The Ohio State men’s soccer team captured the Big Ten regular-season championship Saturday night and earned its first ever No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament.
With the win, the Buckeyes received and an automatic spot in the semifinals and a first-round bye in the 2009 tournament.
“We’re in a great position, having a bye in the first round,” junior midfielder Matt Gold said. “That’s huge.”
The Big Ten championship is the Buckeyes’ third overall and second in the past three seasons. They finished the regular season with a conference record of 4-2-0 for 12 points.
They were two points ahead of Penn State and Northwestern, who finished second in the conference.
The Scarlet and Gray jumped Penn State in the standings on the last day of the regular season when it defeated rival Michigan.
The tournament will kick off Thursday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind. Every Big Ten tournament team except OSU will start play on Thursday. The Buckeyes will have an extra day before their first game.
“That’s a huge advantage,” OSU coach John Bluem said. “Every game in the Big Ten is going to be a tough one, but we want to keep the momentum going. If we could win a Big Ten tournament championship it would just be another great accomplishment for this team.”
The tournament will begin Thursday at 10 a.m. when Northwestern and Michigan kick things off.
Tournament-host Indiana will play Wisconsin at 12:30 p.m.
The last game on Thursday will see Penn State take on Michigan at 3 p.m. Penn State was denied the No. 1 seed and a Big Ten regular season championship last Friday night, when it lost to Indiana.
Top seed OSU will await the winner of the 4/5 matchup between Indiana and Wisconsin.
That game will take place 2 p.m. Friday. The winner will have a shot at a Big Ten tournament championship.
“[Indiana and Wisconsin] have to play on Thursday so we have a chance to scout them,” Bluem said. “They’re going to be a little tired when we play them on Friday so that gives us an advantage. However, all Big Ten games are very difficult. Our guys know that now that we are the champions. Every game is going to be tough.”
In regular-season play, OSU split two games with Indiana and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes lost 2-0 to Wisconsin but won an overtime thriller against Indiana.
“We just need to keep it going, not get overconfident and get everyone well rested,” Gold said.
The second semifinal game is at 4:30 p.m., and the winner will advance to the championship game.
The Big Ten tournament championship will be held 2 p.m. Sunday at Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
