COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 13 nationally-ranked Ohio State men's soccer team begins play in the second round of the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed against Drake at 1 p.m. Sunday in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Big Ten regular-season and tournament champions received a bye in the opening round and will take on the Bulldogs, who defeated Western Illinois, 2-1, Thursday with their program's first NCAA tourney victory.
     The Buckeye, too, have had several firsts in the last few weeks, taking their first outright regular-season conference title, earning the first No. 1 seed for the Big Ten Tourney and going on to win their first tournament crown in the same year as a regular-season title.
     All of this led to the selection as a Top 4 team in the quest for the College Cup, also an Ohio State program first, and a 12-4-4 record on the season and a final 4-2-0 in the conference. The last time the Buckeyes had four conference wins in a season was 2007 when they went on to win the Big Ten tournament and advance to the national championship game.
     Drake has a program-best 14-6-2 overall record, defeating Creighton and Evansville to win the MVC tournament and receive the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

LIVE ACTION
Webcast: Live video streamed through BuckeyeVision on OhioStateBuckeyes.com with audio from Neil Sika, a radio announcer for the Columbus Crew
Live stats: Live stats are linked from the main page and men's soccer schedule page of OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Twitter: Twitter.com/OhioState_MSOC
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BRACKET BREAKDOWN
Akron, who finished the season with a 20-0-0 record, was awarded the No. 1 seed in the tournament field announced Nov. 16. Virginia, the Atlantic Coast Conference automatic qualifier, earned the No. 2 seed, while Wake Forest earned the three, followed by Ohio State.
     With the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, the highest in program history, the Buckeyes received a first-round bye while Drake defeated Western Illinois Thursday. If the Buckeyes advance past the Bulldogs, they will take on the Boston College/St. John's winner Nov. 29 in Columbus, Ohio. In fact, as long as they keep winning, the Buckeyes will have home-field advantage through the quarterfinals until the College Cup in Cary, N.C.
     The remaining top 16 seeds in order are the North Carolina, UCLA, Penn State, Tulsa, Northwestern, Harvard, San Diego, Butler, St. John's, Michigan State, NC State and Cal-Irvine. The Big Ten had more seeded teams than any other conference with four. Twenty-one conferences were awarded automatic bids for the 2009 tournament. The remaining 27 teams were selected at large.

BUCKEYES IN THE NCAA TOURNEY
Ohio State is making its seventh NCAA tournament appearance in program history, all with John Bluem at the helm, and third in a row. The Buckeyes have posted a record of 6-6-1 in NCAA play, 4-1-0 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Ohio State advanced to the second round of the 2008 NCAA tournament, falling 2-1 to No. 5 Akron in double-overtime after advancing all the way to the NCAA championship game in 2007.

BACK IN THE HABIT
The Buckeyes moved up from No. 25 to No. 13 in the current National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) rankings. Last week, they appeared in the Top 25 in all four major soccer polls for the first time since Oct. 19, and are now there for a second week with a No. 8 nod by Soccer America, as well as No. 15 College Soccer News and No. 12 Soccer Times recognition.

PERFECT 10
With the win over Michigan Nov. 7, the Buckeyes posted the 17th 10-win season in program history. Ten of those 10-win campaigns have come in 13 seasons under head coach John Bluem.

MOVIN' ON UP
Ohio State was No. 11 in the final regular-season ratings percentage index (RPI) figures, released by the NCAA Nov. 11, up 13 spots from its last place at No. 24. This is the final set of RPI figures released before the NCAA announces the 48-team field for the 2009 NCAA championship. The ACC leads all conferences with seven teams in the Top 25, though the Big Ten is second with five and all seven fall into the Top 40.
     The Buckeyes are 6-2 against teams in the Top 25 with two wins each over No. 6 Indiana and No. 13 Penn State and one win over both No. 17 Michigan State and No. 19 Butler. The only losses have come against Akron and Northwestern, who are ranked Nos. 1 and 3, respectively.

