COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Just hours after the Buckeyes’ dramatic 1-0 win over Michigan in the final of the Big Ten tournament, Ohio State learned its potential path to a national championship.
The 48-team men’s soccer field was unveiled on Monday afternoon with Ohio State earning the top seed in the tournament. OSU earned a first round bye and will face either Western Michigan or Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Sunday evening at 5 p.m. at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. With a No. 1 seed, the Buckeyes can potentially host through the quarterfinals.
The Broncos and Cougars will face each other in their first round game on Thursday in Kalamazoo, Mich. Ohio State, ranked No. 1 in the country with a 14-1-3 record, faced SIUE earlier this season, defeating the Cougars 4-0 in Columbus.
“They’re a different team over the course of the season. They had a great end to the year. They’re a difficult team to play against,” coach Brian Maisonneuve said. “Both teams are fantastic.”
This is the second NCAA appearance for the Buckeyes in three seasons, last appearing in 2022 when they made a run to the second round.
OSU earned a share of the Big Ten regular season championship and earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament after defeating Michigan in front of a record crowd on Sunday afternoon. Nearly 9,000 fans saw Parker Grinstead score the lone goal of the Big Ten championship game in the second half, securing the program’s fourth league tournament title.
“It was just an incredible night from the atmosphere to the crowd. To get the win and to get two trophies was fantastic,” Maisonneuve said. “To be able to grind out a result like that in a championship game, a must-win game, gives us a lot of experience and momentum going into the tournament.”
The full 48-team bracket
