No. 29 Ohio State Takes on No. 8 North Carolina & Duke – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
COLUMBUS, Ohio Ohio State’s women’s soccer team, 6-1 on the season and ranked 29th by Soccer Buzz Magazine, travels to Durham, N.C., for matches this weekend against No. 8 North Carolina (4-2) and Duke (3-1-2) as part of the 17th annual Duke adidas Classic. The Buckeyes and the defending national champion Tar Heels meet at 5 p.m. Friday at Duke’s Koskinen Stadium. Sunday the Buckeyes and the tournament host Blue Devils meet at 2:30 p.m.
A tournament champion will be decided by a point system. Two points will be awarded for each win and one for each tie with goal differential used as a tiebreaker.
LIVE STATS & A WEB BROADCAST
Real time statistics for both of Ohio State’s games in the Duke adidas Classic will be available via live stats at www.GoDuke.com. Click on Livestats on the right side of the Duke women’s soccer web page to view. Also, Ohio State’s game Sunday with Duke will be broadcast online thru ACC Select (http://duke.accselect.com).
A TOUGH STRETCH OF GAMES
Ohio State is in the midst of a tough sequence of games against four teams that qualified for the 2006 NCAA tournament, including the defending national champion. Ohio State played at Louisville this past Sunday and then plays North Carolina Friday, Duke Sunday and then Illinois to open the Big Ten season Sept. 28. The combined records of the four opponents: 15-6-2. Louisville is in the midst of its best-ever start at 5-1. UNC is 4-2, Duke is 3-1-2 and Illinois is 3-2.
BUCKEYES HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE…TWICE
Ohio State, under its first head coach, Lori Henry, played in the Duke adidas Classic in 1994 and 1995. The Buckeyes lost to Duke, 3-0, and to North Carolina, 6-1, in 1994. The following year Duke defeated Ohio State, 5-0, and the Buckeyes defeated North Carolina State, 2-1. Sunday’s meeting will be the third between Ohio State and Duke.
THIRD MEETING BETWEEN OSU AND UNC
Ohio State and North Carolina have met twice: in the 1994 Duke adidas Classic and in 2001 in Columbus. Carolina won the game in 1994, 6-1, in Durham, N.C. The Tar Heels came to Columbus and won the 2001 match, 2-0, played Nov. 3 before an OSU record crowd of 3,006 fans at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
HEAD COACH LORI WALKER UNC ALUM
Ohio State’s Lori Walker, in her 11th season as head coach of the Buckeyes, is a 1994 graduate of the University of North Carolina. She was a member of three national championship teams, three Atlantic Coast Conference championship teams and only lost one match in her career as a goalkeeper. She started for the Tar Heels in 1989 and concluded her career in 1991.
Lori Walker in the UNC record pages:
– T1st Single season NCAA tournament goals against average 0.00 (1989)
– 2nd Career save percentage .902 (1989-91)
– 2nd Single season save percentage .940 (1989)
– 3rd Single season goals against average 0.26 (1989; 4 goals; 1,403 minutes)
– 4th Single season solo shutouts 11 (1989)
– 6th Career goals against average 0.42
WALKER: ALL SCARLET AND GRAY NOW
Lori Walker has been Ohio State’s coach since the 1996 season. She has coached the Buckeyes to two Big Ten Tournament championships 2002 and 2004 and into the NCAA Championship field three times (consecutively between 2002-04). In 2004 she guided the Buckeyes to their finest season ever: a 19-4-3 record, champion of the Big Ten Tournament and three NCAA tournament wins before losing to UCLA in the elite eight, 1-0. Walker is 115-83-15 at Ohio State and 128-106-16 all-time. She was head coach at Kansas for two seasons prior to coming to Ohio State.
BOTH OF OSU’S HEAD COACHES ARE TAR HEELS
Lori Henry, the first women’s soccer coach in Ohio State history, was also a Tar Heel. Henry, a first-team All-American for UNC in 1987 and 1988, coached Ohio State’s first four seasons of women’s soccer: 1993-96. Her OSU teams went 37-38-3, including a 14-7-0 record in her final season.
