Buckeye blitz ends Bradley run

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Dec 10, 2007

[ELITE 8] Bradley had overcame one- and two-goal deficits to win at Indiana and Maryland in the second and third rounds, but there was no Braves' comeback Sunday at Ohio State. Even the support of eight busloads of Bradley supporters who had made the trek from Peoria couldn't help the Braves after they fell behind on a Xavier Balc penalty kick in the 58th minute. A four-goal blitz over 12 minutes sent the Buckeyes to the Men's College Cup for the first time with a 4-0 win.

The win extended the Big Ten champion's unbeaten streak to 14 games -- the longest of any team left in the NCAA Tournament.

Balc converted a penalty kick after junior Geoff Marsh was dragged down in the penalty area. Marsh made it 2-0 in the 63rd minute, Balc added a second goal in the 65th, and sophomore Andrew Magill completed the rout in the 70th minute.

Bradley, which overcame the tragic death of redshirt freshman Danny Dahlquist a day before preseason practice started, ended its season with a 16-6-4 record, setting a program record for wins.

"Today was tough," said Bradley coach Jim DeRose. "Trying to put the loss into perspective is hard. I'll be a part of more wins and losses in my career, but I'll never be a part of something as special as this season was for our team."

Game Summary:
Dec. 9 in Columbus, Ohio
Ohio State 4 Bradley 0. Goals: Balc pen. 58, Marsh (Irizarry) 53, Balc (Roan) 65, Magill 70.
Ohio State -- Latchem, Roan, Verhoff, Lomnicki, Brunner, Gold, Irizarry, Marsh, Espinoza, Balc, Magill. Subs: Kustos, Edwards, Scales, Tetzlaff, Traeger, Warzycha, Thiam.
Bradley -- Haynes, Donoho, Campbell, English, Brust, DeGurian, Tracy, Cutshaw, Garcia, Anderson, Bigelow. Subs: Van Kampen, Stockdale, Wong, Hickman, Reedy, Lock, Beard, Motteler.
Referee: Jorge de la Bandera.
Att.: 1,705.