Ohio State vs Northwestern women's soccer

Ohio State takes on Northwestern at home at noon. This is the third game in the Big Ten Conference.

The weather was perfect for a soccer game. There were more students at the game, this time being very energetic.

It was alumni day for the soccer team and 7 alumni players showed up at the game.

Both teams played well in this game.

Ellen Gruber never fails to get in the game and be noticed. She had a lot of energy in this game and played very aggressively.

The first goal of the game was made by Tiffany Cameron with assists from Kristen Niederhaus and Caitlyn Martin.

Paige Maxwell made the second goal of the game with an assist from Caroline Murray. Paige Maxwell is a player on the Herman watch list. Even though Paige is the top scorer for the team, she has only made 3 goals this season. Despite that, she is always working to get her foot on the ball to make a goal or help with an assist. I believe we will see more from her.

We were sad to see Danica Wu get injured in the second half of the game and become unable to finish.

On Northwestern team, Kate Allen is the top scorer and was at first seen as a threat. She did manage to get her foot on the ball but not able to get a shot.

Briana Westlund played an awesome game of defense. She was very fast and aggressive and able to run the ball.

On September 29, 2011 Ohio State took on Penn State at Penn State and fell to a loss of 3-1.

So far in the Big Ten Conference Ohio State stands at 2-1-1.

The Buckeyes will take on Wisconsin at Wisconsin on October 2.

Since We Last Spoke

It has been awhile since my last blog update concerning the Buckeye soccer squad. Since that update a lot has happened. My beloved Red Sox have pissed away any semblance of a wild card lead they may have had and are now left to shake off the last few drops of self respect before zipping up, getting their foreskin caught in the zipper while doing so and heading home nursing their groin as well as their 170 million dollar pride. Also, since my last blog, Barack Obama released a Jobs plan that will be argued about much like how Bryce Harper argues balls and strikes, “Money Ball” has now hit theaters, leading a plethora of people to think that they understand the value of Scott Hatteberg, and The Ohio State University Buckeyes football team was 1-0 and still scoring touchdowns. Also, the Men’s Soccer Team has played a 5 more games on the season and tallied a 3-2 record in that run.

In Memoriam:

On a Somber day in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, the kind of day that puts into perspective the value of a trivial soccer game, the Buckeyes stepped up and continued their dominance on their home pitch. The motif that seems to be popping up like we live in some F. Scott Fitzgerald novel is the Buckeyes inability to open matches strong. An unassisted goal in the 5^th minutes by the Binghamton Bearcats’ Jake Keegan gave the visitors a quick lead, a lead that they seemed to think they could hold onto the entire game. Late in the 2^nd half the Buckeyes found their equalizer. The Goal, assisted by Ben killian and Adam Gorski, was netted by Chris Hegngi who has proven himself to be one of the most skilled players on the squad, one of the only ones that seems to have the ability to maneuver between three defenders at a time (has the ability, does not always execute though). But what we see from this play that is even more important is the continued emergence of freshman midfielder Adam Gorski. Gorski’s long throw-ins, from almost anywhere in the offense zone, are becoming a sort of trademark for the buckeyes, much like drug binges were the trademark of Amy Whinehouse; not always well executed but eventually one will be fatal. Then in the 86^th minute, one of the two “super-subs” for the buckeyes that have yet to crack the starting lineup, Sebastian Rivas, out in the go ahead goal with the assist going to Kenny Cunningham. Overall, a well played game from the Buckeyes that had them, as Coach Bluem says, “Chasing the game”.