REWIND
After winning their first outright Big Ten regular season championship by defeating Michigan Nov. 7, the Buckeyes did not disappoint in the Big Ten tournament. After No. 4 seed Indiana took a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the semifinal, Ohio State scored four goals over the next 45 minutes en route to a 4-2 victory. Joe Moore, Sam Scales, Andrew Magill and Konrad Warzycha each tallied a goal in the semifinal win.
     In the championship game Sunday, sophomore David Tiemstra scored the lone goal with 43 seconds remaining in the Buckeyes' 1-0 victory over No. 2 seed Penn State. 

TAKING HOME THE HARDWARE
Not only did the Buckeyes come back to Columbus with a Big Ten tournament championship, seven Buckeyes and head coach John Bluem brought back Big Ten awards. Doug Verhoff was named Co-Defensive Player of the Year while keeper Matt Lampson was dubbed Co-Freshman of the Year and Bluem came away with Coach of the Year honors.
     In addition to the individual award winners, Ohio State led the way in All-Big Ten selections, placing eight total players on all-conference squads. Verhoff and junior captain Matt Gold were first-team choices, while Lampson, senior Andrew Magill and junior Konrad Warzycha each earned second-team honors. Lampson, a Hilliard, Ohio, native is the first Buckeye rookie to earn a place on one of the two All-Big Ten teams in his freshman season. He currently leads the conference in goals-against average and shutouts, heading into the tournament semifinal.
     Austin McAnena and Chris Hegngi, the Buckeyes' leading scorers, joined Lampson on the All-Freshman Team. The eight total OSU honorees were more than any other school, leading host Indiana by one.

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
The Buckeyes were picked to finish fourth in the preseason coaches' poll, but have instead finished atop the seven-team conference. Penn State and Northwestern, who finished the year tied for second, were selected fifth and second, respectively at the beginning of the season. The preseason favorite for the seventh-consecutive season, Indiana, wrapped the regular season in a tie for fourth, its lowest finish in conference history.

SENIOR SALUTE
The Michigan game Nov. 7 was the final home game for three Buckeye seniors - Andrew Magill, Joe Moore and Doug Verhoff. The trio has been instrumental in the success of Ohio State soccer over the last few years, including the 2007 Big Ten Championship and NCAA College Cup runner-up finish. Magill and Verhoff, as four-year players, stand as the second-winningest senior class in program history with 49 victories and are poised to leave an even greater impact with success in the postseason.

YOUNG & THE RESTLESS
Bolstered by senior leadership, the Buckeye offense is led by rookie Austin McAnena and junior Sam Scales with 11 points each. Another freshman, Chris Hegngi, trails the pair with 10 points. McAnena is tied with senior captain and Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Year Doug Verhoff for the team lead in goals with four, while also holding three assists to his credit. Scales leads the team with seven helpers to go along with two goals while Hegngi's points come off three goals and four assists.
      On the opposite end of the field, Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year Matt Lampson has held his ground between the pipes. The Hilliard, Ohio, native has a conference-leading nine shutouts in 16 appearances with a 0.72 goals-against average and .854 save percentage.

RECORD WATCH
Several Buckeyes have moved toward the top of the Ohio State single-season and career records lists. Sam Scales sits seventh on the single-season assist list with seven helpers in 2009 while Andrew Magill ranks seventh on the career list with 15 assists. Magill also sits fifth on the all-time shots list with 174 while Konrad Warzycha is two spots behind with 116.
     In addition, Matt Lampson has moved up to fourth on the season shutouts list with nine this season. The redshirt freshman is also second in season goals-against average at 0.72, just behind Dave Scheer who posted a 0.70 GAA in 1986.

TENACIOUS D
The Buckeyes have allowed the fewest goals in the Big Ten (15) and hold a team 0.72 GAA, a mark that also stands as first in the conference. Anchored by Doug Verhoff and David Tiemstra in the middle with Dalton Summers and Joe Moore of late on the flanks, the defense has posted 10 shutouts and forced opponents into a .439 shot on goal percentage this season.