The No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes entered this week atop the conference standings with a chance to clinch a Big Ten title if they kept winning – and got some help. They couldn’t have scripted Thursday night any better. While Ohio State took care of business at home, Penn State and Iowa pulled off upsets that set up a championship-clinching opportunity for the Scarlet and Gray on Sunday.
Buckeyes Make it Seven Straight
Ava Bramblett knocked home a header in the fourth minute of play to put Ohio State up, and the Buckeyes never looked back in a 3-0 shutout of Rutgers.
Callie Tumilty followed with the first two goals of her collegiate career in a game that was controlled by Ohio State throughout. The Buckeyes outshot the Scarlet Knights 28-9 while goalkeeper Peighton Northrup had to make just two saves to earn her ninth shutout of the season. It was also the ninth Big Ten victory of the season for Ohio State, tying the program record. While the Buckeyes took care of business in Columbus, good news for their title hopes came from East Lansing and Iowa City. Ohio State’s recap.
Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes Pull off Top 10 Upsets
Thanks to a three-point night from Aubrey Kulpa, Penn State took down No. 5 Michigan State in East Lansing for its first victory over a top five opponent on the road since September 2021. After Kulpa assisted on Paige Kalal’s sixth goal of the season, she scored the eventual game-winner early in the second half on a terrific effort to get by the Spartan defense.
Michigan State cut the deficit to 2-1 on Kayla Briggs’ seventh goal of the year but couldn’t find the equalizer before time ran out. Penn State improved to 6-2-2 in conference play and now sits just two points out of second place. More from Penn State.
The other result came courtesy of Iowa. After a first half in Iowa City that saw No. 10 UCLA outshoot the Hawkeyes 11-2, Iowa flipped the script in the second half. The Hawkeyes fired eight shots in the second stanza, including the game’s only tally in the 67th minute when Alli Macke received the ball with only the goalie to beat and placed it in the bottom right corner.
The victory marked Iowa’s first-ever victory over UCLA and, more importantly, keeps the Hawkeyes’ chances at a berth in the conference tournament alive. The wrap-up from Iowa.
Championship Sunday?
After the dust settled on Thursday night, the championship picture became a lot clearer for Ohio State. Now staked to a five-point lead with two games to play, the Big Ten Championship is within its grasp. When the Buckeyes take the pitch Sunday at noon ET (B1G+) against Illinois, they’ll have the opportunity to clinch the title outright with a win or at least a share of it with a draw. There are additional ways they could clinch that involve losses or ties from Purdue, UCLA, Michigan State and Washington, but it's safe to say the Buckeyes would like to take care of it themselves in their home regular season finale.
Will Ohio State host the trophy on Sunday? We’ll find out! See the weekend schedule and Big Ten standings.