Ohio State women’s soccer splits weekend matchups

Matt McGreevy
Mon, 15 Sep 2014 03:31:35 +0000
Sports, Women's Soccer, Buckeyes, Lindsay Agnew, Lori Walker, Megan Geldernick, ohio state soccer

Then-freshman forward Lindsay Agnew (18) dribbles the ball during a game against Eastern Michigan on Aug. 25, 2013, at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. OSU won, 2-1, in overtime.
Credit: Lantern file photo

Timing was everything for the Ohio State women’s soccer team this weekend. After late-game heroics guided the Buckeyes past Indiana on Friday night, two goals in the final 10 minutes denied them a point against Purdue on Sunday.

OSU (4-4-0, 1-1-0) finished its first weekend of conference play with a 2-1 overtime win against Indiana (4-4-0, 0-2-0) and a 3-1 loss to Purdue (5-2-1, 1-1-0).

The Buckeyes entered Sunday on a three-game winning streak but couldn’t capitalize on their momentum against the Boilermakers.

Tied 1-1 at halftime, neither team could find the back of the net for the early part of the second half. Purdue sophomore forward Maddy Williams eventually broke the stalemate in the 81st minute with her second goal of the afternoon. Williams led a Boilermakers offense that outshot OSU 15 to 13 and six to four in shots on target.

Both teams worked to use the width of the field in the first half. The strategy worked first for Purdue in the 33rd minute when Williams received a pass from the right flank and put it behind OSU redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Megan Geldernick.

The Boilermakers nearly stretched their lead on a corner kick moments later, but sophomore defender Nicole Miyashiro made a save on the goal line to keep the Buckeyes within one.

OSU leveled the score in the 41st minute when sophomore forward Lindsay Agnew’s shot from beyond the penalty box surprised Purdue freshman goalkeeper Erika Yohn and snuck inside the near post.

Agnew’s tally was her first of the season and proved to be the Buckeyes lone goal of the afternoon.

Defensively, OSU benefited from the return of junior defender Marisa Wolf who rejoined the Buckeyes back line against Indiana after missing the previous three games with a concussion. Wolf logged 158 minutes in her first weekend back.

OSU made a splash in its Big Ten opener, beating the Hoosiers 2-1 in overtime. The Buckeyes trailed 1-0 until the final minute of play when OSU senior forward Kayla Varner converted a penalty kick with three seconds left in regulation.

Junior midfielder Michela Paradiso notched the golden-goal in the 97th minute. Varner, fresh off her first goal of the season, provided the game-winning assist to cap her first multi-point game of the year.

With the win against the Hoosiers, OSU coach Lori Walker recorded her 200th victory with the Buckeyes.

The game marked the Buckeyes’ second overtime contest as it fell 1-0 to Toledo on Sept. 2nd.

Walker said she was pleased with parts of her team’s play on Friday but said OSU needed to find more balance between possessing the ball and stretching the opposing defense.

For the majority of the evening Indiana played a patient game, looking to capitalize on the Buckeyes’ mistakes, Walker said. The Hoosier’s lone tally came in the 38th minute off a corner kick.

Geldernick made four saves against Indiana and added three more against Purdue.

OSU is scheduled to close its three-game road swing against No. 8 Penn State (6-1-0, 2-0-0) on Friday.