[OHIO STATE-AKRON: Men] The bone-chilling cold made it all the more unbearable for the fans at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field in Columbus, but they went home happy after enduring an unforgettable evening. Host Ohio State defeated Akron 13-12 in a shootout that lasted 15 rounds after a 1-1 doubleovertime tie. For their efforts, the Buckeyes earned a date with No. 1 seed and defending champion Notre Dame on Sunday.

“I’ve never been involved in a penalty kick situationthat lasted that long,” said 24th-year coach John Bluem, the 2014 Big Ten Coach of The Year. “With it being as cold as it was, we were all freezingand we all just wanted it to be over. Our guys were just remarkable.”
 
On the 30th penalty attempt of the session, junior co-captain midfielder Zach Mason sent in the eventual gamewinner while senior co-captain goalkeeper Alex Ivanov made three saves during the never-ending marathon toadvance the Buckeyes to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2008 season.
 
“There wasn’t the pressure of losing the game,” Masonsaid. “Obviously, I knew if I made it, we won. I was excited to have the opportunity to have the chance to help our team to the next round.”

Ivanov denied Stuart Holthusen during the third round and stopped an attempt by Sean Sepe in the 12th round. His third and final save camein the 15th round against Robby Dambrot with a dive to the far post.

As for the weather,  it was the coldest soccer match in recent historyfor the Buckeyes as the temperature dropped to as low as 24 degrees by the end of the match. With the gusty winds, it felt much colder.

Akron’s goal by Adam Najem in regulation also came from the spot in the 31st minute. Kyle Culbertson, a double transfer from Akron and Columbia, evened the scorein the 67th minute.

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3 Comments

  1. Congrats to Coach Bluem and the Buckeyes! By the way, on a PK, taken from the spot in the middle of the box, which post is the far post? LOL

  2. The match shouldn’t even have been played at OSU. Akron, winners of the MAC–regular season and tourney–and holding a much greater record than their opponents–not to mention having already beaten them in Columbo this year…not to mention the dubious but higher RPI and national rankings…had certainly earned a home NCAA tournament match. OSU wandered into the tournament with a 9-7-something record after losing their conference semi-final. Bizarre what sort of criteria the NCAA selecion makes in this process. Akron should be equally miffed.

  3. Also worth discussing: the barren and difficult to find NCAA Men’s tournament video of these live matches. ESPNU–busy showing college b-ball. Big Ten Network? Showing throwball replays. Not even ESPN 3 coverage?? Northwestern U claimed a live feed for their match. Didn’t exist. OSU’s athletic site offered a chippy feed that lasted a few minutes at a time before fading. Pathetic.

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