Olympic Sports Recap: Women’s Ice Hockey Bounces Back From Loss, Men’s Ice Hockey Splits Against Sacred Heart, Field Hockey Continues Skid, Women’s Soccer Falls In Season Finale
No. 2 Women’s Ice Hockey Sweeps St. Cloud State
Following a 6-3 loss to Minnesota in its last contest, Ohio State bounced back in emphatic fashion last weekend.
No. 2 Ohio State (7-1-0, 5-1-0 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) defeated St. Cloud State (4-6, 1-5-1 WCHA) 5-1 on Friday before earning another dominant 4-2 victory on Saturday.
Three early third period goals propelled Ohio State to victory in its first match against the Huskies.
Senior defender Brooke Disher kicked off the scoring 12 and a half minutes into the opening period, before St. Cloud freshman forward Maria Mikaelyan tied it early in the second with a breakaway goal.
Though, it was all Buckeyes from there.
After an unassisted goal by freshman forward Hilda Svensson midway through the second period gave Ohio State a 2-1 lead, the Buckeyes netted three goals in the first seven and a half minutes of the final frame to seal a 5-1 victory over the Huskies.
In the second game of the series, St. Cloud State jumped out to a 2-0 advantage early in the third period before a furious comeback led by three goals from junior forward Joy Dunne gave the Buckeyes the edge
Freshman defender Maélie Pion opened the game with a breakaway goal off a stolen pass 12 minutes into the contest, before freshman forward Julianne Labbé added a goal just two minutes into the third period. However, the extra goal wouldn’t be enough to deter the Buckeyes.
Dunne netted her first goal just six minutes later, cutting St. Cloud’s lead to one. Then disaster struck for the Huskies as St. Cloud was called for a five-minute penalty, allowing for the Buckeyes to gain a player advantage, even after a score. Ohio State did just that as senior defender Emma Peschel and Dunne tacked on two goals in under 45 seconds during the power play, giving the Buckeyes a 3-2 lead.
Dunne added an entrance goal in the final moments to clinch Ohio State’s 4-2 win over St. Cloud.
Svensson assisted on all four of the Buckeyes’ goals Saturday, a career high for the rookie defender. She was named the WCHA Rookie of the Week Monday.
Ohio State hits the road when it travels to St. Paul, Minn. to take on St. Thomas (7-3, 2-2-4 WCHA) 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
No. 17 Men’s Hockey Falls First, Dominates Sacred Heart In Second Match
Ohio State had an up and down weekend against the Pioneers in Columbus.
Sacred Heart (3-2) defeated No. 17 Ohio State (4-2) 2-1 in overtime Friday at Value City Arena on the heels of two late goals from senior forward Felix Trudeau.
On a power play with just over two and a half minutes played in the second period, sophomore forward Nathan Lewis gave Ohio State a 1-0 lead off a wrist shot that was assisted by junior defensemen Sam McGinley and Nathan McBrayer.
Though, with four minutes expired in the third period, Trudeau netted the equalizer on dishes from senior defenseman Mikey Adamson and forward Marcus Joughin.
After a scoreless final 15 minutes to culminate regular time, Trudeau flicked in his second goal of the game on passes from Adamson and junior forward Stephane Huard to seal Sacred Heart’s 2-1 victory in extra time.
With the loss to Sacred Heart, the Buckeyes fell two spots from No. 15 to No. 17 in the most recent U.S. College Hockey Online rankings.
It was a vastly different outcome in Ohio State’s second match of the weekend as three goals in the second period fueled the Buckeyes to a dominant 3-0 victory over the Pioneers Saturday.
Following a 0-0 first period, three Buckeyes goals in 10 minutes scored by junior defenseman Nathan McBrayer, freshman forward Niall Crocker and junior defenseman William Smith to put the match out of reach for Sacred Heart. Niall tacked on an assist on Smith’s goal, while junior forward Ryan Gordon assisted both of Ohio State’s final two goals.
Ohio State was also backed by 21 saves from junior goaltender Kristoffer Eberly. Despite the loss, Sacred Heart goalie Ajeet Gundarah finished with 26 saves.
The Buckeyes return to action in Columbus for a series against Penn State (7-1) Thursday and Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Value City Arena.
Women’s Soccer Falls to Penn State in Season Finale
Following two straight away wins, the Buckeyes did not have the end to the season they would’ve hoped for.
Ohio State (8-3-6, 4-2-5 Big Ten) fell to Penn State (9-6-3, 5-4-2 Big Ten) 2-0 Sunday at Jeffrey Field in University Park, Pa.
The Nittany Lions took the lead just 28 minutes into the contest on an Ohio State own goal that bounced on the head of Buckeye defender and away from senior goalkeeper Molly Pritchard. Pritchard, who entered the game with the nation’s best goals-against average (0.350), saved four Penn State shots.
Just over 10 minutes into the second half, Penn State extended its lead to two on a goal by graduate forward Kaitlyn MacBean off a pass by freshman midfielder Riley Cross. MacBean, who has tallied eight goals this season and 37 for her career, ranks No. 5 among active career goal scorers.
Strong defense over the last 35 minutes and three saves from redshirt junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress allowed the Nittany Lions to seal its two-goal victory.
Next up, the No. 8-seeded Ohio State travels to West Lafayette, Ind. to take on the No. 9 seed Illinois (12-4-2, 5-4-2 Big Ten) in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday at 4:30 p.m. The Buckeyes defeated the Illini 3-0 in the teams’ only matchup in Champaign Sept. 28.
Field Hockey Falls in OT to No. 20 Indiana, Before Blowout to No. 2 Northwestern
With an opportunity to earn two marquee victories against Big Ten powerhouses, Ohio State was unable to find any success.
Ohio State (7-8, 3-4 Big Ten) fell to No. 20 Indiana 2-1 (9-7, 4-3 Big Ten) in overtime at Deborah Tobias Field in Bloomington, Ind.
The Hoosiers struck first as freshman forward Celia Arroyo Cabezudo scored an unassisted goal three minutes into the second period to give Indiana an early lead.
Ohio State quickly responded as graduate forward Makenna Webster equalized the game with an unassisted goal of her own two and a half minutes later.
Though, that would be the extent of the scoring for both teams though. Four saves on the day from Ohio State sophomore goaltender Maddie Stevens and eight from Indiana sophomore goalie Sadie Canellii deadlocked the game heading into overtime.
After a dish from junior midfielder Inés Garcia Prado, sophomore forward Mijntje Hagen found the back of the goal with just under five minutes elapsed in overtime to seal the Hoosiers 2-1 victory.
The Buckeyes’ second match of the weekend proved just as tough — though this time, the challenges came in a different form.
No. 2 Northwestern (15-1, 7-0 Big Ten) boat-raced Ohio State 7-0 at Lakeside Field in Evanston, Ill.
Five different Wildcats scored goals against the Buckeyes, while juniors forward Olivia Bent-Cole and Ashley Sessa each tacked on two goals for Northwestern.
The Buckeyes didn’t just struggle defensively, but offensively as well, as Ohio State recorded just one shot on Northwestern redshirt freshman goalkeeper Juliana Boon. Although she allowed seven goals, Stevens had eight saves against the Wildcats.
Ohio State returns to Columbus Friday at 1 p.m. for a clash against Iowa (11-4, 4-3 Big Ten) at Buckeye Varsity Field.
Image courtesy of Ohio State Athletics