Buckeyes lose 1-0 to Wisconsin this Friday after an early Wisconsin goal. Credit: Lance Haupricht | For The Lantern
An early Wisconsin goal was the only scoring in Friday’s matchup between the Buckeyes and the Badgers.
Despite Ohio State men’s soccer (3-6-5, 1-4-1 Big Ten) ending its game against Wisconsin (5-4-5, 2-2-3 Big Ten) with a shot attempt differential favoring it eight to Wisconsin’s seven, it could not find the back of the net in the Badger’s 1-0 victory.
The loss marked Ohio State’s fourth shutout loss this season and head coach Brian Maisonneuve said he was unhappy with the offense.
“We started forcing stuff in the second half, and a ton of our patience went out the window,” Maisonneuve said. “It made our attack really stale.”
In under three minutes, Badger sophomore forward Mitchell Dryden gave them a 1-0 lead off a deflected pass in the box.
Maisonneuve said his players tracked the ball poorly, which allowed Wisconsin to score early.
“A ball in the box and we didn’t track our runners,” Maisonneuve said. “They got underneath the ball, and he finished it well.”
A close attempt for the Buckeyes at 9:31 came by a cross in the box to junior midfielder Michael Adedokun, who was blocked by a defender. Sophomore midfielder Luciano Pechota shot the ball off the block. The attempt was tipped by a Wisconsin defender for a corner.
After the opening goal, the Buckeyes were able to control the tempo, allowing only one total shot, as they had five attempts of their own in the first half. The Badgers had zero corners to the Buckeyes’ five.
However, steady ball control was not enough for the Buckeyes to overcome the 1-0 deficit at the half.
In the second, the Badgers were able to take over the pace of the game with their five second-half shot attempts to the Buckeyes’ two.
Badger graduate midfielder Tim Bielic took a shot attempt in the box that sailed over the crossbar at 62:50.
At 76:56, Buckeye senior midfielder Laurence Wootton had a volley shot attempt off a defender deflection from outside the box that soared over the top left post.
The Buckeyes couldn’t find an equalizer in the final minutes.
Ohio State captain and senior defender Deylen Vellios said the message for the young guys after a tough loss near the end of the season is to play with a purpose.
“We got to have that sense of urgency and even though we will say it’s OK, we have to see what the younger players are made of,” Vellios said.
The Buckeyes hope to get their second win against a Big Ten opponent when they face Michigan State at 7 p.m Tuesday.
