http://www.ncaasports.com/soccer/mens/gamecenter/boxscore/21/01 Buckeyes scored early, still up 1-0 at halftime
So how is the location of Duke/Ohio State decided? Neither school was seeded, but Duke had a much better record and was ranked higher. Does that still matter?
First OSU Goal... Following a Notre Dame cross that skidded out of bounds near the goal, Burse quickly sent a booming goal kick that caught the Fighting Irish off guard and found Cook in stride on his way towards the UND net. Cook got past Notre Dame defender Christopher High and dribbled the ball into the left side of the 6-yard box and beat Irish goalkeeper Chris Sawyer for his 12th goal of the season. Second OSU Goal... The Buckeyes penetrated the ball into Irish territory on the left side of the midfield before sophomore Taylor Korpieski (Westerville, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) was fouled from behind, resulting in an OSU direct kick from 35 yards away. Korpieski shook off his sore leg to send the ball into the 6-yard box and to Kustos, who flicked the ball into the left corner of the net to put the Buckeyes up, 2-1.
Hey fidlerre, How the hell has pete the americano been playing? Is he still playing wide and if so do you have any opinions on why bleum would "handcuff" his creativity by doing so?
1) Everyone please notice fid's gratuitous reference to Korpieski's High School, Thomas Worthington which, I'm certain is a coincidence, is HIS alma mater as well. 2) It's a little gratuitous to give Bluem a backhand for "handcuffing" some guy's "creativity" the day after they make it to the round of 16 for the first time in school history. One is sort of forced to give him the benefit of the doubt. (In any case I doubt if Withers is complaining) 3) When the hell will they announce the location for Duke/OSU????
It really wasn't uncalled for. It wasn't meant as a knock, more just a question regarding his possible reasons why. The fact is that I don't know what kind of central midfield players OSU has/uses, they could have a couple that are better than Pete. Or simply that he is the only one that is capable of playing outside, to Bleum's standards. Heck, even in Pete's online bio the coach makes a comment regarding Pete playing where he is for the good of the team. Knowing Pete a little I'm pretty sure he's not complaining. But in also knowing him, I can definitely say that he's a pretty darn good creative midfielder. Very good at switching the attack, very good at still going forward when many midfielders would play square or back. Just more for curiousity's sake than anything is why I asked the question. Please note that I did not say that Bleum was handcuffing the team by making this decision.
Good win to be sure. Any idea as to whether all this would have been doable without having eliminated 1/2 the returning roster from last season?
I'm no big fan of Bluem's, not by a long shot, but he's taken his share of bashing over the last few years and particularly for the "Great Player Flush of 2004". I've been right there swinging a 2X4 with everybody else. (In any case, there's a deal of rumor and innuendo going around about all that. If you have all the facts, I'd honestly love to hear them. Personally, I do not) But in fairness, results matter. In fact, for the most part results are ALL that matters. And the way the Buckeyes have come together this season is remarkable, and Bluem deserves a good deal of credit.
If anyone has other questions re this match I was there. It was of those matches that point out that soccer is a very unfair game sometimes. In the first half ND had about 65% of the possesion, but were unable to create many quality chances. In the second half ND controlled the ball about 80% of the time, creating several very good chances, but the finishing... OSU played most of the game with the defence packed in, looking to counter with that tall blond kid. The goal in the second half was really against the run of play...I think it was the second ball of the half that was in penality area. But a win is a win.