Buckeyes Picked Fourth in Big Ten Preseason Poll
8/19/2019 2:00:21 PM | Women's Soccer
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s soccer team has been selected fourth in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the conference office announced Monday. In addition, Alyssa Baumbick, Izzy Rodriguez and Jordan Silkowitz have been named the Buckeyes’ players to watch.
Penn State was selected first in the poll, followed by Rutgers, Wisconsin, the Buckeyes and Michigan in the Top 5.
Baumbick, a redshirt junior, has appeared in 34 career contests for the Buckeyes after transferring from Florida prior to her redshirt freshman season. The Avon Lake, Ohio, native appeared in 15 matches off the bench, scoring a goal against Buffalo, in her first season as a Buckeye before scoring two goals and playing the full match 17 times while starting all 19 matches in the midfield as a sophomore. Baumbick, a two-time OSU Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big Ten pick in 2018, was the Buckeyes’ Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree a season ago.
Rodriguez, a junior from Canton, Mich., tied for the team lead with four goals and tied for third on the team with two assists a season ago. The defender who was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list earlier this month, scored four goals in conference play to tie for fifth in the Big Ten, while playing the full match 17 times, including a season-high 110 minutes vs. Nebraska, Rutgers and Maryland and in the Big Ten quarterfinal vs. Nebraska. Rodriguez has played in 40 matches, including 39 starts over her first two seasons, picking up first team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore and third team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman team laurels in her opening season. A 2018 United Soccer Coaches first team All-North Region selection and 2017 TopDrawerSoccer.com second team Freshman All-American, Rodriguez has earned Big Ten weekly honors three times in her career.
Silkowitz, a redshirt freshman, did not see any game action a year ago behind Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Devon Kerr. An OSU Scholar-Athlete as a freshman, Silkowitz was a four-year letterwinner at W.T. Woodson High School, earning first team all-conference and second team all-state honors as a senior.
