No. 13 Ohio State capped of its senior night with a 2-1 win over Michigan State in Columbus on Tuesday. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
The No. 13 Ohio State men’s soccer team came up with a 2-1 victory over Michigan State in its final home match of the regular season Tuesday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
With the win on a memorable Senior Night, the Buckeyes (9-1-5, 4-1-2 Big Ten) moved into second place in conference rankings, as the Spartans (6-7-2, 3-3-1) remained at No. 5 in the Big Ten.
Michigan State applied the high pressure early, keeping the ball in its attacking third for a majority of the first half. Senior midfielder Xavier Green had a few first-half opportunities to give Ohio State a lead but couldn’t convert partly due to Spartans senior goalkeeper Owen Finnerty’s three first half saves.
Although the Spartans were primarily on the attack early in the first half, senior forward Devyn Etling was fouled in the Spartans’ 18-yard box. Junior midfielder Laurence Wootton iced the penalty kick for a 1-0 Buckeye lead at the 32nd minute.
Ohio State came out attacking early in the second half, as sophomore defender Nathan Demian scored a quick header at the 47th minute on an assist from sophomore midfielder Anthony Samways.
Demian said it felt good to get the first goal of his Buckeye career.
“Finally got that goal, you know, obviously great delivery by Samways,” Demian said. “He’s been on set pieces all year, and he shows why. His assists, how many good balls he puts in, and we got guys who want to go and attack it. And fortunately, this was my time to attack.”
Head coach Brian Maisonneuve said he was surprised Demian only has one goal this season but is happy the whole team is contributing to scoring.
“For, I don’t want to say a little guy, but again, he’s not super tall. But he’s very good in the air,” Maisonneuve said. “His timing is great, and he’s aggressive. So, I’m not surprised.”
Even up two goals, it seemed the Buckeyes were playing with more urgency than the Spartans. Ohio State had three shots on target within 10 minutes, two saved by Finnerty and the other a strike from sophomore midfielder Joakim Jahnsen that went off the right post.
However, senior forward Conner George quieted down the loud home crowd with a 65th-minute on an assist from junior midfielder Jack Zugay to cut the lead to one.
The Buckeyes responded with three counter attacks of their own late in the second half. Green, along with freshman forward Tanner Creech, had more opportunities to extend the Buckeyes’ lead, including back-to-back-to-back missed sitters at the 78th, 79th and 80th minutes.
Ohio State barely came out with a 2-1 win to keep its regular season Big Ten championship hopes alive.
Green said he should have scored a few more goals to emphasize the win for the Buckeyes but is glad he has one more chance to score in his final regular season match Sunday.
“I think that we’ve been really doing well with the attack all season,” Green said. “We should have put those chances away. We should’ve had a few more goals. But luckily, we had enough to win the game.”
Ohio State honored its four graduating seniors — Etling, midfielders Green and Chris Dowling and goalkeeper Keagan McLaughlin — before the game with personalized frames of their jerseys and a ceremony with families and friends.
Green said his five years as a Buckeye have been unforgettable.
“Been here a long time,” Green said. “So yeah, I was just really appreciative of the jersey that I got. And hopefully we have another home game here in a week or two.”
Maisonneuve said this position is what the Buckeyes have wanted since August.
“We talked about winning the championship. And now we’re putting ourselves in a place to do it,” Maisonneuve said. “We need a little help from Indiana. Maryland’s a very good team, Indiana’s a very good team. That’s going to be a battle. I mean, it all comes down to Sunday, which is what you want, what you expect in the Big Ten with the parity we have.”
Demian said the team is entering with the mindset that “every game from now on is a must win.”
“Every single Big Ten Tournament game is a must win. Every single NCAA Tournament game’s a must win,” Demian said. “Just starts a game earlier in Wisconsin.”
The Buckeyes travel to Madison for their season finale against Wisconsin (5-6-3, 2-4-1 Big Ten) Sunday at the McClimon Memorial Soccer Complex at 1 p.m., streaming on BTN+.