WALKER RETURNS FROM WORLD CUP ANNOUNCING DUTIES
Lori Walker will be back on the sidelines for Ohio State this weekend after spending the last 11 days in ESPN2 studios in Bristol, Conn., announcing nine first round games of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The broadcast teams called the games off monitors, of which Walker has extensive experience. Calling the games off monitors and researching information on teams such as China, Ghana, Korea, New Zealand and Nigeria was difficult enough. What made these broadcasts even more interesting to call was that Walker and her partners were calling games at 4:55 a.m. and 7:55 a.m. and sometimes back-to-back.
A veteran announcer of women’s soccer action, Walker was introduced to announcing by accident after a friend put her on a FOX Sports “prospects” list. She has announced more than 60 games over the last six years, including serving as women’s soccer analyst for NBC’s coverage of the Olympics in 2004.
BUCKS 1-1 UNDER MILLER
Greg Miller, associate head coach in his seventh year at Ohio State, coached the team against Ohio and Louisville. The Buckeyes defeated Ohio, 2-1 in two overtimes, and lost at No. 22 Louisville, 2-0.
A SNAPSHOT OF OSU’S SEASON TO DATE
Ohio State’s 6-1 start is the second-best start in the program’s 15-year history. The 2003 team, which started the season 6-0-1, is the only team to go unbeaten through its first seven games. The 2007 team does have the distinction of being the first OSU team to open 6-0. Some views of the season from the pressbox:
- Hermann Trophy candidate Lara Dickenmann has scored three game-winning goals this season, including two in double overtime (vs. St. Louis and Ohio). She also scored the winner against No. 24 San Diego.
- Dickenmann, a senior tri-captain, is 5th at Ohio State with 26 career goals.
- Lisa Collison, who was tied with Dickenmann in 2006 for the team lead in points with 23, scored her first goal of the season against Ohio. The goal was Collison’s 25th of her career, good for 6th-place all-time at OSU.
- Ohio State is 14-2 the last two seasons in games that Dickenmann scores a point.
- A total of 14 players have scored at least one point this season with Dickenmann (3-1-7) sophomore Ashley Bowyer (2-2-6) and senior Carla Arbulu (1-3-5) leading the way.
- Eight players have scored goals and five have scored at least two goals, including three freshmen: Courtney Jenkins, Alex Burzynski and Genna Brand.
- Goalkeeper Lauren Robertson is 6-1 and has played every minute this season.
- True freshmen Jenkins and Lauren Hallauer have started all seven games while freshman Burzynski and red-shirt freshman Lauren Steuer have six starts apiece.
- Ohio State has outscored its opponents, 14-5, and has out-shot the opposition by 59 shots (129-70).
- Ohio State’s win over San Diego was the 150th in 15 years of women’s soccer at OSU.
OHIO STATE DROPS FIRST GAME
The Buckeyes dropped their first game of the season, 2-0, last Sunday at Louisville. The Cardinals got a goal at the 15-minute mark and the clincher at the 85-minute mark to snap the Buckeyes’ six-game winning streak to open the season. The Buckeyes were applying pressure to the Cardinals early in the match with four-consecutive shots and three corner kicks between the 8- and 14-minute marks. Just one of the attempts was on goal, though, and 44 seconds after Louisville goalkeeper Joanna Haig made the save teammate Shannon Smith beat OSU goalkeeper Lauren Robertson with a low shot to the middle of the net.
SEVEN WITH SEVEN
Seven players have started all seven of OSU’s game this season: M Lara Dickenmann; M/F Ashley Bowyer; F Courtney Jenkins; M Amanda Ball; B Keiana Mitchell; B Lauren Hallauer and GK Lauren Robertson. Dickenmann, Ball and Mitchell are tri-captains.
OSU’s Career Start Chart:
M Lara Dickenmann – 65 starts
B Keiana Mitchell – 49
M Amanda Ball – 38
F Lisa Collison – 38
B Carla Arbulu – 30
M/F Ashley Bowyer – 26
F Caitlin Colfer – 24
GK Lauren Robertson – 23
B Amy Graeff – 14
F Ali Schwach* – 9
F Courtney Jenkins – 7
B Lauren Hallauer – 7
F Alex Burzynski – 6
B Lauren Steuer – 6
B Lauren Beachy – 3
M Emily Esbrook – 2
F Kate Linehan – 2
*Injured
ROBERTSON NAMED BIG TEN’S BEST; SOCCER BUZZ ELITE TEAM MEMBER
Three shutout victories, 13 saves made plus an assist netted sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Robertson the Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week award Sept. 10 and also a spot on Soccer Buzz Magazine’s Elite Team of the Week. The Buckeyes defeated Wright State, Pepperdine and San Diego. Robertson’s week included a sterling, seven-save performance in Ohio State’s win over 24th-ranked San Diego.
