Nov. 29, 2007

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With a 1-0 victory over Louisville, Ohio State moves on to the round of 16 in the 2007 NCAA Championship.  The Buckeyes will host the defending NCAA Champions, UC-Santa Barbara, on Sunday, with kickoff slated for 1 p.m. ET.  This marks only the second time in program history Ohio State has advanced to the third round of NCAA play.  The first time was in 2004 where OSU battled Duke eventually losing 3-0.  In NCAA contests, the Buckeyes are 3-4 overall, with a 2-1 home record.            

The Buckeyes enter third-round action on a 12-game unbeaten streak (9-0-3) dating back to Sept. 29.   During this streak, Ohio State has shut out nine opponents, five of them consecutively.  They have also outscored their opponents 13-3 over this span, a period which includes five of the top 25 teams.            

Seniors Casey Latchem and Xavier Balc will provide leadership for the Buckeyes in Sunday's home match.  Latchem leads all Big Ten goalkeepers with 13 total shutouts, which sets an OSU single season record.  Balc has recorded 24 points (6 goals, 12 assists) in all games this season,  which ties him for first in the conference.                     

In other Big Ten action, Indiana and Bradley ended regulation in a 1-1 stalemate , however the Braves advanced to round three after outscoring the Hoosiers, 5-4, in penalty kicks.  Rounding out conference action, Northwestern was edged by Illinois-Chicago by a score of 2-0.