Buckeyes Prepare for College Cup Semifinal – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
CARY, N.C. – The No. 17 Ohio State women’s soccer team continued its preparation Thursday for the Buckeyes first College Cup matchup in program history. The Buckeyes, 17-4-2 on the season, take on No. 7 Notre Dame at 4 p.m. Friday at WakeMed Soccer Park.
The Buckeyes had an early wake-up call this morning and, after a light breakfast, headed to WakeMed Soccer Park for a practice at 9 a.m. After training, the team had an opportunity to take a short walk-through on the field they will be playing on Friday afternoon. The field was in immaculate condition and the Buckeyes were even able to see “Ohio State” sprayed in white paint on the southeast corner of the pitch.
After the walk-through, Lauren Beachy, Danielle Scoliere and Lauren Steuer joined head coach Lori Walker for a 20-minute press conference (video link above) before heading back to the team hotel. Following that, Tiffany Cameron, Cassie Dickerson and Paige Maxwell met with ESPN talent Beth Mowins and Julie Foudy to discuss Friday’s matchup while Walker fulfilled other ESPN obligations. However, before the Buckeyes were able to leave, Cameron shared in a nice rap session with ESPN producers (video link also attached).
The Buckeyes grabbed a quick lunch before heading back to the team hotel for some relaxation and study time with exams coming up next week.
After some time off, the team headed to the College Cup banquet at Carter-Finley Stadium on the campus of N.C. State University. The Buckeyes enjoyed a nice dinner and a nice speech from Dickerson, a senior co-captain before returning to the team hotel.
The match between the Buckeyes and Irish will be televised live on ESPN2 and ESPNU and can be viewed online at ESPN3.com. The winner takes on the winner of the second semifinal between Stanford and Boston College at Noon Sunday.
Check back at OhioStateBuckeyes.com for more updates from the College Cup.
2010 Women’s College Cup
Ohio State Pre-Tournament Press Conference Quotes
Dec. 2, 2010
Ohio State Head Coach Lori Walker
“First I just wanted to say that we are thrilled to be here and representing Ohio State and the Big Ten. This team has come so far since we started playing August 3. We’re excited to be here and represent everybody and surprise some people.”
On how the team evolved into a championship-caliber team
“A lot of what started to happen with this team happened almost a year ago when we finished second in the conference. This senior class set out to make sure we were the most fit we’ve ever been and prepared as we could be to win the Big Ten championship. We have a ton of respect for Penn State. They’ve set the bar for so many years. Taking care of that game early on really made for an exciting run for our team. It was a great run. Big Ten competition is always wide open.”
On the team’s day-to-day philosophy
“There’s nothing easy about any of this. Our motto has been ‘be here now.’ Each moment was special and each win was special. If you look back at this point, if you look at it as a whole, it’s overwhelming, but every day that we were in it we just stayed in that particular moment and talked about what we needed to do against each particular opponent. That breaks it down and it’s manageable.”
Senior Midfielder Lauren Steuer
“We have such a good unity within this team and we work together. We work for each other. Teamwork is huge for us. We’re willing to work for each other and we have each other’s backs.”
On the NCAA Tournament third-round victory at Virginia
“We knew that [game at Virginia] was going to be one of our biggest challenges. What really helped us was that we were prepared going into it. We were prepared even if our back was against the wall, but we were lucky to finish opportunities.”
Junior Defender Danielle Scoliere
“We have a ton of girls from Ohio. Growing up, a lot of players went out of Ohio because Ohio State wasn’t thought of as good enough, so it’s very special to be here. I grew up 20 minutes away so it has special meaning for me growing up an Ohio State fan and being able to represent them here.”
Senior Defender Lauren Beachy
“Being in Ohio, we have so much support. My family can make it to every game, and that just means so much to me. Just coming out here and being able to compete with the ACC and other conferences, it has such a special meaning. We’re going to do what we can and we have nothing to lose.”
