Ohio State senior midfielder Michael Adedokun (17) celebrates after his goal against Northwestern University on Friday. The Buckeyes claimed a 2-0 victory over the Wildcats. Credit: Matab Muneer | Lantern Reporter
After a two-week road trip, the Buckeyes returned home to shut out Northwestern.
No. 1 Ohio State (11-1-2, 6-1-1 Big Ten) defeated Northwestern (8-6-1, 2-5-1 Big Ten) 2-0 thanks to late goals from freshman forward David Ajagbe and senior midfielder Michael Adedokun Friday night at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Head coach Brian Maisonneuve admired the work of their goaltenders.
“Both Max [Trejo] and Patrick [McLaughlin] have been playing great all season,” Maisonneuve said. “So, we’re comfortable with both, and both of them are doing a hell of a job.”
Out of the gate, the Wildcats held Ohio State in its own territory for the first couple of minutes.
“They came out, they held a higher line, they shrunk to midfield, which makes it tough,” Maisonneuve said. “But I thought we could have played forward a little bit more and really battled for territory.”
Ohio State’s offensive struggles were apparent in the first half, with the Buckeyes finding five shots, only one of which was on target.
Redshirt junior goalie Max Trejo saved all four Northwestern first-half shots, keeping the Buckeyes in a scoreless tie.
Right out of halftime, the Buckeyes returned with reignited passion.
Nine minutes into the half, Ajagbe sunk the ball into the bottom left of the net off an assist from junior midfielder Luciano Pechota to put Ohio State up 1-0, his fifth goal of the season.
“Yeah, I felt really, really good, especially after those chances,” Ajagbe said. “It felt good that I just trusted myself, got the goal and I was just really happy.”
The Buckeyes didn’t stop there.
Off an assist from graduate defender Siggi Magnusson in the 68th minute, Adedokun drilled the ball into the bottom right of the Wildcat’s net, extending their lead to two on his eighth goal of the season.
“I think we just needed a second to calm down,” Ajagbe said. “It’s a big crowd, we’re really excited. Just needed a moment to calm down, just regroup and know that we’re number one for a reason.”
Ohio State will return to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium Tuesday at 6 p.m. to take on the Michigan State Spartans in its final home game of the season.
