Vatne’s Hat Trick Leads Buckeyes’ Onslaught of Morehead State

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Behind a hat trick from Emaly Vatne and a pair of goals from Alyssa Baumbick, the Ohio State women’s soccer team topped Morehead State, 8-0, on a record-setting Thursday night at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 2-2-0 on the year while the Eagles fall to 1-4-0.

Vatne’s hat trick was the 15th in Ohio State history as the freshman found the back of the net in the 41st, 68th and 73rd minutes and the eight goals scored by the Buckeyes tied for the third-most in a single game in program history.

QUOTE FROM THE COACH
“It’s great to be at home,” Lori Walker-Hock, Ohio State head coach, said. “There was some extra energy from our entire team after some frustration of not being able to play Sunday night. I’m super excited for them to be able to find some rhythm and be creative in the final third in particular. To get as many players on the field as we did tonight was fantastic for our legs and our team chemistry. I’m excited about the outcome and the energy we put into the match.”

What can you say about your team after they score 8 goals? Our crew caught up with @OhioStateWSOC coach Lori Walker-Hock to find out! pic.twitter.com/Y71LmJhAOo

— BTN Student U (@BTNStudentU) August 31, 2018

…AND FROM THE FRESHMAN
“This is all really exciting,” Vatne said. “I was happy to score my first goals at home but this was a really good result for us as a team. It was good to have hour home opener finally. This result is great but we’re looking forward to our next opponent. Notre Dame is a great team and it should be a lot of fun.”

They had to wait a bit for their home opener, but @OhioStateWSOC made it worth the wait. Our crew caught up with Emaly Vatne, who's hat trick was part of an 8-0 #Buckeyes victory! pic.twitter.com/d5EL0NL34b

— BTN Student U (@BTNStudentU) August 31, 2018

MATCH SUMMARY
– After notching multiple early chances, the Buckeyes got on the board in the 23rd minute when Eleanor Gabriel found Talani Barnett for her first career goal, a finish inside the right post from eight yards past Morehead State goalkeeper Eva Helgadottir.
– Just over a minute later, Barnett got to the end line on the right wing and played a cross to Kayla Fischer, who headed it home from inside the six-yard box for a 2-0 Ohio State advantage.
– With less than five minutes remaining in the first half, Blair Cowan threaded a through ball to Vatne, who scored her first career goal on a finish inside the left post from 10 yards on the right wing.
– In the 53rd minute, Arden Holden played a corner from the right wing to Baumbick, who placed a volley inside the right post from eight yards for the 4-0 advantage.
– Five minutes later, Marike Mousset got to the end line on the left wing and played a cross to Marissa Birzon, who finished from six yards to push the Buckeye lead to 5-0.
– In the 64th minute, Ohio State made it 6-0 when Barnett had a perfect flick from a Vatne corner on the left wing and Baumbick was there to finish it from six yards.
– Less than four minutes later, Vatne scored her second of the night when Cowan played another through ball down the middle of the Eagle defense and the freshman finished inside the left post from 10 yards. Vatne then made it a hat trick in the 73rd minute when Brianna Gazmarian found her on the left side of the box and Vatne flicked it over Morehead State substitute goalkeeper Michelle Washburn to make it 8-0.

Take a look at Emaly Vatne’s first career goal for @OhioStateWSOC…
And her second career goal…
And her third career goal…
A 🎩trick for the Buckeye Freshman pic.twitter.com/8JzDSGKsvR

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) August 31, 2018

MATCH NOTES
– The eight goals scored by the Buckeyes tied for the third-most in a single game in program history. Ohio State also scored eight goals in an 8-1 win over Xavier in 2004. The highest scoring outputs in Ohio State history:
14 vs. Robert Morris (10/12/95)
9 at Valparaiso (11/2/96)
8 vs. Xavier (9/2/04)
8 vs. Morehead State (8/30/18)
7 vs. Youngstown State (9/21/03)
7 vs. Illinois (9/14/17)
– Vatne’s hat trick was the 15th in Ohio State history and the first since Lindsay Agnew scored three times in a 3-0 win over Iowa Sept. 25, 2016.
– Vatne becomes the third freshman in program history to notch a hat trick, joining Sammy Edwards in 2014 and Nichelle Prince in 2013.
– Vatne’s seven points against the Eagles were the second-most in a single game in Ohio State history. Lisa Suttmiller notched eight on three goals and two assists at Valparaiso in 1996.
– Kerr notched her second clean sheet of the year after notching nine a year ago. The senior now sits tied for fourth on the Ohio State career shutout list with Emily Haynam with 13.
– The Buckeyes improved to 27-1-1 when scoring first since 2016 and 2-0-0 this season.
– Ohio State is 38-1-2 when scoring at least two goals in a game since the start of 2014.
– Ohio State recorded 11 assists on the night, which is more than 11 Big Ten teams in 2018.
– Ohio State played 21 players in the match. Bailey Kolinski saw her first action of 2018, totaling 45 scoreless minutes in goal, while Courtney Gazmarian saw her first time of the season. In addition, freshman Brynn Miller saw her first collegiate action in a Buckeye uniform.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Shots: Ohio State 37, Morehead State 0
Saves: Morehead State 12, Ohio State 0
Shots on Goal: Ohio State 20, Morehead State 0
Corner Kicks: Ohio State 11, Morehead State 1

UP NEXT
The Buckeyes travel to Notre Dame for a 1 p.m. match Sunday in South Bend.

Match: Morehead State at Ohio State
Date: Aug. 30, 2018
Venue: Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium – Columbus, Ohio
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Attendance: 438
Weather: Sunny, humid and 75 degrees

Scoring Summary               1            2           F
OSU                                      3 5 8
MSU                                      0 0 0