10/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The sixth-ranked Ohio State field hockey team heads to Ann Arbor, Mich., this week for two games, taking on No. 12 Michigan (10-5, 4-0 Big Ten) at 3 p.m. Friday and follow with a neutral-site matchup vs. UC Davis at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Buckeyes (11-3, 3-1 Big Ten) have won five straight games, including three against Big Ten opponents.
During the win streak, Ohio State has outscored its opponents, 25-3, in the last five games.
BIG TEN RACE
Ohio State just has two Big Ten games left this regular season with both games on the road at Michigan Friday and at Iowa Oct. 30. The Wolverines are perfect in Big Ten play with a 4-0 record, while the Buckeyes are a game behind with a 3-1 record followed by Northwestern, who is 2-1. With two more Big Ten wins, Ohio State will clinch at least a share of the Big Ten title as the team looks to earn the top seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament, taking place Nov. 4-7 in Evanston, Ill. The top seed in the tournament gets a bye into the semifinals in the seven-team event.
LIVE STATS
Both of Ohio State’s games this weekend have live stats available. Links to live-scoring for each game are posted on the Buckeye field hockey schedule page on OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
BUCKEYES IN A NUTSHELL
Junior co-captain Aisling Coyle leads the Buckeyes with 38 points and 17 goals, while sophomore forward Berta Queralt has 32 points on seven goals and a team-high 18 assists. Senior midfielder Aisling McKeon is third with 25 points and has 17 assists. Senior forward Jena Cacciatore is second on the team in goals with eight and has 17 points overall.
As a team, Ohio State has had a second-half surge in games with 125-41 shot advantage, 76-20 penalty corner advantage and 23-10 goal advantage in the final 35 minutes. Overall, the Buckeyes have a 228-110 margin in shots this season and 125-55 lead in penalty corners.
OFFENSIVE FORCE
Sophomore forward Berta Queralt has started to get use to the double and triple teams opposing defenses has shown her. In the last five games, the All-American has totaled 20 points. Queralt has had three five-point games during the stretch in an 8-0 win vs. Robert Morris Sept. 29 and 5-1 victories over Miami (Ohio) Oct. 7 and then- No. 7 Michigan State Oct. 15.
The native of Barcelona, Spain, had multi-goals vs. Robert Morris and Miami and multi-assists at Indiana Oct. 2 and against the Spartans. Queralt leads the conference in assists (18) and assist per game (1.29) and is third in points (32) and points per game (2.29).
SOPHOMORE SUCCESS
Sophomore Danica Deckard is a main factor for the Buckeyes five-game winning streak. During the stretch, the forward has posted 11 points on five goals and an assist. Against the Spartans Oct. 15, Deckard scored the first two goals of the game after scoring once vs. Miami and twice vs. Robert Morris. Her six goals, one assist and 13 points are all career-highs for the second-year Buckeye.
OHIO STATE AT NO. 6
Ohio State sits at No. 6 in the Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I Poll released Tuesday by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. Six Big Ten programs received votes in the sixth 2010 regular-season standings with Ohio State leading followed by ninth-ranked Michigan State, No. 11 Penn State and No. 12 Michigan.
The ranking is the highest Ohio State has been in the Top 10 since the 2006 season. The Buckeyes finished No. 5 in the country after going 14-5 overall and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State started the year No. 14, climbed steadily in six weeks and has stayed in the Top 10 for the last five weeks.
The Buckeyes are sixth in the nation in RPI, which leads all Big Ten schools.
OHIO STATE RANKED IN NATIONAL CATEGORIES
Three Buckeyes are among the best in the nation in offensive categories (as of Oct. 17) to begin the eighth week of the 2010 regular season. Berta Queralt is third in assists per game (1.29), while Aisling McKeon is fourth (1.21). Aisling Coyle is sixth in the nation in goals per game (1.21) and eighth in points per game (2.71). Junior back Jenn Sciulli is fifth in defensive saves with six.
As a team Ohio State is third in assists per game (3.64), fourth in points per game (10.5), sixth in winning percentage (.786), eighth in penalty corners per game (8.93) and ninth in scoring margin (1.92), goals per game (3.43) and scoring average (3.29).
BIG TEN BEST
Ohio State earned two weekly Big Ten awards this Monday after defeating then-No. 7 Michigan State Oct. 15 and No. 11 Penn State Oct. 17. Berta Queralt was named Offensive Player of the Week, while Jenn Sciulli earned Defensive Player of the Week.
Queralt, a native of Barcelona, Spain, receives her first weekly award of the season and sixth overall weekly award, having won Freshman of the Week five times in 2009. In the two victories, the forward had six points on a goal and four assists. Queralt tallied a game-high five points with a goal and three assists against the Spartans. In the victory over the Nittany Lions, She posted an assist on a penalty corner to help push Ohio State’s lead to 2-0.
Sciulli, a native of Palmyra, Pa., received her second defensive player of the week honor this season after helping lead a Buckeye backfield that allowed just one goal in the two games. Against the Spartans, Sciulli had two defensive saves in the game, bringing her total to a career-high of six on the season, which leads the Big Ten. In the two conference wins, Sciulli was a main factor of the Ohio State defense that limited the Spartans to just eight shots and Nittany Lions to only four shots. In the Buckeyes’ five-game winning streak, the defense has allowed only three goals and limited opponents to 4.8 shots per game.
LAST TIME OUT
The Buckeyes shut out No. 11 Penn State, 3-0, Oct. 17 at Buckeye Varsity Field. The win over the Nittany Lions stretched the team’s winning streak to five in a row, including three against Big Ten opponents.
Aisling Coyle tallied two goals with an assist for five points. The Scottish midfielder upped her team-leading goal total to 17 while also increasing her points to 38 to lead the Buckeyes.