Well….The Stats Say:

The Buckeys then went on the road to Coastal Carolina to take on John Bluem’s alma mater, Hartwick University, as well as the host school, Coastal Carolina University. These games are particularly difficult to cover if I am not willing to take the trip to the site, and, since I am a college student working a non-paid internship and going to school, a road trip to coastal Carolina was not in my budget so to speak. So the only way for me to get a feel for what took place in Ohio State’s 3-0 win over Hartwick and their 0-2 loss at the hands of Coastal Carolina was to look at the box scores and talk to coach Bluem. Stats in soccer can only tell me so much about how the game ebbed and flowed. But, from what I can tell, the Buckeyes got something they hadn’t had all year against Hartwick, 2 quick goals. Austin McAnena and Chris Hegngi each got on the score sheet within the first ten minutes. Hegngi notched another goal in the 67^th minute to improve the lead to a trendy trey. Yeah…I said it. Matt Lampson also recorded his first clean sheet of the season but Coach Bluem stressed to me that a clean sheet is just as much a team accomplishment as it is an individual. Early in the year Lampson had been put on the hook for some defensive follies that resulted in easy goals but this game saw the entire team stepping up defensively. That, sadly, was short lived. The Buckeye’s, in their first true away game, were kept off the board against one of the best scoring offenses in the country. Coastal Carolina snapped the 4 game winning streak the buckeyes were quietly putting together.

Revenge (No, no, Emily Vancamp will not be anywhere within this section…sorry guys):

The Buckeyes then faced off against the #5 ranked Louisville cardinals who were responsible for Ohio State’s departure from the 2010-11 NCAA tournament. Coach Bluem told me, “If we can keep them off the board deep into the second half then we’ll have a good chance.” This seemed to make sense. Ohio State had struggled in past games to start strongly so obviously the focus became to not get behind a team that may very well be one of the best in the country. Play cautiously. To me this meant; don’t over exert yourself, don’t beat yourself, let Louisville make mistakes and then, at the end, cover yourself in mud to thwart their heat seeking technology and cleverly develop a ploy to destroy them before the credits roll. And they almost executed it. After 80 minutes of battling against one of the best teams in the country, Kenny Walker took a ball that ricocheted from a corner at the top of the box and put it past Ben Killian and Matt Lampson trying to protect the net. Ohio state did have their opportunities though. One ball that bounced off the cross bar and straight down that, yours truly thought was in the net, squeaked out into the field of play without ever crossing the end line and then an amazing opportunity in the final minute that had Chris Hegngi in behind the defense but unable to capitalize. Hegngi tapped the ball just under a diving goalkeeper and then just to the left of the post. Utter disappointment ensued.

Keep an eye out for my post game recap on Ohio State’s Big Ten opener (coming very soon, I’ve already written 1000 words tonight and just don’t feel like writing anymore…. hey, at least I’m honest.) against the Wolverines as well as my Diary from Akron as the Buckeye’s take on the Zips this Wednesday.

Woman's Soccer Game 9/23/11

Ohio State Woman’s Soccer team takes on the Illinois at home, their second game in the Big Ten Conference. Their first Big Ten game was away against Minnesota. The Buckeyes came home with a score of 1-1 tied in double overtime.

The Woman’s soccer team played well against Illinois who is ranked #22.

This was the first game of the season since Ohio State students have returned on campus. There was a small, but supportive student section at the game.

One thing that definitely stood out in this game was Ohio State’s defensive line. They played exceptionally well and throughout most of the game Illinois’ offensive line were no match for them. Illinois offensive line consisted of 2 forwards against OSU’s 3 defenders.

Megan Fuller had a lot of energy and impact in this game. Even from up in the press box, you could see her communicating with fellow teammates and working well with the other players. She was aggressive in the game and had her foot on the ball a lot.

Ohio State’s midfielders also played well. Usually when watching Danica Wu, I see her playing more offensively. In this game however, I saw her set back more and play more defensively. Either way, Danica Wu puts her all into the games. It was interesting to see a different side of her, nonetheless, very impressive. Kiiri Kuld also had her foot on the ball a lot and helped to keep the ball out of Ohio State’s territory.

Katie Baumgardner was also very key in the game. She had some exceptional saves, with some being close calls. She was able to hold down the fort for Ohio State.

The first goal in the game was scored by Ohio State’s Lauren Granberg with assists from Paige Maxwell and Megan Fuller.

