Ohio State redshirt junior keeper Max Trejo (1) saves a penalty kick during the third round of the NCAA tournament against Stanford. The No. 1 Buckeyes defeated the No. 16 Cardinal 4-2 in penalty kicks after a scoreless 90 minutes and two overtime periods. Credit: Liam Ahern | Lantern Photographer
After 110 minutes of action, neither the Buckeyes nor the Cardinal could find the back of the net.
The No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Stanford Cardinal after a penalty shootout in the third round of the NCAA’s 2024 Men’s Soccer Tournament at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium thanks to two crucial saves from goalkeeper Max Trejo.
“I mean, PK’s [penalty kicks] are tough,” head coach Brian Maisonneuve said. “It’s one kick of the ball, and it’s a mental battle. You could feel it in the huddle that everybody had each other’s backs. You could feel the energy, and they weren’t going to be denied. So it was, even though it’s always nerve-wracking in pens, I felt good about the group.”
It took the Buckeyes 10 minutes to record their first shot of the match.
After a strong collision, the first yellow card of the match was issued to defender Thomas Gilej in the 20th minute, setting the pace for what would be an aggressive night.
“I think a bunch of the guys had a chip on their shoulder, a bit of issues with Stanford’s team, they came to train on the game field, without our permission,” Trejo said. “I think that kind of bothered us and bothered a lot of the guys.”
The Cardinal almost found the lead moments later, with a powerful shot to the top right corner of the Buckeyes’ net by Bohane, but it was deflected by Trejo.
The first half ended with yellow cards being assessed to Ohio State defender Siggi Magnusson and Stanford’s Schnebly after a collision between the two sparked an intense confrontation.
While the aggression was prevalent with Ohio State getting eight fouls and two yellow cards against the Cardinals’ 12, and one yellow card, the Buckeyes struggled offensively, finding only four shots in the first half compared to Stanford’s six.
After an uneventful 10 minutes to start the second half, the physicality of the match was apparent as defender Palmer Bank received Stanford’s second yellow card of the night after an interaction involving Buckeye forward David Ajagbe.
Ohio State’s first chance of the second half wasn’t until the 58th minute when a shot from midfielder Luciano Pechota missed right.
After a scoreless 90 minutes, the Buckeyes went into their first overtime of the season, where Borkovich found the first shot five minutes in, which was saved by Schnebly.
The Cardinal almost closed out the match in the 99th minute with a goal from midfielder Kwabena Kwakwa, which was reversed seconds later by an offsides call, pushing the match into its second overtime period.
After a scoreless additional 10 minutes, the Buckeyes were sent into their first penalty shootout of the season and first since the 2023 Big Ten Tournament.
The first penalty kick of the night was a powerful shot to the bottom right by midfielder Will Reilly, which was saved by Trejo to kick off the shootout.
Borkovich then nailed a shot to the top left of the net for the lead.
Trejo followed the goal with another Bohane’s shot to the left post to keep the Buckeyes ahead.
“I knew coming up that I was gonna save the first pen and then the second pen. I was bit forced to hit the post and then hit my foot,” Trejo said. “I really don’t know how I saved that, kind of blacked out on both.”
As Stanford found three goals, midfielder Anthony Samaways iced the match for the Buckeyes with a powerful shot to the center, putting Ohio State into the NCAA’s 2024 Men’s Soccer Tournament quarterfinals.
“Honestly, nerves were going, but for sure, there’s excitement, because if I made it, we win,” Samways said. “I’m just glad we got it done, because we all put effort and we got the reward.”
The Buckeyes will return to the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium for the last time this season to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons either Friday or Saturday night in the NCAA’s 2024 Men’s Soccer Tournament quarterfinals.
