Men's Soccer
Connor Senn Memoral Match -- a Win for the Bucks Off the Field
By Joe Weasel

Nugent scored and gave the Buckeyes the lead, but it didn't last for long.

No, not football, and not Mike.

Kevin Nugent, Mike's brother, who plays on the OSU soccer team, gave the Scarlet and Gray the lead against the Columbus Crew in the annual Connor Senn Memorial Match at Jesse Owens Stadium. However, the Crew came back strong to win 3-1.

But the real winner was the Connor Senn Scholarship, which added $1,900 to the fund, as more than 400 fans braved frigid conditions for the event.

Senn was a freshman from Granville, Ohio, and a member of the 2001 Ohio State soccer team. He died September 26, 2001, after collapsing during a game at Akron from a congenital heart defect.

As a walk-on, Senn earned a starting spot for the Buckeyes as a defender. He saw action in eight of 10 matches and started five times.

In the match to honor Senn, Nugent put the Buckeyes up 1-0 in the sixth minute as he sneaked the ball past Crew keeper Tom Presthus after a booming goal kick by freshman Raymond Burse Jr.

"It was nice to go up," OSU Coach John Bluem said. "They made a mistake, and we were able to capitalize on it. We're not going to get too many chances against a quality team like the Crew, so it was good to see Kevin put it away."

In the 30th minute, the Crew got even, when forward Jeff Cunningham connected on a free kick that was out of the reach of Buckeye goalkeeper Bruse. Bruse left the match during a stoppage time in the first half with an knee injury.

Sophomore Chad Brown replaced Bruse and gave up a goal in the 59th minute when midfielder Brian West collected a feed by Ross Paule at the top of the box. Paule pushed the ball into the net to give the Crew a 2-1 lead at the half.

The Crew capped off the scoring when Duncan Oughton scored in the 69th minute with a strong run down the left side, as he nailed the net from 5 yards out.

Former OSU forward Jake Trager was in action for the Crew. Trager was drafted in the sixth round by the Crew in the 2003 MLS Entry Draft. He played the entire match for Columbus and faced his brother, Reid, who is a sophomore for the Buckeyes.

"It is a great thing, Jake playing for the Crew," Bluem said. "We're expremely proud of Jake for making it into the league."

While the Buckeyes would have loved to beat the best team urrently in Major League Soccer, the focus of the match was remembering their teammate, Conner Senn.

"Memorial matches by their very nature are sad," Bluem said. "But we have an opportunity to come out here with a great organization like the Crew and raise money to preserve Connor's memory. It's a great thing for this team and this university, and we appreciate the Crew taking time to do this."

Those wishing to make a contribution to the Connor Senn Memorial Scholarship Fund can do so by sending a check to Kristyn Carmann, The Ohio State University, Gift Processing, The Fawcett Center, Room 709, 2400 Olentangy River Rd., Columbus, Ohio 43210.

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