Illinois also played well in the game. Illinois had a lot of interesting and unique strategies in this game, especially on their corner kicks. Shayla Mutz, has a good leg on those corner kick, definitely a threat for any team.

It seemed that at most points n the game Illinois wanted to keep Tiffiamy Camaeon from having a foot on tee ball

Stephanie Pouse, defender made a big contribution to her team.

Other key players in the game were Marissa Mykines, who had her foot on the ball a lot with speed and Janelle Flaws, who had excellent control of the ball. Janelle Flaws also made the second goal of the game, unassisted.

The last goal of the game was made by Luaren Granberg with another assist from Paige
Maxwell. Ohio State had victory over Illinois 2-1.

Ohio State vs Dayton women's soccer

Ohio State Buckeyes vs Dayton Flyers

The game had a slow start. You could tell that Ohio State and Dayton were just kind of figuring each other out. Most of the first half was the two teams trying to get a feel for how the other team played.

Paige Maxwell (osu #10) and Tiffany Cameron (osu #11) worked well together on the forward offensive line. It seemed as though shots were a lot cleaner in the second half of the game. Paige Maxwell had a lot of oportunites to possibly put the ball in the net. Tiffany Cameron often struggled with possession of the ball as two Dayton flyers seemed to always be on the attack, having her 2 to 1.

Chelsy Swackhamer (osu #27) definitely showed her presence the game and is an impressive player for a freshmen player. She had great control of the ball and did a nice job of trying to set up a shot for her fellow teammates. She also had great speed throughout the whole game.

Katherine Boone (Dayton #0) had a very interesting strategy with her goal keeping. At time she would come completely out of her box to catch the 6149623096 ball and attempt saves. Often times she had very risky saves, a few of them sliding through her hands, but at the end of the day she served her team very well, not letting any of Ohio States’ 12 shots through.

Colleen Williams (Dayton #3) is definitely a powerhouse for her team. She is a threat to any team that they go against. She is a fast, aggressive player. She also has a backwards kick that is a good tacktet for “trick” opposing players.

Dayton made their first and only goal off of a corner kick that Alysha Mailon made, then another Dayton player, Katrin Loo, headed in.

Ohio States next game will start the first game of the Big Ten League against Minnesota.

Woman's Soccer Game 9/11/11

Rain, rain, go away! On Sunday, September 11th, the Ohio State woman's soccer game against Ohio University started off as a maybe as dark clouds began to cover the area and storms began to rumble. While warming up, both teams were called off the field and fans were called out of the stands. The 6:00 game was delayed over and over again as lightening was spotted less than ten miles away. OSU's team as well as supporting others had planned for a special parents night as well a tribute to honor 9/11 with the ROTC, but due to the weather delay, both were cancelled.

Finally at 7:45, after a long hour and forty-five minute wait, players began to make their way to back to the wet field. Players got into position as OSU would start the kick off playing left to right across the field. OSU works together to keep the mall mostly in Ohio's territory and within the first ten minutes of the game, OSU has an opportunity to score and did not succeed. Just as the game is getting good, lightening is spotted once again and the clock stops at 22:32 left in the first half. Players are summoned off the field and fans once again evacuate the stands for safety reasons. The game is then delayed for thirty minutes.

At 8:30, players go to the field for a quick warm-up and fans resume on the stands. Despite the dropping temperature and the cold rain fans still wait patiently to watch the game. The game resumes and OSU takes a corner kick, the play in action before the delay. Throughout the game both OSU and Ohio play very well. Ohio State's offensive line has multiple times and opportunities to score but they are no match for Ohio's defensive line.

