Ohio State men fall to Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Ryan Lee scored his first career goal, but a pair of unanswered tallies from Penn State led the Nittany Lions to a 2-1 overtime win vs. the 25th-ranked Ohio State men’s soccer team Saturday afternoon at Jeffrey Field in front of 3,204 fans. The Buckeyes drop to 7-5-2 overall and 2-2-0 in the Big Ten, while the Lions improve to 9-5-1 on the season and 2-2-1 in the conference.

Penn State’s Treavor Gelsinger scored midway through the 97th minute off an assist from Matheus Braga to hand the Buckeyes their first overtime loss of the 2010 season. With the win, Penn State moves into a tie for first place in the Big Ten with Indiana. For the time being, the Buckeyes remain in a three-way tie for third with Michigan and Michigan State.

"This was not our best effort today," John Bluem, Ohio State head coach said. "We didn't create enough opportunities early on and that came back to get us in the end. Penn State converted on a chance when they needed to and came away with the important conference win. Fortunately, we still have two Big Ten games left at home and anything can happen."
 
Lee’s goal late in the 63rd minute of action broke the 0-0 tie that neither team did much to threaten breaking prior to the score. Starting on a free kick from Austin McAnena along the right sideline, the ball was played into the middle of the penalty area where Lee got a head on it and sent the shot floating into the left side of the net.

The Buckeyes held the 1-0 lead for about 14 minutes, posting three shots in the timeframe, but Penn State tied it at 76:19 with Braga’s fourth goal of the season. Daniel Burnham served the ball across the field to Braga, who launched a shot into the lower right corner of the net, beyond the reach of diving Buckeye goalkeeper Matt Lampson.

Both teams played out the 90 minutes with the urgency that had been lacking for much of contest prior, as Penn State produced a handful of chances that forced Lampson to make two saves in the final nine minutes of regulation to force OT.

Parnell Hegngi tallied the Buckeyes’ lone shot of overtime in the 93rd minute, but the Lions countered and eventually found the back of the net at 96:33. Braga played the ball over to Gelsinger who chipped it over the last line of OSU defense from about 12 yards out.

The extra time was nothing new for either squad. This was the second-consecutive game the Buckeyes have taken into overtime and fourth this season, while the Lions have taken it in OT in each of their last four games.

Ohio State trailed in the shot chase 17-13, but took a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks. Lampson finished the contest with six saves, while his PSU counterpart Brendan Birmingham had two.

The match will air on the Big Ten Network on tape delay at 7 p.m. Sunday. Dean Linke and Richard Broad had the ball.

The Buckeyes return to Columbus for the final three games on the regular season, beginning at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27 against Oakland. They conclude their 2010 campaign with back-to-back games on national television by hosting Wisconsin at 2 p.m. Oct. 31 and Indiana at 1 p.m. Nov. 7. Both matches will be shown on the Big Ten Network.