Men’s Soccer: Ajagbe’s first career goal helps Buckeyes secure 1-1 draw against Cleveland State

The college soccer stage wasn’t too big for freshman forward David Ajagbe.

Ajagbe scored the lifeline goal for Ohio State (0-0-1) in the 66th minute, securing the 1-1 draw against Cleveland State (0-0-1) in the Buckeyes and Vikings’ season opener Thursday night at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

“It feels really good, just coming in, especially as the new guy and showing my teammates that I can provide for the team,” Ajagbe said. “I think goals change the game, so after that first goal, everyone was more excited and the aggression was there. And at the end of the day, it’s just putting the ball away and coming back to the next one.”

The Buckeyes held possession for over 70% of the match and fired off 26 total shots, but just five shots were on target. Ohio State held Cleveland State to three total shots, with only one being on goal.

Ohio State head coach Brian Maisonneuve said the team needs to execute better in the final third.

“We still have to execute better,” Maisonneuve said. “We had chances to put serves in dangerous areas, and they got blocked. So, we still have to really focus on the details.”

The Buckeyes applied pressure on the Vikings early into the contest, with senior midfielder Michael Adedokun taking Ohio State’s first shot in just the 5th minute.

Despite Ohio State’s early pressure, Cleveland State needed just one shot on target to strike first, and a shot from freshman midfielder Tom Mertz gave the Vikings a 1-0 lead in the 41st minute.

The Buckeyes’ aggressiveness made an impact in multiple ways across the first half, with Ohio State racking up nine total shots but also five fouls by the end of the opening period.

Cleveland State matched the Buckeyes’ play through the half, accruing six fouls and one yellow card for Vikings graduate forward Bojan Kolevski.

Ohio State struggled offensively early in the second half, until a shot by Adedokun in the 46th minute just missed the goal’s top left corner.

The second half began with Ohio State’s offense struggling to find any openings in Vikings territory. The Buckeyes proved to have a strong attack in the second half but consistently struggled to get shots on target, missing 17 shots in the game’s latter portion.

Junior midfielder Ashton Bilow said while the offense eventually found its openings, it must be able to score goals.

“I think we got to the final third a lot, they just put in a shift and were able to block a lot of shots,” Bilow said. “But at the end of the day, we got to be able to put them away.”

Three minutes later, the ball slipped away from Vikings sophomore goalkeeper Stephen Yerian, giving Ajagbe the opportunity to score and evening the match at one goal apiece. Bilow was impressed by Ajagbe’s performance overall.

“A freshman coming in, being able to make a difference right away is huge,” Bilow said. “It’s huge for him, but also huge for the team.”

The Buckeyes’ second game of the regular season will be against the Akron Zips, and Ohio State will travel to Akron, Ohio Sunday at 8 p.m.