Ohio State Blanks Iowa, 2-0

Sept. 24, 2017

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Ohio State women’s soccer team picked up a 2-0 win at Iowa on a muggy Sunday afternoon at Iowa Soccer Complex. With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 8-2-1, 3-1-0 in the Big Ten, while the Hawkeyes drop to 5-4-0, 0-2-0 in conference play.

“Getting two wins on the road in one weekend in the Big Ten is extremely difficult,” Lori Walker-Hock, Ohio State head coach, said. “I’m really proud of our team for gutting it out. We still were a little slow on our start today but we had control of the game for 90 minutes. Toward the end of the game, I thought we stepped up, kept the ball and did the things we needed to do to secure the win.”

EDWARDS FINDS WOODWORK IN 23RD
In a first half in which the Buckeyes outshot the Hawkeyes 9-2, including 4-1 on frame, Sammy Edwards recorded the Buckeyes best opportunity in the 23rd minute. Nikki Walts played a free kick from just inside midfield on the right wing that was flicked on by Morgan Wolcott toward the far post where Edwards’ volley beat Iowa goalkeeper Claire Graves but caromed off the crossbar and was cleared away.

BOWERS TRIES TO GO NEAR POST IN THE 49TH
Less than four minutes into the second half, Riley Bowers possessed on the near left wing and tried to beat Graves near post but the Iowa goalkeeper ranged to her right to make the diving stop.

WALTS TO WOLCOTT FOR THE BUCKEYE LEAD
Seven minutes later, Walts hit a free kick from the right wing toward the far post where Morgan Wolcott was able to hit a volley from eight yards just inside the left post for a 1-0 Ohio State advantage.

KERR KEEPS IOWA OFF THE BOARD IN THE 65TH
In the 65th minute, Iowa’s Karly Stuenkel got her head on a cross from the left wing but Ohio State goalkeeper Devon Kerr cut back to her right to make the diving stop to preserve the shutout.

EDWARDS DOUBLES BUCKEYE LEAD IN 76TH
With less than 15 minutes left to play, Ohio State’s Sarah Roberts tried a through ball down the left wing toward Maddy Lowe. The pass was cut out by an Iowa defender but the ball trickled right to Edwards, who finished past Graves from eight yards for a 2-0 lead.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Shots: Ohio State 17, Iowa 8
Saves: Iowa 8, Ohio State 3
Shots on Goal: Ohio State 10, Iowa 3
Corner Kicks: Ohio State 2, Iowa 0

BUCKEYE BITS
– Ohio State is 8-0-0 on the year when scoring first after going 10-0-1 when scoring first a year ago.
– Ohio State improved to 33-1-2 when scoring at least two goals in a game since the start of 2014, including 7-0-0 in 2017. The Buckeyes went 5-0-1 when scoring at least twice in 2014 before going a perfect 11-0-0 in 2016 and 10-1-1 last season.
– Kerr recorded her second-consecutive shutout, fifth of the season and seventh of her career against the Hawkeyes.
– Walts’ assist was her team-high sixth of the season and 19th of her career, putting her in a tie for fifth on the Ohio State career assists list with Lindsay Agnew.
– Edwards’ goal was her team-best fifth of the season. The senior is tied for 12th on the Buckeyes’ career goals list with Becky Borchers, finding the back of the net 22 times. Edwards also has tallied 53 career points, tying her for 15th on the Ohio State career points list with Danielle Dietrich.

UP NEXT
Ohio State hosts Penn State at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Match: Ohio State at Iowa
Date: Sept. 24, 2017
Venue: Iowa Soccer Complex – Iowa City, Iowa
Kickoff: 2 p.m. ET
Attendance: 434
Weather: Sunny and 90 degrees