Bloomington, Ind. - A corner kick from
the No. 21 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (14-4-1, 8-2-1 Big Ten) in the final
minute of the first half proved to be the difference on Wednesday afternoon at
the Big Ten Tournament, as the Buckeyes eliminated the Nebraska soccer team
(7-12-1, 4-7-0 Big Ten) by the score of 1-0. The No. 2 seed Buckeyes survived a
close game with the No. 7 seeded Huskers, who were looking to pull just the
fifth 7-2 upset in the 17-year history of the Big Ten Tournament.
Both
teams played great defense on the afternoon, as neither team record
double-digits shots, but the OSU defense was just a shade better.
The
Husker defense nearly put together a perfect first half, but the Buckeyes were
able to sneak a header by NU goalie Emma Stevens at 44:15 following a corner
kick from Megan Fuller. After denying the Buckeyes on their first two corner
kicks of the first half, Fuller put the ball right in front of the goal and
Ellyn Gruber was able to connect with the ball among a host of Huskers and
Buckeyes.
Nebraska
got off a pair of shots in the first half and each attempt narrowly missed putting
the Huskers on the board. Freshmen Katie Kraeutner and Alex Massey each came
close to scoring their first postseason goal, but both attempts sailed just
above the crossbar.
The
Husker offense continued to be the aggressor in the second half, but OSU's
stiff defense held NU at bay. Nebraska got the ball into the box on multiple
occasions, but was never able to find an equalizer.
The
loss ends the 2012 season for the Huskers following their first trip the Big
Ten Tournament. Nebraska loses just one player from the 2012 squad and will
return a much more experienced team in 2013.
