No. 5 Field Hockey Ready for the Big Ten – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/22/1999 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 22, 1999
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 5 Ohio State field hockey team has earned its highest ranking in school history and is off to a school record 7-0 start. The Buckeyes stormed through the nonconference portion of their schedule, outscoring their opponents 25-7. But the Big Ten season begins on Friday with a contest at No. 10 Iowa and continues on Sunday at Northwestern. %^$
%^$A Record Start
%^$The 7-0 start by the Buckeyes is a school record. The old record of 6-0 was set both in 1974 and 1994.%^$
%^$A Record Ranking
%^$OSU’s No. 5-ranking in the STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll is another school record. In last week’s poll, the Buckeyes were ranked No. 7. Prior to this year, the highest the Buckeyes had ever been ranked was No. 8 in 1998.%^$
%^$Offensive Leaders
%^$Offensively, the Buckeyes have been paced by consistent scoring from five different players. Katie Hobson leads the team with seven goals and 18 points. She is also tied for the team lead with four assists. Diana Kuser is second on the team with 10 points and is tied with Hobson for the assist lead. Deanna Menichini has five goals and three assists for 13 points. Jayne Landis and Marije van Nouhuys each have 11 points.%^$
%^$Defensive Leaders
%^$The Ohio State defense is allowing its opponents just an average of one goal per game. Leading the way is co-captain Aubrey Stock, who has a team high two defensive saves. The goaltending combination of Gillian Batey and Allison Blanton have combined for two shutouts and 22 saves. %^$
%^$Scouting No. 10 Iowa
%^$Ohio State and Iowa will open the Big Ten season this Friday in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes enter the game ranked No. 10 in the country with a 6-0 record. Iowa carries a 36-3 edge in the all-time series. The Buckeyes have never won a game at Iowa’s Grant Field. Last season, the teams split the season series with OSU winning at home 1-0 in overtime and Iowa winning at home, 6-1. %^$
%^$Scouting the Wildcats
%^$Northwestern enters this week as the only unranked team in the Big Ten with a 3-3 record. On Sunday, the Wildcats defeated Temple, 2-0 in Evanston. Amy Haase and Lisa Comrie each scored a goal. On Friday, NU plays host to No. 2 Penn State. The Wildcats hold a 26-11-1 lead in the all-time series against Ohio State. Under head coach Anne Wilkinson, OSU is 7-0 against NU. %^$
%^$Roughing Up Radford
%^$On Saturday, Sept. 18, the Ohio State field hockey team outlasted the Radford Highlanders, 3-0 and set a school mark with a 7-0 record. “This team has worked hard through our nonconference season,” head coach Anne Wilkinson said. “But this group has set goals that go beyond rankings and records. The Big Ten season is here and it will serve as our true test.” The Buckeyes took the lead for good in the first half. With 16:46 remaining, Deanna Menichini redirected a Diana Kuser shot to give OSU a 1-0 lead. In the second half, Jayne Landis and Menichini tallied a pair of goals to give OSU a 3-0 lead.%^$
%^$The Head Coach
%^$Anne Wilkinson enters her fourth year as the Ohio State head coach. She currently has a 43-24 (.642) record at OSU and a 122-108-8 (.529) career record. Since her arrival in Columbus, OSU has established itself as a consistent winner in the Big Ten Conference and in the classroom. Last season, her team finished third in the conference and took home two all-conference awards. Four Buckeyes were also named to the regional All-American team. Academically, the Buckeyes had three student-athletes named to the NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad and four student-athletes named academic all-Big Ten.%^$
%^$The Captains
%^$Senior Jayne Landis and junior Aubrey Stock are this season’s co-captains. Landis, a native of Telford, Pa., led the team with nine goals in 1998. Stock, a native of Seven Valleys, Pa., tied for the team lead with three defensive saves last season.%^$
%^$A Baseball Connection
%^$Freshman Stacey Todd is no stranger to Ohio State Athletics. Her father is OSU baseball coach Bob Todd, currently in his 13th year. Todd’s brother Brad is also a wrestler in his junior year at OSU.%^$
%^$New Assistant
%^$The Buckeyes welcome a new assistant coach to their family, former four-time All-American Meredith Thorpe. Thorpe graduated from Virginia in June with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. She left the Cavaliers as one of their most decorated athletes in school history. Thorpe is also the all-time leading scorer in Virginia and Atlantic Coast Conference history. %^$
%^$Hosting the Big Ten Tourney
%^$The Ohio State University will have the privilege of hosting the 1999 Big Ten Tournament, Nov. 5-7 at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center Turf Field. All six teams in the conference are invited with the winning team receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Seeding will be determined by the regular season’s final standings. The Buckeyes should have a definite advantage after going 7-1 at home last year. %^$
