OSU Women's Hockey: Buckeyes Win Opening Series

            When the horn sounded on Saturday evening, Ohio State had 124 shots, 11 goals, and a confident swagger to show for its dominating series sweep of Lindenwood in its first home stand of the 2012-2013 campaign.

            The Buckeyes’ power play efficiency and overall speed of play rendered the Cougars defenseless for the majority of the weekend.  The visitors were held to two goals in as many games, while Ohio State’s special teams managed to net six power play goals in addition to a shorthanded tally.

            Luckily for the Cougars, a quick glove hand from goaltender Nicole Hensley saved them from much more lopsided scores. Hensley made 60 and 53 saves on Friday and Saturday respectively.   

Ohio State 4, Lindenwood 0

            Lindenwood became dependent on its defense shortly into the first period when the Buckeyes began to expose a flaw in Hensley’s game.

            While Hensley did not have much trouble blocking high shots, she struggled to limit rebounds when pucks skittered low to the ice. Ohio State continued to shoot low on the freshman goalie until Tina Hollowell eventually buried a close-range rebound five minutes into the first frame to give the Scarlet and Gray a 1-0 lead.

            The Buckeyes resumed their shots from the point and battles in front of the net in the following two periods. Kari Schmitt and Taylor Kuehl each registered power play goals before Paige Semenza capped the victory with a breakaway beauty.  

Ohio State 7, Lindenwood 2

            The Buckeyes jumped out to a quick start on Saturday, surging ahead to a 4-0 advantage before the Cougars cut the lead in half midway through the second period.            

            Lindenwood ‘s goals foiled Ohio State goalie Chelsea Knapp’s attempt at a weekend of shutout hockey, but didn’t jostle the home team’s defensive corps. Knapp faced only 35 shots between the two games.

            Ohio State added three more goals after the Cougars made it 4-2 to cement its victory.

            Paige Semenza and Annie Svedin led the Scarlet and Gray, recording two goals and two assists each. Semenza now tops the Buckeyes’ leaderboard with five points heading into a weekend series at Minnesota Duluth. 

            

OSU Women's Volleyball: Non-conference Roundup

The Buckeye's kicked off the 2012 preseason schedule back on August 24th in the Sports Imports DC Koehl Classic.  Ohio State swept their first two matches before eventually losing to a very talented Oregon team.

In their season opening match against Houston, the Buckeyes eleven kills out of senior Emily Danks and ten kills out of senior team captain Mari Hole.  Danks came into the season just 14 kills shy of 1,000 on her career.  Setter Amanda Peterson also put on a great show, totaling 38 assists on the match, helping to lead Ohio State to a 25-21, 25-20, 25-21 victory.  Houston had a great showing from Katie Norris who totaled 17 kills on the match on her way to leading all scorers.

Service errors were a problem for Ohio State, with 7 on the day, but that could be chalked up to early rust as that has not been nearly such an noticeable issue as the season has rolled on.

On August 25th the team played two matches, starting with a sweep of Toledo.  In this match Danks chipped in with another nine kills, Hole had 13 kills as well as 5 hitting errors, while Kaitlyn Leary did her part with another 11 kills.  The Toledo offense was held in check the entire match as not a single rocket was able to reach double digit kills.  Lauren Rafdal and Jordan Kielty tied for the team lead with eight a piece.  Ohio State ended up winning 25-19, 25-20, 25-14.

In the championship match of the DC Koehl Classic, the Buckeyes (ranked 24th at the time) faced off against then number twenty Oregon.

Ohio State got off to a spectacular start winning each of the first two sets and really looking to upset a very talented Oregon squad.  The Duck's All-American Alaina Bergsma was held mostly in check through those first two sets while Emily Danks started off at a torrid pace.  Danks finished with 22 kills and Hole added 19, but Bergsma ended up stealing the show with 23 kills while leading the Ducks to a 3-2 come from behind victory.  The final scores were Ohio State 25-17, 25-21, 14-25, 24-26, 10-15.

I'll be back later with a continued look back at the Buckeye preseason.  As well as a look ahead to this...


With the 2012 Big Ten season finally under way, the Ohio State Women's Volleyball team heads to Minnesota tonight and Wisconsin tomorrow night to kick off a four game conference road trip.

Victory Over DePaul Seals Back-to-Back Wins

Against DePaul, the Ohio State Buckeyes men's soccer team found a way to produce two consecutive victories for the first time this season.

The win improved the Scarlet & Gray's record to 3-3-1, with one non-conference matchup - against Louisville - still remaining.

Their 2-1 win over the Blue Demons on Friday evening was arguably their most complete performance of the season: solid defensive play in both halves, coupled with some composed finishing produced a scoreline that honestly could've been wider.

The goalkeeper position was once again filled by Alex Wimmer, who had started the second game of the team's doubleheader in San Diego the weekend before. The junior netminder was making his fourth start overall, and looked comfortable through the entirety of the game.

His attackers were lively from the start: freshman forward Louie Berra started up front, giving the Buckeyes a great deal of incisive play and possession. The rookie's performances this year have always impressed, especially his ability to control and distribute the ball in tight areas.

