Field Hockey Continues Blazing Start
The sixth-ranked Buckeyes (8-0, 1-0 Big Ten) opened up conference play with a 4-0 win over Michigan State (4-3, 0-1 Big Ten) on Friday before taking home a 5-2 win over Brown (2-4, 1-0 Ivy League) on Sunday, highlighted by a two-goal weekend for graduate forward Makenna Webster and junior forward Lindsey Roberts in the homestand.
Ohio State tallied three first-quarter goals against the Spartans, with junior back Katie Fichtner opening the scoring before Roberts and Webster found the back of the cage, tallying their first goals of the weekend. Roberts added her second goal of the day at the 49:57 mark in the fourth quarter, giving her goals No. 4 and 5 on the season.
Senior goaltender Abby Danson saved two shots in 50:25 on the field and junior netminder Kelly Davis added two more saves in 9:35 of game action.
Sunday’s win over Brown began with a 1-1 tie after goals by Ohio State senior forward Hallie Brost and Brown senior forward Katie McCallum. From there on out, it was four unanswered Buckeye goals from Fichtner, sophomores midfielder Anne Marie Krebs and forward Brenna Bough before Webster made it an insurmountable 5-1 Ohio State lead at 56:50 in the fourth quarter.
Danson tallied four saves in 56:40 on the field while Davis saved one in 3:20 of game time.
The Buckeyes will have a week off before another home tilt against No. 12 Louisville on Sept. 29.
Men’s Soccer Remains Undefeated
Ohio State men’s soccer continues to stack win after win, as the No. 7 Buckeyes blanked Rutgers 3-0 on Sunday for the team’s third straight shutout.
Ohio State (7-0-1, 2-0-0 Big Ten) found the back of the net in the 31st minute off the left foot of senior midfielder Parker Grinstead for its first goal. Rutgers (3-5-1, 0-2-0 Big Ten) could not respond offensively throughout the match and allowed two second half goals from freshman forward David Ajagbe and junior midfielder Luciano Pechota.
The Buckeyes have not had a three-game shutout streak since the start of the 2022 campaign and now are on a seven-game win streak for the first time since 2015.
With the win, Ohio State is off to the second-best start to a season in program history, only lagging behind the 1977 squad which started off an unblemished 7-0-0.
Women’s Soccer Picks Up Second B1G Win
It took two goals in the final five minutes of the game to lift No. 17 Ohio State women’s soccer (7-1-2, 2-0-1 Big Ten) to a 2-1 victory over Northwestern (5-5-1, 0-3-0 Big Ten), giving the Buckeyes their third win in the previous four contests.
After a scoreless first half, Ohio State trailed the Wildcats from the 47:49 mark to the 84:44 mark in the second half, following a goal from senior defender Emma Phillips that gave Northwestern a 1-0 advantage. In the 84th minute, sophomore forward Amanda Schlueter added the equalizing goal before just over three minutes of game time later, sophomore defender Ava Bramblett handed Ohio State a lead it would not relinquish.
The goal from Schlueter was her sixth in the previous six games and Bramblett’s goal was her second of the season and second game-winning goal of the year.
Junior goalkeeper Molly Pritchard saved two shots in the win for Ohio State.
Women’s Ice Hockey Gets Swept To Open New Season
Months after winning its second national championship in three seasons, No. 1/2 Ohio State was swept in shocking fashion by No. 7 Minnesota Duluth in the season-opening series at the Ohio State Ice Rink, losing 2-1 on Saturday and 4-3 on Sunday.
The Buckeyes (0-2-0, 0-2-0 WCHA) drew first blood in both contests, with freshman forward Jordyn Petrie tallying her first career goal at 1:39 in the first period on Saturday and sophomore forward Jocelyn Amos scoring at the 6:04 mark in the opening frame on Sunday.
The Bulldogs (2-0-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) took their time responding on Saturday and did not tie things up until late in the second period, a goal at the 18:46 mark by graduate forward Olivia Wallin. The game stayed knotted up at one apiece until sophomore blueliner Ida Karlsson stunned the Buckeyes with her score at 19:36.7, giving Ohio State just 23.3 seconds to try and send the game to overtime. A last-second heave by senior defenseman Emily Zumwinkle was sent into the glove of the red-hot sophomore goaltender Ève Gascon, who tallied 39 saves in the win.
After Amos’ goal on Sunday, Minnesota Duluth answered much more quickly than it did on Saturday with a score at 14:06 in the first period by the hands of graduate forward and team captain Clara Van Wieren. A power-play goal at 1:50 in the second frame by senior forward Jenna Lawry gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead.
It would remain that until Ohio State scored on a four-on-four situation with junior defenseman Emma Peschel finding the back of the net at 18:44. 11 seconds later, on a brief 12 second power-play, graduate forward Kiara Zanon gave the Buckeyes their second lead of the day to take a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes of play.
Minnesota Duluth tallied two goals in the third period as freshman forward Caitlin Kraemer notched career goals No. 1 and 2 at the 4:35 and 14:33 marks, respectively. Both scores whizzed past former Minnesota Duluth and now Buckeye goaltender Hailey MacLeod, who took the loss in her first matchup against her former team. Gascon appeared in net for the second straight contest for the Bulldogs and added another 36 saves for her second-straight victory.
Women’s Volleyball Sweep In-State Weekend Series
The Buckeyes took back-to-back games in a home-and-home series over Bowling Green, winning in four sets on Friday and in a three-set sweep on Sunday.
Ohio State (7-3, 0-0 Big Ten) won the first set 25-22 before the Falcons knotted the match at a set apiece following a 25-23 win in set two. Ohio State would win the next two sets (25-20, 25-21) to give the Buckeyes the road win at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green.
Playing back on their home court at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio State easily disposed of the Falcons (5-6, 0-0 MAC) in three sets. A 25-16 first set victory translated into a 25-19 second set win and the third set, which never saw Bowling Green lead past a 3-2 advantage early on, ended with a 25-15 advantage for the Buckeyes and gave Ohio State its third sweep of the season.
