Ohio State Hands Memphis a 3-1 Defeat in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Memphis walked into Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium with a ranking and a point to prove. Ohio State sent them home with a lesson in ruthlessness.

The No. 23 Tigers fell 3-1 to No. 8 Ohio State on Sunday night, undone by two first-half blows and a clinical finish midway through the second. The Buckeyes stay unbeaten at 4-0-1. Memphis slips to 2-3-1, left to ponder a night where effort met a sharper opponent.

Buckeyes strike early, then again before the break

The warning signs came quickly.

In the 15th minute, Ohio State turned a routine corner into the opener. The ball dropped kindly in the box and Elle Britt reacted fastest, steering it home for a 1-0 lead and jolting Memphis onto the back foot.

Memphis tried to settle, to get touches and find some rhythm. They created looks of their own, testing the Buckeyes back line and forcing goalkeeper Peighton Northrup into work. But just as the Tigers looked like they might reach halftime down only one, Ohio State cut them open again.

Four minutes before the interval, Callie Tumilty whipped in a cross from the flank. The delivery found Amanda Schlueter in space, and she did the rest, slotting in the 41st minute to double the advantage and send the hosts into the break up 2-0.

Ohio State’s third kills the contest

Memphis came out after halftime needing the next goal. Instead, Ohio State found it.

In the 69th minute, the Buckeyes flipped the script from the second goal. This time Schlueter turned provider, picking out Britt, who finished for her second of the night and a commanding 3-0 cushion.

At that point, it was about pride for Memphis. The Tigers refused to fold.

Furuya pulls one back as Tigers push late

The response finally came in the 79th minute.

Ally Casey drove into space and swung in a cross that caused problems in the Ohio State box. Mihiro Furuya pounced, forcing the ball over the line to make it 3-1. It was Furuya’s first goal of the season and the third of her Memphis career, a deserved reward from her 31-minute shift that included two efforts on goal.

The goal injected life into the visitors. Memphis pushed the tempo, pressed higher, and chased a frantic finish. They carved out chances but couldn’t find a second breakthrough in the final 10 minutes.

Numbers tell a story of pressure and promise

The stat sheet showed a game with chances at both ends. Ohio State outshot Memphis 19-13, with both teams putting seven attempts on target.

Freshman forward Abby Forsgren again led the Tigers’ front line, firing three shots and putting all of them on frame. Over her last three matches, she has piled up nine shots and seven on goal, a clear sign of a young attacker growing into the college game.

Northrup finished with six saves for the Buckeyes, repeatedly denying Memphis as they chased a way back. At the other end, Tigers goalkeeper Ava Galani recorded four saves while going the full 90 minutes.

There were heavy workloads across the Memphis XI. Galani, Ava Gaida, Yuna Nagata, Evelyn Mackay, Casey, Natalie Dvorakova and Maira Boosman all played every minute. For Dvorakova and Boosman, it marked the first full 90 of their collegiate careers.

Head coach Brooks Monaghan also leaned on youth. Freshman Miyu Morota logged a career-high 33 minutes. Neko Michell, Dvorakova and Grayson Williams all earned the first starts of their college careers, a notable milestone on a tough night.

What’s next

Memphis now turns back home, where the schedule offers no time to dwell. The Tigers return to the Track and Soccer Complex on Sunday, Sept. 13, to face Kansas City under the lights at 7 p.m.

A ranked team, a demanding nonconference slate, and a young core logging big minutes—Memphis has its hands full. The question now is simple: how quickly can this group turn hard lessons like Columbus into wins when it matters most?