By Ron Jackson Dayton Daily News

His name is Nugent and he is an Ohio State athlete who is pretty accurate at splitting the goal.

Sound familiar Remember another guy named Nugent who distinguished himself with the Buckeyes He is now kicking field goals for the New York Jets.

Well, this is Kevin Nugent — the younger brother of the former Buckeyes All-America kicker Mike Nugent. Kevin is carving his own niche as a center-forward for the Buckeyes' men's soccer team. He has three goals and three assists this season. He had a key goal in the Buckeyes' 2-1 upset win over 17th-ranked UCLA.

The younger Nugent grew up in the soccer hotbed of Centerville loving the game and honing his skills against his brother. A natural goal-scorer, Kevin, who is 18 months younger than Mike, was a two-time All-Ohio player at Centerville and Division I Player of the Year as a senior. He finished his Elks career with 73 goals and 32 assists.

"I've grown out of having any jealousy toward Mike," Kevin said. "I'm his biggest fan, and he's my biggest fan. I saw him in a preseason game and I plan to go to one of his Jets games in December. I'm so booked right now with our schedule.

"We're both very competitive in anything we do," he continued. "I always wanted to beat him in one-on-one soccer drills in our backyard. I even challenged him at kicking field goals. I was pretty accurate, but I couldn't hang with him when it came to distance."

The 22nd-ranked Buckeyes graduated Justin Cook, Big Ten Player of the Year, from last year's NCAA tournament team, and look to Nugent to provide firepower. He hasn't disappointed coach John Bluem.

"This is going to be a big year for Kevin," Bluem said. "He has lived in the shadows of Justin Cook. He is a goal-scorer and will shoulder much of that responsibility. He's a poacher and he's good around the goal mouth at finishing. I expect a breakout year from him and double digits in goals scored."

Nugent, who carries a 3.0 GPA and is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, aspires to play in the Major League Soccer pro ranks.

Quick-hitters
Standout goalkeeper Emily Kowalczyk has been stellar in goal for Syracuse, making 12 saves in her last two games, while allowing just one goal. Her shutout of Pittsburgh was the seventh of her career, the fourth most all-time for the Orange. The senior from Centerville also was honored this week as the SU Scholar-Athlete of the Week. Kowalczyk has been a Big East Academic All-Star twice. She is majoring in English and textual studies and televison/radio/film.

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