Senior midfielder Michael Adedokun (17) eyes the ball during the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals against Washington at SeatGeek Stadium on Nov. 17. The Buckeyes won 3-1 and will move onto the Big Ten Tournament Championship. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
The Buckeyes will return home to battle the Wolverines, seeking their first Big Ten Championship title in 15 years.
No. 1 Ohio State gears up to face off against its archrival, No. 7 Michigan 3 p.m. Sunday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in the 2024 Big Ten Tournament championship match.
After receiving a bye straight to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, the Buckeyes earned a 3-1 win against the Washington Huskies on the back of two goals from midfielder Parker Grinstead.
“It was really nice just to get the team win, you know, and put us into a chance to win another championship on Sunday,” Grinstead said.
In Michigan’s previous match, the Wolverines defeated UCLA in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 tie in double overtime.
This will be the second time this season Ohio State faces off against the Wolverines, with the Buckeyes emerging victorious in its previous 6-3 match in Ann Arbor, Michigan during the regular season.
“A lot of guys have said it’s perfect,” midfielder David Wrona said. “It’s just like they wrote it up in the script. So a lot of guys are really excited. You know, we played them earlier this year, and it’s hard to beat a team twice.”
Ohio State is currently the NCAA’ No. 5 scoring offense, averaging 2.65 goals per game, according to the NCAA’s website. Midfielder Michael Adedokun leads the Buckeyes offensive attack with a team-high eight goals this season.
Michigan, on the other hand, enters the match with an 8-3-7 record, led by defender Jason Bucknor’s six goals and defender/midfielder Bryce Blevins, who follows closely with five.
“They’ve got a very talented team,” head coach Brian Maisonneuve said. “They’ve got some really good attackers, the Jason Bucknor kid. They moved him from kind of like a wingback to now he’s like their target forward. He is athletic and can run.”
Maisonneuve said his team understands the challenge ahead and will be ready to attempt to achieve a season-long goal.
“It’s going to be a battle,” Maisonneuve said. “But to be able to be at home against a great opponent, to win a championship is just something that we’ve been dreaming about all season long.”
