Ohio State men play Gonzaga to 1-1 draw

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Austin McAnena scored his first collegiate goal as the Ohio State men's soccer team played Gonzaga to a 1-1 tie through 110 minutes Friday night in the Bert & Iris Wolstein Classic at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes start the year 0-0-1, while the Bulldogs move to 1-0-1 on the season after a season-opening win over Trinity Western Tuesday.

Ohio State is now 12-7-4 all-time in its early-season tournament and 6-2-2 under head coach John Bluem in home season openers.

"Gonzaga is a strong, veteran team," Bluem said. "They continued to attack and we did not do what we needed to do to put the game away. There were chances for us to score late in the game and in overtime, but we didn't take advantage of them."

Bulldog goalkeeper Scott Barnum ended the night with 11 saves, including seven in the second half, after tallying just one in the first half to keep his Gonzaga squad in the game. Four of those saves came on shots by senior captain Andrew Magill, who paced all attackers with seven shots.

The Bulldogs got a shot off late in the second minute before giving way to the Buckeye forwards who rattled off the next three before McAnena put Ohio State on the board at the 16:26 mark. Fellow freshmen Chris Hegngi crossed the ball from the right side of the penalty area, along the goal line to McAnena who finished it from six yards out.

With the 1-0 advantage, the Buckeyes continued to push forward for the remainder of the period and moved the ball well in spurts among the young forwards and flank midfielders. The defense, anchored by senior captain Doug Verhoff and sophomore David Tiemstra limited Gonzaga to two shots in the opening period, forcing them both wide.

The Buckeyes held the lead at the intermission, and midway through the second half, they exploded with a three-shot barrage. Magill posted a pair and took three corner kicks in the stretch that briefly reinvigorated the OSU attack. Gonzaga never settled, however, and took advantage of some confusion inside the six-yard box following a Zag shot and Joel Schilperoort poked the ball in to tie the score at the 82:38 mark and send the teams into extra time.

Both teams produced quality scoring changes in the first overtime period, with Hegngi's shot being snagged by the keeper from seven yards out in the 97th minute for the Buckeyes' closest scoring opportunity of the bonus periods.

Ohio State out-shot the Bulldogs 20-15 on the night, including a 6-2 advantage in the first half, and held an 11-4 corner kick margin.

In the first game of the tourney Friday evening, Cal State Fullerton defeated Penn State, 2-1, in overtime. Jamall Farquharson scored for the Titans in the 98th minute with an unassisted tally following a shot to the post by Andy Parr.

The Buckeyes return to action at approximately 2:30 p.m. Sunday vs. Cal State Fullerton in the finale of the Wolstein Classic. Gonzaga and Penn State start the day at noon.