Ohio State freshman David Ajagbe celebrates after his goal against Wake Forest to make it 2-0 in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes defeated the Deacons 3-0. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor
The Buckeyes proved there’s no place like home for one final time in 2024.
With two goals from midfielder Michael Adedokun and its 3-0 win against No. 8 Wake Forest, the Buckeyes will now play their first semifinal match in the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament since 2007 after completing an unbeaten season on their home turf Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
“You know, it’s my senior year,” Adedokun said. “It’s my last game on this field. I feel like me, personally, my goal is to be able to bring this team a national championship and we keep riding.”
After the first 40 minutes of the match, neither team capitalized on any of their opportunities, but that changed right before the half.
With five minutes left before halftime, a foul against midfielder David Wrona awarded a penalty kick to Ohio State, which Adedokun drilled into the top right corner of the Deacons’ net for the 1-0 lead.
“Goals change games, so yeah, to get one right at the end of the first half, beginning of the second half, yeah, that really was in terms of momentum, it gave us a ton of momentum to finish out the half,” head coach Brian Maisonneuve said.
Despite holding possession for 34% of the half, a fired-up Ohio State offense found 11 shots over Wake Forest’s three, while accruing only five fouls and one yellow card to Wake Forest’s 12.
Just two minutes into the second half, Ajagbe fired a powerful shot to the top middle of Wake Forest’s net off an assist from midfielder Luciano Pechota in the 47th minute to give the Buckeyes a two-goal lead.
Eleven minutes later, Adedokun delivered yet again, this time a low shot to the right side off an assist from midfielder Parker Grinstead to give them a 3-0 lead.
“Sometimes you don’t need the power,” Adedokun said. “You just have to pass it and it’s gonna go here. So that’s why I tried a new thing today.”
The Deacons nearly found their lifeline in the 62nd minute, with a shot from midfielder Dylan Borso going to the bottom right, but it was deflected by Trejo to secure Ohio State’s victory over the Demon Deacons.
“It’s amazing,” Wrona said. “You know, this is what you dream of and the team has worked insanely hard to get to this point, and they deserve it.”
Ohio State will now go on the road to take on either SMU or Marshall in the semifinal match of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.
