Women’s Soccer: Team Selects 2008 Captains – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
COLUMBUS, Ohio Senior Amy Graeff and junior Ashley Bowyer have been selected by their teammates to captain the 2008 soccer team with third-year sophomore Cassie Dickerson selected as an assistant captain.
Graeff, a defender from Westerville, Ohio, has played in 35 games for the Buckeyes with 14 starts. She is a three time OSU Scholar-Athlete majoring in social and behavioral sciences and has also been honored as an academic all-Big Ten Conference performer.
“Amy has probably grown the most of any player that I have coached… she is the model for the rest of the team as far as commitment and improvement if you put forth the time and effort,” Lori Walker, Ohio State head coach, said.
Being a senior captain has been something that Graeff has aspired to since first becoming a part of the Ohio State soccer team.
“This is such an honor,” Graeff said after a recent practice. “I have wanted to be a captain since my freshman year. I have told Coach Walker each year that I want to be a captain and each year she would ask me what am I doing to become a leader. Now, it is just a tremendous honor to know that you have the following and support of the team.”
Bowyer, a midfielder from Aliso Viejo, Calif., has played in and started all 44 games during her career. She has participated the past two springs at the U.S. Under-20 National Team camp. She is coming off a sophomore season in which she recorded 10 points, including scoring three goals, and ranked second on the team with four assists. She scored points in seven games last season and the Buckeyes were 7-0-0 in those contests.
“Ashley’s willingness to give instruction and hold people to high standards are some of her key qualities as a leader,” Walker said. “She has the rare ability to get people to do what they don’t want to do or didn’t realize they needed to do.”
Bowyer is an OSU Scholar-Athlete and is majoring in physical therapy.
Dickerson, a defender from Kalamazoo, Mich., had never officially played a minute during her Ohio State career until the season-opening games last weekend. Injuries have ended each of her two fall seasons, resulting in her being red-shirted for the 2006 season and missing all of 2007 (with an appeal to get this year back expected once she exhausts her eligibility).
Regardless of her lack of fall playing time, Walker regards Dickerson as a key player along the back line.
“When Cassie is on the field there is a calmness that she brings to everyone around her,” Walker said. “She is a fierce competitor but she also has the best balance of fun on our team.”
A two-time OSU Scholar-Athlete, Dickerson is in the College of Agriculture and plans to attend veterinary school after graduation.
The decision on the team’s captains this year included input from the 12 true freshmen who are on the team. Typically the team has chosen captains in the spring, prior to the arrival of the freshmen.
“I’m not sure if the freshmen voted, but I know that Coach got a vibe from them,” Graeff said. “They are a huge part of this team.”
###OhioStateBuckeyes.com###
