Columbus, Ohio – It seemed like Fall had arrived early in Columbus as the Ohio State field hockey team was preparing to host the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. It was only 60 degrees at game time and a cold rain was constant. Yet many fans came out to brave the elements and cheer for their Buckeyes, who donned their long-sleeved grey jerseys for this event which would help brave the weather and come out with a 5-0 shutout, their second shutout of the season, and back to back shutouts for the first time in 2018.
It was a Hall Of Fame weekend where Buckeye field hockey alumni Linda Haussener was honored before the game. The 2008 graduate was escorted out on the field by Buckeyes Head Coach Jarred Martin who, along with his assistants Homero Pardi and Kate Lipton, presented her with gifts and flowers for being selected to the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame.
The Buckeyes took the ball first and in the first minute and a half in the game were awarded a corner, a sample of what was to come to the rest of the game for the highly disciplined Buckeye squad. After much heavy pressure and 8 minutes into the game, it was sophomore midfielder Juliana Sweeney busting through a crowd and placing the ball on the mark with a hard shot to give the Buckeyes the early 1-0 lead. 10 minutes later it was Adelaide Penzone taking a cross from Kelsey Nolan and putting it in the opponent’s goal and opening up a big 2-0 lead. At the half, it was all Buckeyes with a 2-0 lead and a 13-0 shot advantage.
The Buckeyes took the field after the half and it was the Senior Casey Cole off a corner placing a perfect shot for her fifth goal of the season, and fifth in only 3 games, which were the last 3 games. That opened up the scoring in the second half for the Buckeyes as Freshman Katie Pyle recorded her first goal as a Buckeye with a tip in on a shot by Whitney Harris off a right side corner.
Esther Clotet would close out the scoring while in a cluster of players and defenders she would send a beautiful highlight reel shot in for the Buckeyes, giving them a 5 goal lead and victory. The freshman Aaliyah Hernandez got her second start in a row in goal for the Buckeyes and would only have to face one shot as the Buckeyes outshot their opponents 32 to 1. Hernandez is now 4-1 in net on the season for the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes received their first penalty strokes of the season as Hannah Pany and Sina Schwinn took the penalty shots for the Buckeyes but could not get them in the back of the net.
The Buckeyes are riding high on a three-game winning streak and have won two consecutive games at home, outscoring their opponents 11-0. The last time that the Buckeyes won three consecutive games was during the 2016 season. This is the longest win streak in second-year head coach Jarred Martin’s career at Ohio State.
The Buckeyes, 4-2 on the season thus far, will play a pair of games on Buckeye Varsity Field next weekend as they will start Big Ten competition against No. 5 Penn State on Friday (4 p.m.) and will face Miami (Ohio) on Sunday (1 p.m.).
