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.