Women’s Soccer to Make NCAA Debut Friday – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 13, 2002
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s soccer team (10-10-1, 4-5-1), automatic qualifiers as the 2002 Big Ten Tournament Champions, will face Notre Dame in the first round of NCAA Tournament play on Friday, Nov. 15 at Notre Dame’s Alumni Field at 7 p.m.
BUCKEYES IN POSTSEASON PLAY
With its victory in the 2002 Big T en Tournament, the Buckeyes now own a 6-7-0 all-time record in postseason. All of the previous 13 contest have come in conference tournament play, as OSU will be making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
LAST WEEK’S ACTION
The Buckeyes advanced through the 2002 Big Ten Tournament in dramatic fashion as they claimed consecutive penalty kick shoot out victories over No.2-seed Michigan in the quarterfinals and over No. 3-seed Purdue in the semifinals, by 3-2 and 5-4 counts, respectively.
Ohio State carried the momentum from the emotional victories in the first two rounds into the finals as they controlled play from the kick off in the tournament finals against Wisconsin. The Buckeyes out shot the Badgers 18-3 on their way to capturing a 2-1 triumph and their first-ever Big Ten title in the 10-year history of the program.
2002 REGULAR SEASON IN REVIEW
What was turning out to be a hard luck 2002 season for the Buckeyes culminated into a spectacular late season run as the Buckeyes rolled through the Big Ten Tournament as a seven-seed to claim the conference title and a trip to the program’s first NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes kicked off 2002 by dropping their first three contests, with all three losses coming to ranked opponents in California, St. Mary’s and Marquette.
OSU bounced back, however, to claim wins in three of its next four matches, including a season-best 5-1 win over Georgetown on Sept. 8.
Ohio State kept the ball rolling when it faced Purdue as it battled the then-No. 20 Boilermakers to a 0-0 tie.
From that point on, however, the OSU season took a rough turn as the Buckeyes dropped four straight contests to Indiana, at Michigan and Michigan State and to Iowa in a game where Ohio State out shot the Hawkeyes by a 29-10 margin.
Following the loss to Iowa, Buckeye head coach Lori Walker inserted sophomore goalkeeper Emily Haynam into the lineup, which helped lift the Buckeyes to triumphs in six of their last eight contests, including wins at both Minnesota and Wisconsin and a tough 1-0 loss to nationally ranked Cincinnati.
MILLER AND DIETRICH SELECTED TO ALL-BIG TEN SQUADS IN 2002
Ohio State senior defender Jen Miller and freshman midfielder Danielle Dietrich were recognized by the Big Ten for their efforts during the 2002 season.
Miller, an All-Big Ten Second Team honoree in 2001, repeated as a second team performer in 2002, while Dietrich was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team in her first season donning the scarlet and gray.
Statistically, Miller led the Buckeyes with six assists while piloting a defense that allowed just 1.44 goals per game in the regular season. Dietrich tallied six points on two goals and two assists.
SCOUTING NOTRE DAME
The Fighting Irish have qualified for their 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament receiving one of 35 at large bids to the postseason championship.
Notre Dame, who finished the regular season at 11-7, went 7-3 overall in Big East play, but fell short of the conference tournament with a 3-3 mark in the Mid-Atlantic division within the conference.
The Fighting Irish, winners of four of their last five, are led by a tandem of juniors at forward in Amy Warner and Amanda Guertin, each has tallied a team-high 24 points on the season. Warner leads the Fighting Irish with nine goals, while Guertin is first in assists with 10. Fellow Junior Randi Scheller has added seven goals.
Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum is in the midst of his fourth season and has compiled a 72-15-3 (.750) record, while leading the Fighting Irish to four straight NCAA Tournament Bids.
BUCKEYES VS. FIGHTING IRISH
Notre Dame has won each of the four all-time meetings in the series between the two schools. The Fighting Irish bested the Buckeyes 7-0 in the last meeting on Nov. 1 of 1996 in South Bend, Ind.
SUCCESS WHEN SCORING FIRST
Ohio State has scored first in 10 of its 21 matches this season and has recorded a 10-0 mark in such games.
HAYNAM SETS NEW MARK
Ohio State goalkeeper Emily Haynam has set a new all-time mark for goals against average in a season, allowing just 1.06 goals per contest. Haynam narrowly passed former Buckeye keeper Amber Barnes’ 1998 figure of 1.07 GAA. The Buckeyes have won six of eight with Haynam minding the net.
WALKER INKS NEW CONTRACT
Ohio State women’s soccer head coach Lori Walker signed a new three-year contract on October 4th that will keep her at the helm of the Buckeye program through the 2006 season.
“The three-year contract exemplifies the commitment Ohio State has to the women’s soccer program and the trust that the athletics department has in my goals for the program and the direction we are headed,” Walker said. “That sense of trust validates our pursuit of being a national contender for years to come. The new contract will definitely help us in recruiting.”
Ohio State director of athletics Andy Geiger is pleased to extend coach Walker’s tenure at the university.
“We are delighted to have Lori continue her work in building the Ohio State women’s soccer program into a Big Ten and national contender,” Geiger said.
WALKER AT THE HELM
Now in her sixth season as head coach, Walker has amassed a 60-55-6 record (.521) with OSU, including two 12-plus win campaigns. She is 21-32-5 (.405) in Big Ten play and stands 73-78-7 (.484) overall as a collegiate coach following a two-year stint at Kansas.
GRUBB, HAYNAM AND MILLER EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Ohio State not only walked out of East Lansing, Mich. and the Big Ten Tournament with the championship trophy, but also packed some more hardware on the bus as OSU swept the tournament awards, with Buckeye forward Lisa Grubb staking claim to the Offensive Most Valuable Player Award, while OSU defender Jen Miller was the recipient of the Defensive Player of the Tournament.
Buckeye goalkeeper Emily Haynam was recognized for her efforts in the net as she was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team. Haynam recorded 10 saves and a 1.00 goals against average for the tournament.
MILLER EARNS ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS
Ohio State senior co-captain Jen Miller was recognized as a Verizon All-Academic First Team in District IV. Miller, an OSU scholar-athlete in each of the 1999, 2000 and 2001 seasons, holds a 3.84 grade point average in mechanical engineering and looks to earn Big Ten All-Academic status for the third consecutive season.
MARKS SET IN 2002
Numerous Buckeyes set new standards in OSU women’s soccer history during the 2002 season as Lindsay Eckles, Lisa Grubb, Emily Haynam and Jen Miller each broke into the Top 10 in all-time season records.
Grubb, who led OSU in scoring, is now second in all-time season shots with 74 as she passed her own mark of 62 during the 2001 season.
Lindsay Eckles, who holds the team record for career shots, notched 62 attempts in 2002, which is good for a tie for seventh in school history.
Defender Jen Miller enjoyed a stellar season on the offensive end as she tallied 14 points on three goals and a team-best six assists. Those six assists tied her own 2000 mark for fifth place all-time in season assists.
RUNNING THE GAUNTLET IN 2002
Ohio State finished the regular season winless in six contests versus ranked opponents, but kept each match within two goals. That rugged schedule benefited the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Tournament as they knocked off both No. 24 Michigan and No. 17 Purdue in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
