Senior forward Denio Leone (15) controls the ball during a match against IPFW Aug. 20, at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. OSU won, 2-0.
Credit: Shelby Lum / Photo editor
After three consecutive away games, the Ohio State men’s soccer team is set to be back in Columbus to take on Wright State.
The Tuesday match is scheduled to be the second of four straight in-state opponents for the Buckeyes.
Last Friday, OSU (2-2-1) tied Bowling Green State University in front of a crowd of more than 3,000 Falcon fans.
Junior goalkeeper Alex Ivanov said the Buckeyes are looking forward to returning home and having the support of their fans.
“It’s great to be back (in Columbus),” Ivanov said. “I hope Block ‘O’ comes out in full support.”
Ivanov has recorded six or more saves in each of the team’s last five games.
It’s not just fan support the Buckeyes are thankful for this week, but the comfort of being home.
“It’s good to be back,” junior midfielder Alec Lowell said. “Everything falls back into place when you come back home. Classes and everything just get easier.”
Lowell, who led the Buckeyes in last week’s game with three shots, said he is hoping to take this advantage and use it in tomorrow’s game.
“Everyone wants to play at OSU,” Lowell said. “We are going to have to come out strong and come out in all attack.”
Wright State (1-2) is coming off of a road loss to West Virginia. Despite leading 1-0 in the first half, the Raiders ended up losing 2-1.
The match was the second straight in which the Raiders were defeated 2-1 after having a 1-0 lead. The week before, it was to the hands of Robert Morris University. Tuesday’s match will be the team’s third consecutive away match.
OSU senior defender and captain Sage Gardner said he knows the team will have to play at full speed the entire match if it is going to come away with a win.
“We came out flatter than we wanted to last week,” Gardner said. “(Tuesday) we will have to come out mentally faster and continue to progressively move forward.”
Tuesday’s match is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The Buckeyes will continue their run of in-state matches Friday evening when the University of Dayton comes to Columbus, one game before OSU heads to Akron Sept. 24 to take on the No. 7 Zips.
