Ohio State Hosts Wake Forest in Exhibition Match Tuesday – Ohio State Buckeyes
8/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s soccer team, under the direction of 11th-year head coach Lori Walker, hosts the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in an exhibition match at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 21) at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The match will be the only exhibition contest for Ohio State, which is coming off a 10-8-1 year in 2006.
Walker has coached the Buckeyes to two Big Ten Tournament championships 2002 and 2004 and into the NCAA Championship field three consecutive years between 2002-04. The official start of her 11th season at Ohio State, and the 15th season in the program’s history, will be Aug. 31 with a noon game against Butler at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
GAME BROADCAST – The game against Wake Forest can be heard via the internet at http://ohiostatesportsradio.blogspot.com/. Calling the action will be Gabe?Norris and Adam Bianco.
JESSE OWENS MEMORIAL STADIUM – This is the ninth season that Ohio State has played its home soccer games in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes are 49-22-7 all-time at Jesse Owens and in the last four seasons they are an impressive 30-7-5 at home (.773).
2007 TEAM LEADERS – Three senior captains Amanda Ball, Lara Dickenmann and Keiana Mitchell and six additional juniors and seniors will provide leadership to a large contingent of freshmen and sophomores that will hopefully result in the team being in contention for the Big Ten championship and an NCAA berth.
- Defensive center midfielder Ball has 42 games to her credit and 31 starts. She was the most improved player on the team last year.
- Dickenmann, an All-American in 2004 who ranks among Ohio State’s all-time Top 5 in career assists (third with 21) and career points (third with 73) and is seventh in career goals (23), has started 58 of 59 games since arriving on campus from Kriens, Switzerland.
- Defensive specialist Mitchell has started 42 games, played in 59 and contributed three goals, four assists and 10 points.
Additionally, senior Carla Arbulu has 25 starts to her credit and she can play the dual positions of forward and defender and senior Kate Linehan has utilized her counter-attacking style in 32 games. Three juniors to watch are Lisa Collison (32 starts, 24 goals, four assists and 54 points), playmaker Caitlin Colfer (24 games played with nine assists) and defender Amy Graeff (24 games and 14 starts).
HELP FROM THE UNDERCLASSMEN – Sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Robertson was 10-7-1 with an 0.95 goals-against average last season. Midfielder/forward Ashley Bowyer started all 19 games and registered 26 shots and one goal. Forward Ali Schwach scored two goals in 12 games and forward Lauren Thomas played in all 19 games and had two assists.
NO. 1 FRESHMEN CLASS IN BIG TEN; 13th NATIONALLY – The 13-member freshmen class was judged the No. 1 incoming class in the Big Ten and the No. 13-ranked class nationally, according to SoccerBuzz.com.
DICKENMANN NAMED TO PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST – Senior midfielder Lara Dickenmann has been named to the preseason watch list for the Hermann Trophy, the most prestigious individual award in intercollegiate soccer. The list, announced by the Missouri Athletic Club, was compiled by a panel of coaches from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
“It is a terrific honor for Lara to be named to the Hermann watch list,” Walker said. “She is arguably the most well rounded soccer player in the college game with a knack for scoring goals and the vision to place an assist. This honor extends beyond just Lara, though. This will be a tremendous responsibility for the team to perform well, to outwork other teams, and to position Ohio State to be a Big Ten champion and an NCAA tournament contender.”
COLLISON AND DICKENMANN ARE NATIONAL TEAM MEMBERS – Lisa Collison is a member of the Canadian National Team and Lara Dickenmann is a member of the Swiss National Team. Coach Lori Walker’s goal this season is to have these two international stars they tied for the OSU team lead last year with 23 points apiece become one of the most prolific scoring tandems in the country. “Lisa and Lara have spent a lot of time working on how to play together,” Walker said. “It takes effort. You have two very different international styles. Lara likes to play at the feet and Lisa likes to get the ball in behind. They have learned to combine better and look for one another and they really have started to develop a nice rhythm. I think they will really blossom this fall.”
BUCKS PICKED FOURTH IN BIG TEN – The Big Ten Conference women’s soccer coaches have picked Ohio State as the No. 4 team in the conference according to the preseason poll released by the league. Penn State was selected by the 11 conference coaches as the team to beat with Illinois and Purdue ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.
WAKE FOREST RANKED 22nd NATIONALLY; SIXTH IN ACC – Wake Forest, under the direction of head coach Tony da Luz, is ranked 22nd nationally according to the initial NSCAA/adidas Preseason National Rankings. The Demon Deacons received some votes but just missed out on SoccerBuzz.com’s preseason Top 25. Coming off a 16-6-1 season in 2006, Wake Forest was seeded sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason coaches’ poll. The top four scorers, led by senior Elizabeth Remy (9 goals; 5 assists; 23 points) and Allie Sadow (6-4-16) return as do the team’s top two goaltenders.
LORI WALKER QUOTES ON THE… – Forwards: “We have all the components for a special attack. We’ve got players who can serve balls wide. We’ve got players who are willing to face and go one-on-one. We’ve got players technically able to combine with each other and so I think we’re going to have one of the more dynamic attacks.”
Midfielders: “The midfield is going to be the most enjoyable piece for the coaching staff to work with because we are going to have the most depth we’ve ever had in the midfield position. This depth is going to allow us to try a variety of different things. As we substitute and rotate players, we will bring in players who have a different strength than what the starters are going to have. I think that adds a component that will challenge our opponents.”
Defenders: “We are obviously going to have a different look without Melissa Miller and Emily Francis, who were two of our most consistent defenders. But what I like is that it opens up the door for new players to come in and put their stamp on the game.”
Goalkeepers: “Goalkeeping is so much about experience and maturity. We’re just looking for a solid presence in goal. I don’t need a goalkeeper to win games. You never want that pressure on a goalkeeper to have to win games and lucky for us, our defensive mentality is strong enough that that’s not gong to be a required role.”
THE 2007 SCHEDULE – The Butler game Aug. 31 will kick off six consecutive home games in 13 days at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium to open Ohio State’s season. The team will also entertain Saint Louis (Sept. 2), Wright State (Sept. 4), Pepperdine (Sept. 7), San Diego (Sept. 9) and Ohio (Sept. 13) during the homestand. Later in the season Ohio State will host all three teams that are ranked ahead of it in the Big Ten preseason poll. Illinois comes to town Sept. 28. Purdue and Penn State close out the home season. The Buckeyes and the Boilermakers will meet Oct. 28, while the regular-season ending Penn State contest is set for Nov. 2.
TOUGH STRETCH – Within eight days in September the Buckeyes will play Louisville, defending national champion and Lori Walker alma mater North Carolina and Duke on the road. Louisville and Duke were NCAA Championship participants last year.
THE COACHING STAFF – Lori Walker is assisted by associate head coach Greg Miller and assistant Stephanie Gabbert. Miller, a former Xavier soccer player, is in his seventh season at Ohio State. Gabbert, a former head coach at Iowa State, Iowa and Northeast Missouri State, is in her first season on the staff.
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