By the end of the game, neither team had yet to score and at 10:05, overtime starts. OSU's Danica Wu tries for a shot, but Ohio's Mattie Liston catches it. The game is still 0-0

At 10:20 the second overtime starts. OSU's defensive line works hard to challenge Ohio as they come deep into OSU territory. Once the ball is turned over Kiiri Kuld tries for a shot and Liston saves it, falling to the ground. With, just under a minute on the timer, Tiffiany Cameron takes a shot at the right of the goal and makes the winning goal. At 10:30 the game is called. OSU defeats Ohio 1-0.

Fans cheer as players run off the field and the crowd of 461 begins a O-H-I-O chant.

Throughout the game, many players attempted to take shots, these players are:

Aly Walker, Tiffany Cameron, Ellyn Gruber, Paige Maxwell, Kirri Kuld, Danica Wu, Caitlyn Martin, Colleen Brady, and Chelsy Swackhamer.

Players that stood out in the game:

Danica Wu was a good ball of energy in the game and did a good job and gaining possession of the ball and being agressive toward Ohio players. She used a lot of headers in the game

Aly Walker was very fast on the field and held her own as she ran the ball up and down the field.

Danielle Scoliere and Ellyn Gruber had nice foot work throughout the whole game.

Over all OSU played very well. It seemed as though they definitley had a plan of action in the game. They made nice clean passes to each other and worked as team.

When it comes to the Ohio Bobcats, I would have to say that their defensive line is awesome. Although OSU had multiple opprotunites, Ohio's defensive line as well as Goal keeper, Mattie Liston would not let anything passed them. There were a lot of very close calls but many not a match for Liston. Liston definitely played her position well dive after dive. Paige Howard #6 has a very nice leg. She can kick nice and far. Midfielder Toye Famodu is very fast indeed. She is a good contribution to the team.

The Danger Zone: An Open Letter to The Ohio State University

Let me paint you a word picture, a whimsically wistful waxing on about the wonderful game of soccer. A picture lined with annoying and arrogant alliteration as well as lethal dose of literary devices that will leave John Travolta with no other choice than to stab you in the heart with an adrenal needle as you o.d. on the floor of some heroine dealer’s house.

Now, If you don’t hate me after that paragraph and are still reading this, then let me explain the fervor with which I believe it is absolutely necessary that Ohio State renovate, or, build a new soccer stadium. It is not because I dislike Jesse Owens Memorials stadium at all. The field is wonderful and the press box, though rather chilly, is accommodating and the stands have the capacity to hold enough people that currently attend the soccer games at Ohio State. But I think the experience could be better. Unspeakably better.

Take a look at this short video of the Portland Timbers fan’s reaction to a goal from the Timbers/Sounders game this past July. This is not only soccer in America that can produce this much energy (and there are a plethora of other videos on Youtube of the amazing Portland fans that I encourage you to watch) this is soccer in Portland! That’s in Oregon if you didn’t know. You know, Oregon, as in “The Oregon Trail” where everyone died of Dysentery or violent diarrhea, like diarrhea that was abused as a child and now that its all grown up the diarrhea doesn’t know how to handle the psychic agony it was left with so it victimizes you anus. So Anyway, I struggle heartily to believe that if Ohio State dipped into the Fort Knox that is our football program, built a modest soccer facility that would seat around 15,000-20,000 people, and put it right on top of the field so that it felt like every visiting player was at the mercy of the student population, this school would soon be the proud owner of the most admired soccer program in the country. What top soccer recruit wouldn’t want to come play at the greatest atmosphere in college soccer, where every week 16,000 students and alumni came out to scare the hell out of whoever was visiting and shake the very ground they walk on? Who knows, maybe some players with question marks in Europe decide to broaden their horizons with a degree from a terrific institution as well continue their career on the pitch in front of wildly passionate fans. If the tickets are still free to students (atleast until The Man decides the free ride is over) I can’t think of a scenario in which rowdy Ohio State fans cannot out do the hippies and folk artist in Portland. We’re Ohio state for gods sake, home of sports fandom but we only unleash that passion for football.

