Senior midfielder Michael Adedokun (17) deflects the ball with his head during the match against Washington. Ohio State won 2-0 in their first conference matchup. Credit: Matab Muneer | Lantern Photographer
Twenty-eight fouls, 16 corner kicks and 67 minutes of scoreless action.
No. 4 Ohio State (9-0-2, 4-0-1 Big Ten) turned a sloppy first half into two late second-half goals to beat the University of Washington (4-3-5, 1-2-3 Big Ten) 2-0, in the team’s first meeting as Big Ten opponents, Monday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The Buckeyes remained unbeaten with their sixth shutout of the season, although they struggled to find the back of the net in the opening 45 minutes.
“To be honest, I thought we were pretty poor the majority of the night in a lot of facets,” Buckeyes head coach Brian Maisonneuve said. “Washington’s a good team, they played really hard. To be able to get a 2-0 win, at home, when you don’t play your best or even close to it, we’ll take it.”
The first half saw a total of eight corner kicks, with one after the other sailing wide of the net. Ohio State was limited in their two looks, with the Huskies’ defense sending both attempts immediately out of the 18-yard box.
In spite of their superb defense, Washington committed 11 first-half fouls compared to Ohio State’s two.
“We knew they were going to come out hard, (Washington is) a hard team,” Maisonneuve said. “(Washington head coach Jamie Clark) is a competitor. He’s a good coach, but he gets his teams ready to go. So, we knew they were going to come out fighting and that’s one of the things at halftime that we addressed.”
That halftime adjustment turned into a much more balanced attack for Ohio State in the second half, earning three corner kicks and trailing on total shots 6-5 after an 8-6 Washington advantage in the first.
“We started to realize, ‘hey, we can play through their press,’” Ohio State graduate midfielder David Wrona said. “(Washington) has a hard press. They overshift guys. I think we looked to play central a little bit more. You see the initial pressure and just want to hit it. Second half, we switched our play up a little bit in the middle and then became a little more successful.”
Successful indeed were the Buckeyes in the final 23 minutes of the night, with Wrona’s first lifting Ohio State to a 1-0 lead at 67:46 on a shot just outside of the box. Wrona’s goal gives him three scores in his last two outings.
“We challenged them to be better on second balls,” Maisonneuve said. “In the second half, we were a little bit better. We have some pace up top, so if a team wants to go even or hold a high line, there’s a good chance that over 90 minutes that we will take advantage of it.”
Senior midfielder Michael Adedokun gave the Buckeyes an insurance goal with about four minutes left in the match, which allowed for Ohio State to finally take a sigh of relief on the sidelines, Wrona said.
“Great finish, great effort,” Wrona said. “Mike is on a different level. He’s got speed like no one else, so it was only a matter of time before he got one. Seeing him put that away, everyone can breathe and feel alright again. That ended the game there and that was huge.”
Both goaltenders rose to the occasion time and time again, but it was Ohio State’s redshirt junior goaltender Max Trejo who outlasted Washington’s senior Jadon Bowton. Trejo saved all four shots that were sent his way on a night when the Buckeyes wanted revenge after last season’s 1-1 draw to Washington.
“Last year, we had a sour taste in our mouth after not getting the win,” Wrona said. “That carried into this game. (Washington) works super hard, that’s a tough team and a team that just wants it. To match that energy, it’s very difficult. First half, I don’t think we did that as much. In the second half, I think guys started to show up and really play.”
With the win, Ohio State extended its best start in program history and it is the first time the Buckeyes have yet to end a game with a loss over the first 11 matches.The victory tied Ohio State with Maryland for first place in the Big Ten standings.
“We’re fortunate right now to be undefeated,” Maisonneuve said. “But it’s not because of anything other than the work that we put in. That was the thing I was the most proud of the guys through the first 10 games: they work their tails off offensively and defensively.”
Next up for the Buckeyes, they’ll take a trip out west to face off against UCLA Friday at 10 p.m..
