Around the Oval is our weekly look at the Ohio State sports that don't always get the coverage they deserve.
Granberg dribbles up the pitchWe'll start this week off with the second hottest team on campus, behind our undefeated football team, the Ohio State women's soccer team.
The Buckeyes traveled to play Iowa on October 12 and won the contest by a score of 4-1. They were lead by senior co-captain and defender Aly Walker, who scored her first two goals of the season in the first half.
OSU then traveled to play Nebraska and walked away from that match with a 4-0 victory, giving the Buckeyes back-to-back four-goal games. Lauren Granberg had her firstt career hat trick, and with the win the Buckeyes improved to 10-4-1 on the season and 5-2-1 in the Big Ten.
Granberg was also named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week. The award, which was shared with Minnesota’s Taylor Uhl, is the second Big Ten weekly award of Granberg’s career and the fifth for a Buckeye this season. She totaled one assist and three goals for the week, and hopes to add on to her totals in the games ahead.
The Buckeyes will next take on Michigan, hosting the Wolverines at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium tomorrow night at 8 PM EST.
MEN's Soccer
The Ohio State men's soccer team had two games this past week, both at home at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes' week started on October 10 against Bowling Green, and OSU won that game 2-0.
Austin McAnena and Alec Lowell each scored for the team, and both of those goals were assisted by Chris Hegngi. This was the first shutout of the year for the Buckeyes and OSU goalkeeper Alex Wimmer (not to be confused with former OSU pitcher Alex Wimmers) earned the clean sheet, which was the first of his career and the first for the team since October 30, 2011, a span of 14 games.
OSU then traveled to Evanston, Illinois for a match that could nicely be put as a battle. At a rain-soaked and windblown Lakeside Field, the Buckeyes dropped to 5-8-1 overall and 0-4-0 in the Big Ten with a 1-0 loss.
"Northwestern played very well defensively today and we weren't able to push through," Ohio State head coach John Bluem said. The team is grasping at straws these days, trying to turn their season around.
Ohio State next faces Wright State at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on October 19 at 7:30 PM EST.
Women's Volleyball
The Ohio State women's volleyball team started off their week with a home game at St. John Arena against Indiana.
OSU dropped the first set, but came back to win 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-17) Friday night. The Buckeyes improved to 14-5 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten with the win.
Senior Emily Danks led all players with 18 kills, while sophomore Taylor Sherwin had a match-high 50 assists and junior libero Davionna DiSalvatore finished with 12 digs.
The next night, OSU squared off against #17 Purdue and this time they were on the losing end, falling to the Boilermakers 3-1 (25-19, 25-15, 20-25, 25-23), to drop to 14-6 overall and 5-3 in the Big Ten. Senior Mari Hole notched 13 kills in the match along with 10 digs to mark her tenth double-double of the season. She also had her nineteenth double-digit kill performance of the year.
Ohio State returns to St. John Arena tonight, hosting No. 1 Penn State at 8 PM EST. The match will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. Ticket information is available at OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
Men's Hockey
The Ohio State men's hockey team opened up their season this past week with back-to-back road games against Minnesota Duluth.
Foward Matt Johnson looking to make a play.On Friday night at AMISOL Arena, Ohio State dropped their opener to the twelfth-ranked Duluth squad, losing 6-2. One highlight of the game for the Buckeyes was freshman Anthony Greco scoring his first collegiate career goal, and classmates Craig Dalrymple and Tyler Lundey picking up assists.
The next night the tables turned and Ohio State won by a count of 3-2. A third period goal from sophomore Max McCormick was the difference maker in this one.
The Buckeyes held a 2-0 advantage after the first period on goals by Alex Carlson and Tanner Fritz before the Bulldogs tied the game with two power play scores in the second period. Freshman goalie Collin Olson made 26 saves in his first collegiate start to pick up the win.
Next up, Ohio State continues play at Quinnipiac on October 19 and 20.