Coyle got the Buckeyes off and running with an unassisted goal just 2 minutes into the game. She worked her way into the circle and flipped a shot into the right corner of the cage past Penn State keeper Ayla Halus. Coyle scored her second goal at 33:20. She fired a shot in goal from the top of the arc with assists by Berta Queralt and Aisling McKeon.
Freshman Paula Pastor-Pitarque added the third goal at 53:04 for the 3-0 final following a cross pass in the circle by Coyle.
NEWS FROM MICHIGAN
Last time out, No. 12 Michigan (10-5, 4-0 Big Ten) defeated Northwestern, 4-3, in overtime Oct. 15 in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines have won three straight, and 10 of their last 11 games. Freshman Rachael Mack is fourth in goals (12) and fifth in points (26) in the latest Big Ten statistics released Oct. 17. Senior Paige Laytos is tied for third with 11 assists, while classmate Alicia Mayer is tied for eighth with seven goals, ninth with 20 points and 10th with six assists. Keeper Haley Jones is tied for second with four shutouts and has a 1.49 goals against average.
OHIO STATE VS. MICHIGAN
The Buckeyes are 22-33-1 all-time vs. the Wolverines. However, Ohio State has been victorious in the last two meetings vs. Michigan.
The Last Five Meetings:
Oct. 17, 2009 – Ohio State 4, Michigan 3
Nov. 6, 2008 – Ohio State 3, Michigan 2
Oct. 5, 2008 – Michigan 3, Ohio State 2
Sept. 28, 2007 – Michigan 3, Ohio State 2 (OT)
Oct. 22, 2006 – Ohio State 3, Michigan 2 (OT)
SCOUTING UC DAVIS
Last time out, UC Davis (5-7, 1-4 NorPac) won its first NorPac victory in program history, defeating the Pacific Tigers, 2-1, in overtime Oct. 16 in its final home game of the 2010 season. The Aggies took two weekly awards in the eighth weekly release. Sophomore forward Nadia Namdari was named the West Division Offensive Player of the Week, while freshman forward Cloey LemMon received Rookie of the Week honors. This is the second season UC Davis has field hockey as a varsity sport.
OHIO STATE VS. THE AGGIES
This will be the first time Ohio State has played UC Davis in program history.
IN THE BIG TEN
Several Buckeyes rank among the top 3 in various Big Ten categories (as of Oct. 18). Aisling Coyle is second in the conference in multiple offensive categories, including points (38), points per game (2.71), goals (17) and goals per game (1.21). Berta Queralt is first in the league in assists and in assists per game with 18 and 1.29, respectively. Queralt is also third in points (32) and points per game (2.29). Aisling McKeon is second in assists (17) and assists per game (1.29).
Defensively, Jenn Sciulli leads the Big Ten in defensive saves with six; four more than those in second.
As a team, Ohio State is first in several statistics, including scoring margin (1.92), scoring average (3.29), goals against average (1.37), goals scored per game (3.43), assists (51), assists per game (3.64) and defensive saves (7). The Buckeyes are second in goals scored (48), goals allowed (20), goals allowed per game (1.43) and penalty corners (125).
GREAT SCOT
Aisling Coyle is having a big year offensively in her third season at Ohio State. After tallying her first-career hat trick against Robert Morris Sept. 29 and a five-point game vs. Penn State Oct. 17, the Buckeye midfielder continues to lead the team in goals (17) and points (38).
Coyle has already set career-highs in goals and points. Her 17 goals are more than the previous two years combined after recording five in 2008 and six in 2009. A native of Glasgow, Scotland, Coyle has scored in 12 of 14 games this season.
A HELPING HAND
Sophomore forward Berta Queralt and senior midfielder Aisling McKeon have played major roles in the Buckeye offense. The two have combined for 35 of Ohio State’s 51 assists while playing key roles on the OSU penalty corner unit. Queralt’s 18 and McKeon’s 17 assists are both career-highs.
DEFENSIVE SHUTDOWN
In the last five games, the Buckeye defense has allowed just three goals. Led by senior Bri Doak and junior Jenn Sciulli, Ohio State’s defense has only allowed 7.86 shots per game this year.
Ohio State denied Ohio a shot in the final 42:22 minutes of the 2-1 (OT) win (Aug. 31) in the season opener. The Buckeyes outshot Kent State, 16-0, Sept. 5 and outshot Robert Morris, 34-0, Sept. 29. On the Big Ten Network, the Scarlet and Gray limited Indiana to just four shots Oct. 2.
Most recently, the Buckeyes limited Michigan State to eight shots Oct. 15 and Penn State to four shots Oct 17 in Columbus.
FRESHMEN SUCCESS
First-year Buckeyes Paula Pastor-Pitarque and Nora Murer have shaken off any rookie jitters. Pastor-Pitarque, a native of Barcelona, Spain, has four goals and five assists, while Murer, a native of Luzern, Switzerland, has a pair of assists.
Against Northwestern Sept. 24, Pastor-Pitarque scored her first-career goal, while Murer posted her first-career assist. The two continued their offensive success vs. Robert Morris as Pastor-Pitarque recorded her first-career three-point game with a goal and an assist, while Murer picked up her second point on an Aisling Coyle goal. Pastor-Pitarque scored her fourth goal of the season in the 3-0 shutout of Penn State Oct. 17. Murer has played all but 12 minutes of the season in the backfield.
FIND US ON FACEBOOK
Become a fan of the official Ohio State University Field Hockey fan page by going to www.facebook.com/OhioStateFieldHockey to follow the Buckeyes on facebook.
UP NEXT
Ohio State will return to Columbus to finish its home schedule against Ball State Oct. 27 at 3 p.m. at Buckeye Varsity Field.
