Oct. 2, 2015
Champaign, Ill.
Illinois Soccer Stadium
2OT: Ohio State 1 (6-3-3, 1-2-2 B1G), Illinois 1 (8-2-2, 2-1-2 B1G)
Attendance: 551
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Ohio State women’s soccer team played to a 1-1 draw against Illinois on a windy Friday night at Illinois Soccer Stadium. The Buckeyes now sit at 6-3-3, 1-2-2 in the Big Ten, while the Illini are 8-2-2 overall, 2-1-2 in conference play.
“We showed a tremendous amount of fight to battle the elements, especially after being behind,” Lori Walker, Ohio State head coach, said. “We created a significant number of goal-scoring opportunities but missed by inches. I’m proud of our character and how we dominated from the point we scored through the two overtimes.”
After a quiet first 15 minutes, Ohio State goalkeeper Devon Kerr made back-to-back tremendous saves to keep Illinois off the board but the Illini took a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute when Allison Stucky floated a shot from 25 yards on the right wing that snuck just inside the far post for her third goal of the season.
However, the Buckeyes answered right back in the 21st minute when Lindsay Agnew played a beautiful cross in from the right wing and Sydney Dudley was able to finish from six yards for her first goal of the year to knot the score at 1-1.
Despite playing into a heavy wind in the first half, the Buckeyes continued to create opportunities in the final third but were unable to finish as the match headed into the break knotted at 1-1.
Illinois almost took the lead three minutes into the second half when Janelle Flaws found Kara Marbury but Kerr came out once again to make the diving save on the shot from 10 yards to keep the match tied at 1-1.
The Buckeyes appeared to take the lead in the 54th minute when Agnew finished from inside the six-yard box off a cross from Nichelle Prince but a foul on Ohio State negated the tally as the score remained deadlocked.
Ohio State had another chance in the 60th minute when Nikki Walts found Sammy Edwards at the top of the box but Illinois goalkeeper Claire Wheatley was able to make a diving save on the volley by the Ohio State sophomore.
Less than a minute later, Walts again found Edwards with a cross from the right wing but Wheatley again leaped to deflect the shot over the crossbar and out of play. Walts played the ensuing corner kick to the far post where Dudley headed it back to the center of the box but Agnew’s header from six yards caromed off the crossbar and out of play.
In the 83rd minute, both Agnew and Arden Holden had chances inside the six-yard box after a Walts free kick but Wheatley thwarted both of them to keep the match tied as the game headed to overtime at 1-1.
The best chance of the first overtime was in the 97th minute when Michela Paradiso took a shot from 25 yards out on the left wing that slipped through the six-yard box, narrowly missing the right post as the match remained tied after 100 minutes.
Illinois had another chance in the 105th minute when Stucky drilled a left-footed strike from 25 yards that sailed wide right as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
For the game, Illinois held a 22-14 advantage in shots, including 12-8 on goal, with the Buckeyes leading 5-3 in corner kicks. Kerr, making her first-career start in goal for Ohio State, tallied a career-high 10 saves.
Ohio State hosts Purdue at 7 p.m. Thursday before taking on Maryland at 1 p.m. Sunday in Columbus. The match against the Boilermakers will be televised live on BTN.
