2007 (Senior season): First-team All-Big Ten ... NSCAA First-Team All-American ... NCSAA First-Team All-Region ... first- team All-Ohio ... MVP of Penn State Nike Classic ... College Cup All-Tournament Team ... third-team Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Season ... Wolstein Classic All-Tournament Team ... Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Sept. 3 ... Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week Sept.20 ... one of four Buckeyes to start in all 26 games ... scored six goals, three being game winners (Sept. 9 vs. William & Mary, Sept. 16 vs. Fullerton, Oct. 10 vs. Oakland) ... scored twice vs. University of California Santa Barbara  in third round on free kicks ... 12 shots on goal

2007 Media Guide Bio

23   Eric Brunner
Sr., Defender, 6-4, 165
Dublin, Ohio

Ohio Thunder
Dublin Scioto High School
Communications

Coach Bluem on Brunner: “Eric is an outstanding athlete. He is incredible in the air and is fast, smart and organizes well in the central defense. He handled being a sweeper or a stopper last year after playing left back as a sophomore. He is naturally right-footed but can strike with his left foot, too. Eric is the whole package. His positioning and senses are excellent and he is the cornerstone of our defensive unit.”

At a glance: In his third year as a starter ... returns to his role in the central defense and will take over the leadership role there after the graduation of Dustin Kirby (an MLS draft pick) ... could be one of the top defenders on the 2008 MLS draft board ... has started 42 consecutive games for the Buckeyes ... tall, powerful defender and comes forward to get involved in the offense ... is great in the air, especially on restarts ... played his freshman season at Maryland and helped the Terrapins to the College Cup ... transferred home to Ohio State during the winter of his freshman year and competed in the 2005 spring season for the Buckeyes.

2006 (Junior season): First-team All-Big Ten and first-team all-region ... started all 21 games (one of only five Buckeyes to do so) and played all but 41 minutes (1,908 minutes ranked third on team) ... tied for fourth on the team in scoring with six points from two goals and two assists ... named to the all-tournament team of each of Ohio State’s three early season tournaments, including the OSU Wolstein Classic, the North Carolina Classic and the Penn State/Nike Classic ... 44 shots ranked second on the team and sixth in the Big Ten ... 16 of his shots were on goal, which tied for second on the team ... assisted on Eric Edwards’ equalizer in 3-1 win vs. Michigan State Nov. 2 in the Big Ten Quarterfinals ... scored OSU’s first goal in 3-2 come-from-behind win at Oakland Oct. 18 (header off Taylor Korpieski corner kick) ... scored game-winner vs. Louisville Oct. 11 (header off Xavier Balc corner kick) ... those two goals came in a three-game span ... assisted on Tim Gabel’s goal vs. Furman Aug. 27.

2005 (Sophomore season): Started all 21 games for Ohio State (one of only four players to do so) and logged 1,782 minutes of field time, which ranked third on the team ... tied for fifth on the team in scoring with five points off two goals and an assist ... his first goal of the season was the game-winner in overtime to beat host Furman Sept. 11 in the title game of the Furman Classic ... was named the MVP of the Penn State/Nike Classic Sept. 18 after leading the OSU defense to a shutout of Cal State Fullerton and a 2-1 win over No. 17 UCLA ... assisted on Kevin Nugent’s goal to give the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead over the Bruins ... was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Sept. 19 and earned a spot on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week the same day ... hit the ground running for the Buckeyes in the season-opening Ohio State Classic when he was named to its all-tournament team ... his second goal of the season came Sept. 25 in a 1-1 tie against Kentucky ... took 25 shots during the season, 10 of which were on goal.

2004 (Freshman season at University of Maryland): Was instrumental is helping the Terrapins to the 2004 College Cup and a 17-6-2 overall record ... played in 21 of Maryland’s 25 games and made 11 starts ... logged 1,137 minutes of field time ... took 10 shots, seven of which were on goal, and had one assist ... helped Maryland post a 1.01 goals-allowed average.

Ohio Thunder/ODP: Played for the Ohio Thunder from 1998-2003 with former Buckeye Taylor Korpieski ... was a two-year captain of the ODP Region II team among his four years on the squad ... member of the 2003 Inter-regional ODP All-Star Team.

Dublin Scioto High School: Team captain and MVP his junior and senior years ... a 2003 NSCAA All-American ... was the 2003 Ohio Capital Conference Player of the Year and a second-team All-Ohio selection.

Personal: Son of Skip and Connie Brunner ... enjoys video games.

Year   GP/GS  Min. Shots Goals Assists Points
2004*  21/11 1137    10    0      1      1
2005   21/21 1782    25    2      1      5
2006   21/21 1908    44    2      2      6
Totals 63/53 4827    79    4      4     12
* freshman season at University of Maryland

#23 Eric Brunner (at OSU) – Career Highs
Goals - 1, four times, last at Oakland 10/18/06
Assists - 1, three times, last vs. Michigan State 11/2/06
Shots - 5 vs. Indiana 10/14/06
Shots on goal - 3, twice, last vs. Boston Univ. 9/8/06