Let me describe a scenario from this past weekend’s Wolstien Classic tournament in which the men’s soccer squad walked away with two impressive wins. There was a point in the second half where the Buckeyes were up 3-2 over the Stetson Hatters. The frustration was beginning to build on the side of the Hatters (yes, that’s actually their nickname…they make hats. Slightly less scary that a poisonous nut) and they began to push the tempo of the game. At midfield one of Stetson’s best scoring threats went down after a tackle (read: won the Oscar for best actor) and let a yelp that was easily heard up in the press box. The player, Jonathon Mendoza, writhed on the ground in “pain” for about a minute. The trainers brought him some water and Midol and he was all ready to go. The crowd immediately erupted with jeers audible all around the stadium about the faux injury. Then, for the next 10 minutes, the crowd continued to harass Mendoza with cries of pain and boos every time he touched the ball. Remember, there are only about 500 people at this game. If crowd had been 30-40 times larger and this had happened I suspect that young Jonathon Mendoza would think twice about ever embellishing a tackle again, at least when he came to Columbus. I also think this would have been much more exciting as well.

This blog may sound like a cry for hooliganism in Columbus and it sort of is, but, within reason of course. We need to spread the love so to speak. Lets take the vigor with which we despise Mark May and put that towards supporting our soccer team. Mark May isn’t worth our time anyway. Why don’t we as a university finally put our foot down and say, “HEY! Where is our Pride? Akron shouldn’t be better than us in any sport! How did this happen? We’re we drunk? We swear we only had like four beers, and maybe a couple of martinis…and a couple shots of Lady Bly, BUT, that’s beside the point.” Its time for Ohio State to Chug some water, go to the sauna, grab some Jimmy Johns and get over this hangover of ours. Its time to spread the love, its time for a Key Party where OSU fans can love equally, with out prejudice, Futbol and Football.

The Danger Zone: Buckeye Soccer kick off

With the men’s soccer home opener just around the corner, it seems like an appropriate time for the inaugural Scarlet and Gray Radio’s I-Don’t-Think-That-Dude-Has-An-Adequate-Knowledge-of-Soccer-to-Be-Broadcasting-The-Games column, by yours truly. Now, im not as ignorant about the beautiful game of soccer as, say, Mitch Hedberg was ignorant about the dangers of heroine, but I am also no Alexi Lalas. I am not blessed with the luscious red hair that graces the head of, apparently, the only marketable U.S national Soccer player in recent decades. But I do have a soul. So if you’re looking for a soulful report about the Buckeye soccer squad and like to hang out in the sun, then this column is for you.

-“In Bluem”:

The Buckeyes return eight starters this year but they will lose three players that coach John Bluem considered to be, “the teams three best players”. Konrad Warzycha, Sam Scales and Matt Gold were all drafter to the MLS after the 2010 season and Warzycha and Gold we’re lucky enough to earn contracts with Sporting Kansas City and Toronto FC respectively. The team is also suffering from the loss of Ryan Lee, who transferred to UCLA after last season, as well as the injuries of Joshua Breto and Dalton Summers. Altogether, the 6 players were responsible for 30 of the teams 62 points. Which is slightly worrisome, but not terrifying. Kenny Cunningham was solid in the preseason and tallied the Buckeyes only goal at the Penn State Classic this past weekend. With Cunningham being a legitimate goal threat we’ll (hopefully) see Omar Vallejo improve on his 5 points off of three assists and one goal from his freshman season. Vallejo was also tied for third on the team in with 12 shots on goal in 2010.

That brings us to the part where if you gave me a choice between, watching a marathon of Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns”, hanging out with Ray Small for more than 10 minutes with out asking him why he can not field punts, making a wild assessment about which EPL team this year’s squad does or does not resemble, or, using a lousy literary device to talk about something that I thought about when I was doing something sometime; I would pick the last two.

