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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s soccer team opened its 2019 campaign with fitness testing and the first team training session Tuesday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and the upper practice fields across the street from Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The Buckeyes, led by three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year Lori Walker-Hock, return six starters and 13 letterwinners from a 2018 team that finished third in the Big Ten, tallying a 9-6-4 overall record on its way to the program’s ninth NCAA Tournament in the last 10 seasons.
Ohio State welcomes back players who accounted for 91 percent of the goals scored in 2018 but will Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Devon Kerr and second team All-Big Ten midfielder Sarah Roberts. First team All-Big Ten and United Soccer Coaches first team All-North Region selection Izzy Rodriguez is back along with 2018 Big Ten All-Freshman team picks Talani Barnett, Kayla Fischer and Emaly Vatne. The Buckeyes six returning starters have combined for 124 career starts and Ohio State will welcome back redshirt junior forward Meghan Kammerdeiner, a veteran of 38 career matches, including 18 starts, after an injury in the 2018 opener at Duke sidelined her for the remainder of the season.
Ohio State will play eight regular-season matches against 2018 NCAA Tournament teams. The 19-match slate kicks off at home against Louisville Aug. 22 with the Big Ten opener against Michigan State Sept. 18.
