Despite being forced to play a man down after junior goalkeeper Alex Ivanov was sent off for a handball outside the penalty box in the 70th minute, the Ohio State men’s soccer team ended up playing to a scoreless tie in double overtime against Wright State.
Ivanov was forced to charge a Wright State forward as he progressed down the right side of the field. When the attacker shot the ball, Ivanov jumped in front of the ball and hit the ball with his hand, while outside the penalty box.
Junior goalkeeper Andrian McAdams, a transfer from Akron, was subbed in when Ivanov was forced to the bench.
McAdams said he was prepared to come on if he was needed.
“I was happy to go in,” McAdams said. “I was really excited most of all and happy we (could) keep the shutout.”
Ohio State junior goalkeeper Alex Ivanov kicks the ball in a game against Wright State Sept. 17 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. OSU and WSU tied, 0-0 in double overtime
The Buckeyes started slow, allowing the Raiders to go on the attack early. As the game progressed each team had their fair amount of opportunities. Freshman midfielder Christian Soldat was heavily involved in the attack, firing two shots on the night but was unable to find the back of the net.
“Sometimes things just don’t go your way,” Soldat said. “I just got (to) focus a little harder and put one in.”
As the game went into overtime, OSU continued to battle on the defensive side. But the attack slowly diminished as the Buckeyes were only able to record one shot throughout the overtime periods.
Wright State racked up 18 fouls compared to OSU’s eight. In addition WSU sophomore forward Brett Elder and junior midfielder Chris DuPont each received a yellow card for arguing with officials.
Coach John Bluem was not surprised by the physical play of the Raiders.
“I don’t want to say it was characteristic of their team, but we weren’t surprised there were a lot of fouls in the game,” Bluem said.
Bluem was disappointed in the Buckeye’s performance.
“We weren’t at our best,” Bluem said. “The one thing I will give our team credit for is they come to battle and they keep fighting.”
Due to his red card, Ivanov will have to miss OSU’s next match.
OSU (2-2-2) continues its streak of in-state matchups as the Dayton Flyers come to town Friday at 7:30 p.m.
