Ohio State Defeats Memphis 3–1 in Columbus Showdown

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Memphis walked into Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on Sunday night looking for a statement. Ohio State delivered one of its own.

The eighth-ranked Buckeyes stayed unbeaten with a 3–1 win over No. 23 Memphis, striking twice before halftime and adding a third in the second half to keep control of a high-tempo, top-25 clash.

Memphis, now 2-3-1, finally broke through in the 79th minute through Mihiro Furuya, but the response came too late against an Ohio State side that moved to 4-0-1.

Buckeyes seize early control

Ohio State wasted little time setting the tone.

In the 15th minute, the Buckeyes struck from a corner. The delivery dropped into a crowded box, and Elle Britt reacted quickest, pouncing to give the hosts a 1–0 lead and put Memphis immediately under pressure.

The Tigers tried to punch back. They created looks, they found pockets, and they forced saves, but the next goal again belonged to Ohio State.

Four minutes before the break, Callie Tumilty carved open the Memphis back line with a cross into the area. Amanda Schlueter met it and calmly finished in the 41st minute, doubling the Buckeyes’ advantage and sending Memphis into the locker room down 2–0 and chasing.

Schlueter and Britt combine again

Any hopes of a dramatic Memphis turnaround took another hit midway through the second half.

In the 69th minute, roles reversed. Schlueter turned provider, finding Britt in space. Britt did the rest, slotting home her second of the night to push Ohio State’s lead to 3–0 and tighten the Buckeyes’ grip on the match.

Memphis had created enough to stay interested. Now it needed something to believe in.

Furuya strikes, Tigers push late

The breakthrough finally came with 11 minutes to play.

Ally Casey, busy all evening, whipped a cross into the box. Furuya met it and forced it over the line in the 79th minute, cutting the deficit to 3–1. It was Furuya’s first goal of the season and the third of her career, and it briefly shifted the energy on the field.

The Tigers surged forward after the goal, throwing numbers into the attack and asking questions of the Buckeyes’ back line. The final pass, the final touch, never quite arrived.

Ohio State goalkeeper Peighton Northrup finished with six saves as Memphis put seven of its 13 shots on target. The Buckeyes generated 19 attempts of their own, also placing seven on frame.

Workload, milestones and emerging voices

Abby Forsgren again led the Memphis attack, firing three shots and putting all three on goal. The freshman has now totaled nine shots and seven shots on target across her last three matches, an increasingly central figure in the Tigers’ frontline.

Furuya’s goal came in a productive 31-minute shift, where she registered two shots. Casey’s assist marked her first of the season and the second of her career.

Seven Tigers went the full 90 minutes: Ava Galani, Ava Gaida, Yuna Nagata, Evelyn Mackay, Casey, Natalie Dvorakova and Maira Boosman. For Dvorakova and Boosman, it was the first time in their collegiate careers they played an entire match.

Freshman Miyu Morota logged a career-high 33 minutes, while Neko Michell, Dvorakova and Grayson Williams each earned the first starts of their college careers.

Galani anchored the back, recording four saves in goal for Memphis as she faced a steady stream of Buckeye pressure.

What’s next

Memphis returns home on Sunday, September 13, to face Kansas City at the Track and Soccer Complex, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

A demanding road test against a top-10 opponent is now in the books. The question is simple: how quickly can this young, evolving Tigers side turn lessons from Columbus into points back in Memphis?