A wide shot of the Ohio State women’s soccer team’s match against the Ashland Eagles Sunday evening at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes went on to win 3-1. Credit: Natalie Hunt | Lantern Reporter
Disclaimer: Ohio State played Sunday’s contest as a regular-season game. Ashland played the match as an exhibition game, and the loss will not affect the team’s record.
The season is still young, but Ohio State’s women’s soccer team already has three wins under its belt.
Freshman forward Jadin Bonham and freshman midfielder Ava Greco helped lead the Buckeyes (3-0-0) to a 3-1 victory over the Ashland Eagles (0-1-0) Sunday evening at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
This game marked the first-ever battle between the Buckeyes and Eagles, as well as Ohio State’s third matchup against a non-D1 opponent.
It didn’t take long for Ohio State to get on the scoreboard.
In the 6th minute, Bonham scored the first goal of her collegiate career off an assist by Greco.
Just three minutes later, senior forward Kaiyln Dudukovich scored a second goal for the Buckeyes off a ricocheted shot that bounced off an Eagle defender.
Bonham and Greco weren’t the only Ohio State freshmen to see significant play time early on. Forward/midfielder Maliyah Morrison, defender/forward Anika Poremba and forward/attacker Victoria Miller were among other first-year players to make an impact.
“Ava [Greco] is continuing to come along; it’s great for her to get a goal and Jadin Bonham as well,” head coach Lori Walker-Hock said. “All that experience that we are getting for our freshmen is just gonna pay off as the season goes.”
Ashland struggled to attack Ohio State’s stout defense, seeing its first offensive chance in the 34th minute, but a relatively easy save from junior keeper Molly Pritchard kept the score at 2-0.
The Buckeyes were highly effective in the midfield, keeping the Eagles off the ball and maintaining overall possession while taking 14 shots across the first half.
The Buckeye defense remained calm when facing the Eagle’s offensive pressure, allowing only one shot in the first half of play.
Ohio State would let two more shots loose before the half to no avail, holding a 2-0 lead against the Eagles heading into halftime.
These two Buckeye chances were generated off the same corner kick, but both shots — one by sophomore defender Ava Bramblett and the other by Adamson — were deflected by the Eagles’ keeper Maddie Dolenga. Ashland maintained a high-pressure defense despite the Buckeyes’ persistent attacks.
The Eagles countered quickly, with junior forward Sydney Thomas putting the ball between the hands of junior keeper Arden La-Rose for a goal in the 50th minute. This marks the first goal conceded by the Buckeyes this season.
Ohio State would get the last laugh with another fast turnaround, as Greco netted a 53rd-minute goal off a corner kick, officially putting the game out of reach for the Eagles.
Having tallied her first-ever goal and assist in the contest, Greco said she feels even more motivated for the future.
“It just happened so fast but it felt really great in the moment, and setting such high expectations of myself and kinda succeeding,” Greco said. “It felt great, but I know there is so much more I can give.”
Ohio State remained aggressive in their defensive third, racking up 13 fouls while Ashland only had five. This is the third-straight contest in which the Buckeyes have acquired at least three more fouls than their rival.
The Buckeyes dominated the Eagles on the shot charts, taking a whopping 28 shots on goal and 10 on target compared to the Eagles’ three and two, respectively.
Going forward, the Buckeyes will take on the South Carolina Gamecocks at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium next Thursday at 4 p.m.
