-1-1 this season.
– Agnew’s goal moved her into sole possession on 15th on the Buckeyes’ career goals list with 17. Her 52 career points also rank 15th in program history and she became the 15th player in school history to tally at least 10 goals in a season.
– With her assist on the Firenze goal, Prince now ranks fourth in Ohio State history with 20 assists and sixth with 72 points.
– The defeat snapped a four match unbeaten streak which including victories at home against Iowa and at Maryland and Nebraska and a home draw against Northwestern.
UP NEXT
No. 17 Ohio State hosts No. 19 Rutgers on Senior Day at 2 p.m. Sunday at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
