Photo by Ohio State Athletics

By AARON CRANFORD

After 15 rounds of back and forth penalty kicks, Zach Mason and the Ohio State Buckeyes emerged victorious over Akron.

Mason netted the 13th Buckeyes penalty kick of the night to send the Buckeyes through and into the second round, where they will meet reigning national champions Notre Dame.

Zips midfielder Adam Najem converted a penalty in the 31st minute to open the scoring, but Buckeyes midfielder Kyle Culbertson, who transfered to Ohio State from Akron, scored from a free kick in the 67th minute.

The match could not be decided in regular time or overtime, and both sides struggled to find the decisive goal in the penalty shootout. Eventually, Mason gave the Buckeyes the 13-12 victory, earning Ohio State a trip to South Bend.

UC Irvine struggled at the end of their regular season by losing four of their last five, but the Anteaters returned to their winning ways Thursday by thrashing UNLV 3-0.

The Anteaters, who had already defeated the Rebels, 4-2, earlier in the year, were led by Cameron Iwasa, who netted a brace in the victory. Dennis Martinez added the other goal to set up a meeting with Pac-12 powerhouse Stanford.

Here is a rundown of Thursday night’s results:

2014 NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND RESULTS

Akron 1, Ohio State 1. (Ohio State won, 13-12, in PKs) (RECAP)

UNC Wilmington 2, Bucknell 0. (RECAP)

Hartwick 1, Penn State 2. (RECAP)

Old Dominion 3, St. Francis (Brooklyn) 0. (RECAP)

Oakland 2, Kentucky 0. (RECAP)

UAB 1, Furman 1. (Furman won, 4-3, in PKs) (RECAP)

UC Irvine 2, UNLV 0. (RECAP)

Wake Forest 0, UMBC 0. (UMBC won, 3-2, in PKs) (RECAP)

Tulsa 0, Saint Louis 2. (RECAP)

Monmouth 1, Xavier 2. (2OT) (RECAP)

Oregon State 1, Denver 0. (RECAP)

San Diego 2, CSU Fullerton 1. (2OT) (RECAP)

SIUE 1, Northwestern 0. (RECAP)

Florida Gulf Coast 0, Coastal Carolina 1. (RECAP)

North Carolina 6, James Madison 0. (RECAP)

———–

NCAA TOURNAMENT SECOND ROUND SCHEDULE

(All games Sunday)

1 p.m. — (16) Virginia vs. UNC Wilmington

1 p.m. — (8) Georgetown vs. Old Dominion

1 p.m. — (3) Michigan State vs. Oakland

1 p.m. — (5) Indiana vs. Xavier

1:30 pm — (12) Creighton vs. Oregon State

2 p.m. — (9) Syracuse vs. Penn State

2 p.m. — (10) Charlotte vs. North Carolina

4 p.m. — (15) California vs. SIUE

5 p.m. — (4) Maryland vs. UMBC

6 p.m. — (13) Louisville vs. Saint Louis

7 p.m. — (1) Notre Dame vs. Ohio State

7 p.m. — (11) Providence vs. Dartmouth

7 p.m. — (7) Clemson vs. Coastal Carolina

8 p.m. — (14) Washington vs. Furman

8 p.m. — (6) Stanford vs. UC Irvine

10 p.m. — (2) UCLA vs. San Diego