Freshman defender Theo Alexis (18) splits two defenders during the OSU vs. Penn State game on Tuesday. Credit: Ris Twigg | Assistant Photo Editor
Where there was plenty of rain Tuesday night at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, there was no shortage of offense as Ohio State (5-1-0, 2-0-0 Big Ten) defeated Penn State (1-2-2, 0-1-0 Big Ten), 3-0.
The first goal came in the 49th minute from senior defender Niall Logue, his second of the season, and kicked off the scoring. Six minutes later, in the 55th minute, senior forward Nate Kohl buried his first of the season.
The final tally was off the head of freshman forward Mitch Bergman in the 84th minute for his first career goal. Abdi Mohamed and Kevin Blackwood recorded assists.
“We put it away in the last couple minutes there against a quality side in Penn State,” Bergman said. “Out of my mind right now, don’t know really what to think, just living up the moment right now.”
The Buckeyes ended the game with 15 shot attempts, Bluem said the first goal opened up the Penn State defense and allowed for more opportunities.
“It was a hard game when they were able to sit back defensively, they had a lot of numbers behind the ball,” Bluem said.
This marks goalie Parker Siegfried’s fourth straight win and shutout.
“It’s a team effort when you get a shutout, and we’ve been stressing that a lot with our team,” Bluem said. “Trying to make sure we’re organized defensively, we know what we want to do, where people are supposed to be then it comes down to individual effort. Are the guys on the field making that extra effort to do their job defensively, and if they are it makes it easier for us to get a shutout.”
Despite having eight shots in the first half, the Buckeyes still ended the first half with a scoreless tie.
Ohio State coach John Bluem thought the weather might have had something to do with it.
“You know it’s funny, it didn’t rain till right when the game started, so we didn’t get used to the field being wet. So, I think both teams had a difficult time adjusting to the wet conditions. It was easier in the second half.”
The Buckeyes next game will be in Piscataway, New Jersey, as they challenge in-conference opponent Rutgers at 1 p.m.
Even though the Buckeyes have plenty of momentum, Bluem doesn’t believe they should be over-confident heading into Sunday.
“We got to go back on the road again in the conference, it’s never easy to go on the road,” Bluem said. “Rutgers is a very good team, I watched them the other night. They’re very dangerous going forward, they’re going to cause us some problems. I think it’s going to be a wide-open game and a very difficult contest for us.”
