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.