ARBULU NAMED TO ELITE TEAM OF THE WEEK
Carla Arbulu was named to Soccer Buzz Magazine’s first Elite Team of the Week for 2007 (Sept. 3). The forward/defender from Grover Beach, Calif., recorded five points in OSU wins over Butler and St. Louis. Arbulu notched two assists in the season-opening win over Butler and then tallied a goal and an assist on Lara Dickenmann’s game winner in the second overtime in the 3-2, victory over St. Louis.
ASHLEY BOWYER HAS POINTS IN FOUR GAMES
Ashley Bowyer has scored points in four out of the first seven games and is second on the team with six points off two goals and two assists. Bowyer, a sophomore who played three games in March with the U.S. U-20 team, made the Big Ten’s all-freshman team last year.
CAREER STATISTICS AND NOTES
With players all over the record books statistically and climbing higher, here is a look at the OSU record pages and where current players rank:
- Lara Dickenmann has 80 career points, third-best at Ohio State. Lisa Grubb (95 from 2001-06) and Lisa Suttmiller (83 from 1994-97) are one-two.
- Junior Lisa Collison is tied for 8th-place with 55 career points.
- Carla Arbulu has moved into a tie for 8th-place at Ohio State with 13 career assists. She has assisted on three game-winning goals over the past two seasons.
- Dickenmann is 5th with 26 career goals. Collison is tied for 6th with 25.
- Lauren Robertson needs two more shutouts to move into a tie for 5th for season shutouts. She currently has four.
DICKENMANN NAMED TO HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
Senior tri-captain Lara Dickenmann has been named to the preseason watch list for the Hermann Trophy, the most prestigious individual award in intercollegiate soccer. Dickenmann also has been named to MajorLeagueSoccer Magazine’s preseason All-America team. MLS is a new soccer publication that debuted in July.
FRESHMEN HAVE SCORED 18 POINTS
Ohio State’s freshmen class, judged No. 1 in the Big Ten and No. 13 nationally by Soccer Buzz Magazine, has made an immediate impact on the success of the team. Through seven games eight freshmen have combined to score 18 of the team’s 43 points. A few more fun frosh facts:
- Courtney Jenkins and Alex Burzynski have taken 17 shots apiece and trail only Lara Dickenmann (23) in that category.
- Jenkins and Genna Brand each scored and Lauren Beachy added an assist giving the frosh a total of five points in the win over Wright State.
- In an exciting five-goal game against St. Louis that featured five lead changes and/or ties, Burzynski tied the score at 2-all off assists from freshman Emily Esbrook and sophomore Ashley Bowyer.
- And in the 3-0 win over Butler, a freshmen trio combined to give the Buckeyes a 2-0 edge as Genna Brand scored off the post with assists from Esbrook and Ali Whitehurst.
- Later in the Butler game, Jenkins, took a feed from Carla Arbulu and blasted a shot from 15-yards out to close the scoring.
COLLISON, DICKENMANN AND BOWYER ARE NATIONAL TEAM MEMBERS
Lisa Collison was a member Team Canada’s U-20 national team and Lara Dickenmann is a member of the Swiss National Team. The two international stars tied for the OSU team lead last year with 23 points apiece. In addition, Ashley Bowyer has played three games with the U.S. U-20 squad.
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.
BUCKS HOST BIG TEN’S PRESEASON TOP 3
Ohio State will host all three teams that are ranked ahead of it in the Big Ten preseason poll. Illinois comes to Columbus 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.
OSU: 36-7-5 AT JESSE OWENS LAST FOUR YEARS
This is the ninth season that Ohio State has played its home soccer games in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes are 55-22-7 all-time at Jesse Owens and in the last four seasons they are an impressive 36-7-5 at home (.795).
OHIO STATE PROGRAM HISTORY
Ohio State has had a women’s soccer program since 1993, making this season the 15th in school history. The program’s all-time record is 151-121-18.
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