Ohio State excellence is not exclusive to the football field or the basketball court. Around the Oval is our way of keeping you informed of the amazing things happening with the other 34 varsity sports on campus.
men's soccer's overtime dramatics
The Ohio State men's soccer team extended their undefeated streak to seven games this week, and they did so in dramatic fashion by beating both Bowling Green and Indiana with overtime game-winners.
Perhaps the most memorable win of the season came Wednesday night against Bowling Green. The teams were tied 1-1 and appeared to be headed towards a draw as the second overtime came to a close. OSU wasn't ready to concede until the final buzzer, however.
With under 30 seconds to go in the second overtime period, sophomore forward Marcus McCrary drew a foul about 10 yards outside of the box. Though they called a foul, the referee did not stop the clock, meaning the Buckeyes didn't have time to line up a proper set piece.
No time, no problem.
Senior captain Liam Doyle rushed to take the free kick and sent it into the box where he found a streaking Christian Soldat, who deflected it into the back of the net. With three seconds remaining on the clock, the Buckeyes had their golden goal.
Hey, @SportsCenter! Christian Soldat (@C_Soldat) scores the gamewinning goal with 3 secs remaining in 2OT! #SCTop10 http://t.co/JeDZHOnsmK
— OhioStateMen'sSoccer (@OhioState_MSOC) October 8, 2015
"The referee didn't stop the clock so Liam just had to hit it quickly. I made a dead sprint for the net and was able to get a foot on it. I'm happy I could get this win for my team. I'll never forget this moment," said Christian Soldat of his game-winner in an Ohio State release.
Just four days later, the Buckeyes again found themselves in an overtime battle. This time it was against conference foe Indiana. Senior captain Liam Doyle was the hero, who converted a penalty kick in the 98th minute to give the Buckeyes a 1-0 win.
Ohio State has not lost a match in over a month and is currently ranked No. 22 in the NCAA RPI. They're riding a seven match unbeaten streak, and a five match winning streak.
The success is due in no small part to the play of senior goalkeeper Chris Froschauer, who made a career high seven saves in the team's shutout win over Indiana, and junior forward Danny Jensen, who leads the team with 12 career goals.
Both Froschauer and Jensen earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors for their efforts.
A Buckeye SWEEP! @2ndjensen named offensive POW, @cmoney__11 named defensive POW. #GoBucks http://t.co/3nDkbcnDaQ pic.twitter.com/FtjMZDiogM
— OhioStateMen'sSoccer (@OhioState_MSOC) October 6, 2015
The team looks to extend their streak when they travel to face Kentucky, Wednesday and host Wisconsin, Sunday.
volleyball keeps rolling
The Ohio State women's volleyball team is up to No. 9 in the coaches poll – their highest national ranking since 2004. That ranking will likely climb even higher after two wins this week.
The Buckeyes traveled to Northwestern, Friday and put a beatdown on the Wildcats. Ohio State swept the match in three sets, and never trailed after going up 9-8 in the second set.
Ohio State hosted No. 13 Illinois, Sunday, and defeated the Illini, 3-1. The win means OSU is now 6-0 on the season against top-20 opponents, and have won five straight Big Ten contests.
The Buckeyes will host No. 19 Purdue (6-0 in conference) Friday for first place in the conference. The match will be in St. John Arena at 7 P.M. and will also be broadcast nationally on BTN.
Buckeyes impress at ita all-american championship
Several Buckeye tennis players competed at the ITA All-American Championships this week.
Redshirt freshman Hugo Di Feo had quite an impressive performance. He went 6-1 in the tournament, only losing three sets in his seven matches. He advanced to the quarterfinals where he was defeated by the fourth-seeded Dominik Koepfer of Tulane. Despite the loss, Di Feo's performance earned him a trip to the ITA Intercollegiate National Championships in New York next month.
Redshirt Freshman Hugo Di Feo at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa (via Ohio State Athletics).
Di Feo could be joined by fellow Buckeye, sophomore Mikael Torpegaard. After dropping his opening match in the main draw, Torpegaard fell to the consolation bracket where he has dominated. In his four matches, he hasn't even dropped a set. He's set to face Sam Shropshire of Northwestern in this afternoon's finals. With a win, Torpegaard would also punch his ticket to New York.
On the doubles side, Ralf Steinbach and Martin Joyce were impressive. Competing together for the first time, the pair dominated the No. 1 pair in the country, Austin Smith and Ben Wagland of Georgia, 6-1 and 6-2. They fell in the quarterfinal to Diego Hidalgo and Gordon Watson of Florida, but their performance is certainly a source of optimism.
Other Buckeyes had good showings as well. Senior Chris Diaz advanced as far as the round-of-16, and the doubles team of Mikael Torpegaard and Herkko Pollanen fell in the quarterfinals.
On the women's side, freshman Francesca Di Lorenzo advanced to the round-of-16 where she was defeated by No. 29 Ellen Perez of Georgia.
Update 3:30
Mikael Torpegaard won the Consolation Final, punching his ticket to the ITA Intercollegiate National Championships in New York next month.
WINNER!!! Torpegaard holds serve on love to win the #TulsaITA consolation title 6-4, 6-4 over Sam Shropshire #GoBucks
— Ohio State M Tennis (@OhioState_MTEN) October 12, 2015
Torpegaard never lost a set in his five-match run through the consolation bracket.
Other Scores and News
- Women's Hockey: Lost both games to No. 3 Wisconsin 8-0 and 7-0 respectively.
- Men's Hockey: Lost both games to Bowling Green 6-3 and 2-0 respectively.
- Women's Soccer: Defeated Purdue 3-2 and Maryland 2-1 in double overtime.
- Field Hockey: Defeated Rutgers 3-0 and fell to Louisville 1-0.
- Women's Golf: Finished 10th out of 15 at Windy City Collegiate.
What's Happening This Week
- Men's Soccer: Visits Kentucky Wednesday and hosts Wisconsin Sunday.
- Women's Volleyball: Hosts No. 19
- Women's Hockey: Hosts top-ranked Minnesota Friday and Saturday.
- Women's Soccer: Travels to face Rutgers Thursday and hosts Wisconsin Sunday.
- Field Hockey: Hosts Indiana Friday and visits Iowa Saturday.
- Men's Golf: Competes in Tavistock Collegiate Invitational Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
- Men's Cross Country: Competes at Pre-Nationals in Louisville, Saturday.
- Women's Cross Country: Competes in Adidas Invitational Friday.