Good News, Bad News:

Some of you soccer fans out there may have seen 8-2 drubbing that Manchester United put on Arsenal recently. This, I opine, is because Arsenal lacks the leadership that Manchester seems to be brimming with. Both teams have dedicated much of their resources to putting youth on the field but only Manchester United has managed to do it as well as pepper the pitch with strong leadership to mitigate club issues and control the mood of the team this season. Van Persie and Walcott do not seem to provide the confidence that this Arsenal team desperately needs.

Looking over the roster, this 2011 Ohio state team looks to be smack in the middle of the Man U/Arsenal dichotomy. Youths like Kenny Cunningham and Omar Vallejo can be the cocaine at Charlie Sheen’s party and really spice things up but you’ll also need to have the savvy with which Keith Richards doused, with blow, his mucous membranes lining his sinuses; or else things get ugly. This is where players like Austin McAnena, Chris Hegngi, David Tiemstra and Jordan Lomnicki come into play. Lomnicki and Tiemstra (who has, Phonetically, the word ‘team’ right there is his name) are the captains of the 2011 squad and will also be anchors on the back line and in the mid-field respectively. Chris Hegngi and Austin McAnena are the two highest scoring returning starters and will also be crucial to the ignition the offense. Hegngi had trouble finding the frame against Siena this past week with 8 shots and none on goal. But it’s early. “The fitness levels of the guys isn’t great,” coach Bluem told me, this gives me hope that the Buckeye’s 7 of 51 shots that were on net is simply the team knocking off the rust. The most optimistic part of the Hegngi hinder is that there are two of them. Chris’ brother Parnell can also be relied upon in the mid-field and, I mean, isn’t the brother combination on your team always awesome? Especially when they play two different positions in a sport like soccer? Shouldn’t they have had years of time to perfect their chemistry and maybe even form a little sibling competition? I hope so.

Where’s Your Head at?

The Buckeyes 2010 squad had some issues with corner kicks. That’s me being kind. The team converted on only 1 corner kick last year out of 94 attempts. Now, before I make them sound incompetent on set pieces, which is not what I want to do, I should point out that statistics in soccer are worth about as much as a verbal alliance is on the Bachelor Pad and can be equated to reading the spark notes on Catcher in the Rye. You get the bare essentials of the story, you understand that Holden Caulfield hates phonies, but you don’t see it. Soccer is not baseball; a sport that is better understood when you are aware of and proficient in a litany of complicated stats and ratings. You need to feel out soccer, and, though the 1 for 94 on corners statistic is, too me, troublesome, it surely does not take into account goals that were created off of rebounds and chances inside the box after those set pieces. But still, set pieces are a problem for the buckeyes and Coach Bluem agrees, “We’re not dangerous enough now on corners. We trained on corner kicks a lot today for, and against because we have to defend better against corners as well. Our services are starting to get there and be hit to where we want to but we’re not attacking the ball well enough.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

A Quick Look Back at the Penn State Classic:

The Nuts were not exactly roasting this past weekend when they kicked off their season in State College, PA. In their first two games the buckeyes faced American University and Siena respectively and walked off the pitch that weekend after tallying merely one goal in 200 minutes of play. A late game equalizer against American that was netted by freshman Kenny Cunningham was the lone goal of the weekend for the Buckeyes. Cunningham’s goal sent the game into two overtimes in which both teams failed to find the back of the net, ending the game in a draw. In game 2, the buckeyes found themselves trailing late once again, however, this time there was no equalizer. Over the weekend the team dominated the stat sheets with 51 shots to their opponents combined total of 14. However, only 7 of the 51 shots we’re on frame and a couple defensive breakdowns left veteran net-minder Matt Lampson to take the fall. Lampson faced 5 shots on goal but only managed to save 3. Poor fitness and a lack of concrete team chemistry resulted in an 0-1-1 start for the buckeyes but don’t expect that to last. Eric Brunner, who was the captain of the 2007 runner-up national champions, told me that coach Bluem has a knack for getting guys comfortable and confident in their roles. So my hope is that the team will mesh as the season continues. But who knows, maybe it was just that smelly Penn State campus. I could believe that as well.