But when he found some space in the penalty box, he took his opportunity with the utmost precision. After the ball came out to Austin McAnena on the outside of the eighteen, the Buckeye captain spotted the far post run of Berra, and his slide-rule pass was controlled by the youngster and smoothly driven past the goalkeeper Eric Sorby.

Berra found himself on the scoresheet for the second game running, and Ohio State went into the break handily in front of DePaul when it came to possession, but only one ahead when it came to the score.

But the second half proved to be more of the same, with Ohio State's central midfield partnership of Zach Mason and Brady Wahl performing with a combined solidity.

Though neither of them could particularly handle the Blue Demon's Antonio Aguilar, a silky center midfielder whose precise control took him past most of the defenders he came up against. For all the number six's fine contributions in open play, it was his set piece shooting that let him down. There were many times in the match where he stood over an inviting opportunity and duly smacked the ball well over Wimmer's goal.

After some increased pressure from the visitors, the Buckeyes finally finished them off. With less than a minute to go, Blue Demon goalkeeper Sorby was drawn out to confront Chris Hegngi's run in the box. The senior forward calmly dribbling around him, and looked up in time to find his fellow striker Kenny Cunningham, who slammed the ball home to wrap the game up for Ohio State.

A goal with only one second left from DePaul's Thiago Ganancio was merely a footnote overall, and the home team could celebrate for the second game running.

The Buckeyes travel to perennial power Louisville on Tuesday, and if they can find a way to beat the Cardinals and keep this winning streak alive, they will know that they'll be the form team once Big Ten play opens up.

Wild Weekend Ends In Wolstein Classic Title

In what can only be described as 200 or so crazy minutes,  the Ohio State men's soccer team finally produced the results they were crying out for in this early stage of the season.

Hosting the Bert and Iris Wolstein Classic, the Buckeyes first lined up against Coastal Carolina on Friday night at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The biggest change for the Buckeyes was in net - sophomore goalkeeper Alex Ivanov replacing his junior counterpart Alex Wimmer.

The first half of the Bucks' opener didn't amount to much. A few chances for the Chanticleers - and no shots on goal for the hosts - failed to excite the 722 spectators into any sort of frenzy.

After the interval, though, some life entered the match. Both sides came into the match without a win, and their collective desperation began to provide moments of inspiration.

Coastal's midfield stalwart Pedro Ribeiro proved to be a menace to many of the opponents. His slalom forays into the Ohio State half continually featured him shrugging off the challenges of one defender after another. It was from a corner, though, that the number 10 conjured up he most audacious of shots on goal. With his back to the net, he met a low cross with the heel of his left foot, and luckily for the goalkeeper Ivanov it just cleared the crossbar.

As the Chants pressure intensified, the opening goal finally arrived on 77 minutes - but they were the ones conceding it. Ohio State fullback Alex Bujenovic found some space and unleashed a fine drive with his left foot, the ball taking a deflection off a defender's back and wrong footing the goalkeeper Bertele. It may not have been something their play deserved, but the Buckeyes had their first home goal of the season.

However, the lead was short lived. Only two minutes later, an Ashton Bennett cross was turned home by Coastal forward Ricky Garbanzo, and the scores were level. What ensued in the closing staged was nothing short of extraordinary.

With only two minutes to play, some neat passing between Buckeye forwards sent Chris Hegngi through on goal and as he rounded the goalkeeper Bertele he was bundled over. A clear penalty, and not only did Ohio State have a chance to win the match, Coastal also found themselves down to 10 men and having to field their reserve keeper Scott Shewfelt.

But to this credit, the man between the sticks held his ground, and denied Hegngi his first goal of the campaign with a marvelous save low to his left. The drama didn't end there, though. With the final seconds literally winding down Joshua Breto squared the ball to Sebastian Rivas in the area, and his goal-bound shot was cleared off the line by Coastal defender Kjartan Sigurdsson. An unlucky end for the Buckeyes, and this match headed to overtime.

Much like the beginning of the game, overtime provided little excitement, and both teams claimed a draw, the first result of the season for the Buckeyes.

In Ohio State's second game against Davidson they had to pull off a quite remarkable turnaround to win the Wolstein Classic for a second straight year.

Falling behind to a first half header from Andrew Dilallo and a second half free kick from Luke Blades, the hosts afternoon went from bad to worse when forward Yianni Sarris - having just come off the bench - was sent off for violent conduct. Any chance of a comeback seemed remote.

The Scarlet and Gray fightback began with an 80th minute header from Rivas, straight from a Adam Gorski throw-in. Then merely five minutes later the turnaround was complete - Alex Bujenovic matching his strike from two nights before with a spectacular freekick into the top corner of the Wildcat net.

Cue wild celebrations at the Jesse, and the Ohio State hunt for a winner went into top gear, but to no avail. Overtime would be the solution again.

Only this time it didn't end in a draw, and luck was on the Buckeyes side as their opponents proceeded to create their own downfall.

With the ball crossed into the six yard box by a Buckeye attacker, a few bounces and a bit of miscommunication Kenny Cunningham's attempted shot being deflected into his own net by a Davidson defender. Ohio State had their first win of the season, and and undefeated weekend to boot. Now with a double header in San Diego, the men from Columbus will see if these two results are indicative of their talent, and not just some fluke.