Women’s Soccer: Ohio State falls to Nebraska on penalty kicks in Big Ten tournament

Bailey Scheufler
Mon, 29 Oct 2018 00:21:48 +0000
News, Soccer, Sports, Women's Soccer, Big Ten Tournament, Blair Cowan, Buckeyes, buckeyes soccer, Devon Kerr, Devon Kerr clean sheet, Devon Kerr record, Emily Vatne, forward, goalkeeper, head coach Lori Walker-Hock, Izzy Rodriguez, Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Kayla Fischer, lori walker-hock, midfielder, Nebraska, Nebraska Soccer, Nebraska women's soccer, ohio state, osu, soccer, team, Women's, women's soccer

Ohio State senior goalkeeper Devon Kerr (1) prepares throw the ball downfield in the first half of the game against Florida Gulf Coast University on Sept. 7. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Photo Editor

After a 0-0 tie through 90 minutes, the Ohio State women’s soccer team lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament to six-seeded Nebraska, falling 3-2 on penalty kicks.

With a 2-2 score through four rounds of penalty kicks, sophomore forward Natalie Cooke tallied the goal that launched the Cornhuskers over the Buckeyes, and will advance to the Big Ten semifinals with today’s win.

After a sluggish start for both teams, Ohio State senior midfielder Sarah Roberts managed to attempt a shot from the top of the box that was later blocked by a Nebraska defender.

Cornhuskers junior goalkeeper Aubrei Corder then managed to notch a save on a shot made by sophomore forward Marissa Birzon from 15 yards.

The scoreboard remained 0-0 heading into halftime after neither team had the ability to maintain momentum in the first 45 minutes of the match with Ohio State holding a 6-1 advantage in shots and Nebraska keeping a 2-1 edge in corner kicks.

In the second half of the game, Senior goalkeeper Devon Kerr came through for the Buckeyes after she deflected a shot from the top of the box made by Cornhusker junior midfielder Meg Brandt.

Kerr made three saves in her eight shutout of the year for Ohio State. The eight clean sheets is tied for No. 5 in a single season in program history.

The matchup went into overtime after ending regulation in a tie.

Yet, both teams still stayed scoreless throughout overtime and double overtime, ultimately forcing the game come down to penalty kicks to decide who move forward to the Big Ten semifinals. ?

Ohio State outshot Nebraska 16-7 in the game heading into the penalty kicks.

Junior midfielder Alyssa Baumbick kicked first for the Buckeyes, but Corder was there to stop the ball from going into the net.

With a lot at stake, Senior forward/midfielder Savanah Uveges then kicked the ball past Kerr and into the net, putting the Cornhuskers up 1-0 through one round, before Cooke eventually hit the game-winner to send Nebraska to the next round.

Ohio State, which now sits at 9-5-4 on the season, will now wait to see where its fate lies based on the NCAA selection show on Nov 5.