The IU men’s soccer team squandered a quality opportunity on the road Saturday afternoon at Ohio State.
After coming off a road victory at No. 4 Louisville on Tuesday, IU, with a record of 8-1-5, 2-0-4, failed to earn a win against Ohio State, 4-9-1, 2-3-1, but still stayed out of the loss column in the Big Ten with a 2-2 draw.
IU caught a tough break in the fifth minute of play when senior goalkeeper Colin Webb attempted to clear the ball out of IU territory.
Webb’s kick deflected off Ohio State forward Nate Kohl’s head as he and Webb dove for the ball. Kohl was able to get his foot to the ball before Webb could save it and flicked the ball into the back of the net to open the scoring in the game.
The Hoosiers responded quickly, however, as Bloomington native sophomore midfielder Jeremiah Gutjahr recorded his first career goal in the 18th minute. The 5-foot-10 Gutjahr was able to rise above the Buckeye defense to head in a service by senior midfielder Billy McConnell at the far post.
The Bloomington High School South product has become more involved in the Hoosiers’ offense as of late. Gutjahr started each of the last three matches and racked up an assist in the win at Louisville before scoring Saturday afternoon.
The lead wouldn’t last long as the Buckeyes regained the lead off a shot from the top of the 18-yard box less than two minutes later.
After Ohio State had gone into the locker room at halftime with the lead, the Buckeyes changed their strategy in the second half by sitting back on defense and making the Hoosiers come at them.
Opposing Big Ten defenses such as Northwestern and Rutgers had done the same against the Hoosiers earlier this year, and the game ended in a scoreless tie on both occasions. The Buckeyes were successful in stopping the Hoosiers for the majority of the second half, but McConnell created another big play for IU.
In the 83rd minute the senior redirected a shot in the box from sophomore midfielder Cory Thomas’s 30-yard effort to tie it, 2-2.
McConnell missed two weeks after being injured at Michigan on Sept. 14 but has now played four consecutive games since returning and has started the last three. The senior has become a factor for IU on the defensive end in each of the last three games, and IU Coach Todd Yeagley said McConnell’s size, strength and toughness are some of the keys to IU’s success
IU’s draw allowed Maryland to be crowned the outright Big Ten regular season champions with still two weeks to play with a conference record of 6-0-1 and an overall record of 11-0-2. IU tied Maryland on Sept. 9 at home without junior defender Grant Lillard and is currently second in the conference table with Big Ten games remaining against Wisconsin and Michigan State, which are third and fourth in the standings, respectively.
