It was yet another impressive home victory for the University men’s soccer team, as many fans gathered to watch them defeat Big Ten Conference opponent Ohio State University by a score of 2-0. BGSU is still undefeated at home and posted their fifth shutout of the season. OSU has dominated BGSU over the past eight years with eight straight wins. On Saturday, that streak was broken and proved to be one of BGSU’s signature wins.
It was a perfect scenario for BGSU as they quickly put OSU on their toes early, applying the pressure on both sides of the ball. In the first seven minutes of the game, senior Joe Sullivan was in an uphill battle with an OSU defender near the end line. Afterwards, Sullivan tried to attempt a cross pass near the right side of the box. Despite being swarmed with OSU defenders, fellow senior Max Auden happened to be in the middle of the box and the ball deflected off his head right into the goal. This gave BGSU a 1-0 lead, confidence and momentum as the game was just getting started.
“We always talk about never giving up on a play, so it got cleared and Joe kept going and crossed it,” Max Auden said. “It hit my head and it somehow went in and helped get all the momentum of the game.”
OSU would look to respond very quickly within the next few minutes of the game. OSU’s Christian Soldat and Nate Kohl each attempted a header shot off nice ball movement, but both attempts failed. After BGSU got into early foul trouble, OSU was on the move again around the 19-minute mark. This time, OSU’s Danny Jensen would receive a pass on the left side of the box and fired a low shot towards the left side. However, freshmen goalie Anthony Mwembia acted quickly and got the save.
Around the 32-minute mark, OSU would get whistled for an offside penalty that would give BGSU a corner kick. Joe Sullivan would kick the ball right in the middle of the box and sophomore Tate Robertson would be there to obtain it. After a series of good ball movement, Robertson finally found classmate Peter Pugliese right in position to get a shot off, but it was quickly stolen by OSU.
OSU would then bring the ball towards BGSU territory, where OSU’s Marcus McCrary received a nice sliding pass from an OSU teammate and then fired a shot that would sail wide towards the far post. OSU would once again retain the ball shortly after a steal from midfield. It was then OSU’s Leo Kossaka would set up a cross pass into the box towards teammate Nate Kohl, who fired a shot directly towards Anthony Mwembia. Mwembia would easily get the save and a sigh of relief came upon the home crowd.
With five minutes left in the first period, BGSU looked to get one last shot attempt. BGSU displayed great ball movement that would include seven players touching the ball. It was then sophomore Peter Pugliese found fellow classmate Bismark Agyeman. Agyeman would then lay the ball back to freshmen Chris Brennan and then fired a shot sailing high over the crossbar.
Early in the second period, OSU would turn the pace up a notch as they were able to get two shots up in a two-minute span. However, both shot attempts would not convert to points as BGSU stood poised under pressure.
Around the 64-minute mark, freshmen Robert Miller III entered the game subbing in for Chris Brennan that came right after a missed shot attempt from Bismark Agyeman. Miller would take advantage of OSU’s miscommunication as they were looking to set up a play. Miller swooped in and stole the ball and had a wide open lane towards the goal and easily shot the ball passed OSU goalie Parker Siegfried. The crowd erupted in cheers as Miller was able to get the unassisted goal and gave BGSU a 2-0 lead with 24 minutes left in the game. Through the next 20 minutes, OSU would get six shot attempts as they kept fighting until the end. The six shot attempts were unsuccessful, with BGSU keeping up and goalie Anthony Mwembia staying alert throughout the game.
With 46 seconds left in the game, OSU was able to get one last shot attempt as Abdi Mohamed, who was standing in the middle of the box, fired a shot that hit the crossbar. The ball headed towards the corner flag and OSU was unable to get another shot off. BGSU got the victory against the Big Ten Conference opponent.
“I’m glad for the guys, they got to do something special in front of the alumni and the community, and they deserve everything they got tonight,” BGSU Head Coach Eric Nichols said. “Ohio State is a good team, but we outworked them and outfought them, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Up next will be another Big Ten Conference opponent as the team will travel on the road to play Michigan State University at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
“Michigan State is a completely different challenge for us, we’ll look at the video and concentrate on the things we did well, things we need to improve, and I’d like to see a similar showing like tonight going into Wednesday,” Nichols said.
