Buckeyes Announce 2017 Schedule
3/30/2017 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
March 30, 2017
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State’s 2017 field hockey schedule will include six home games and five contests against programs that competed in last year’s NCAA Tournament, head coach Jarred Martin announced today. The Buckeyes officially begin to the 2017 slate on August 27 in Bethlehem, Pa. against Lehigh.
“I’m excited about our schedule,” said Martin. “We were looking to test ourselves against some of the best programs in the country and we’ve certainly achieved that. Between the non-conference match-ups and another very competitive Big Ten schedule, we have some great opponents that will ultimately prepare us for postseason play.”
Ohio State will host six games on their home turf at Buckeyes Varsity Field, including four Big Ten matchups. The home schedule commences on Sept. 1 when Louisville comes to Columbus. Ohio State will also host the annual Buckeye Invitational Oct. 6-8 with games against Penn State and California.
In September, the Buckeyes will be on the road for five straight games following their home opener on Sept. 1 versus Louisville. Three of those matchups are against in-state opponents – defending MAC champion Kent State (Sept. 6), Miami (Sept. 8) and Ohio (Sept. 17). Also included in that stretch is a visit to Wake Forest (Sept. 10) and the Big Ten opener against Northwestern (Sept. 15).
The weekend of Sept. 22-24, Ohio State welcomes Michigan and Michigan State to Buckeye Field. The month then closes out with a trip to Davis, Calif. to take on Stanford (Sept. 30) and UC Davis (Oct. 1). After the Buckeye Invitational Oct. 6-8, the regular season closes with four straight conference matchups – at Maryland (Oct. 13), at Rutgers (Oct. 15), home against Indiana (Oct. 20) and at Iowa (Oct. 22).
The Big Ten Tournament takes on a new format this year that includes first and second round games at campus sites Oct. 27-29 followed by the semifinals and finals at Michigan State Nov. 3-5. First and second round NCAA Tournament games will be played at campus sites followed by the Final Four in Louisville, Ky.
Ohio State returns its top six scorers from last season in addition to goalkeeper Liz Tamburro, a three-year starter. Amongst the returnees is All-Big Ten and All-Region selection Maddy Humphrey along with fellow seniors Morgan Kile, Caroline Rath and Carolina Vergroesen.
