Ohio State Opens 2019 Season against Louisville Thursday Night, Hosts Missouri Sunday Afternoon
8/21/2019 1:49:30 AM | Women's Soccer
RELATED INFO: Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram | 2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | Weekly Release | Coach Walker-Hock, Alyssa Baumbick, Marissa Birzon Preview
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s soccer team will begin its 2019 campaign with a pair of matches this week at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes will take on Louisville at 7 p.m. Thursday before welcoming Missouri at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Fans can follow live stats and streaming video on the schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com or follow on Twitter @OhioStateWSOC.
A LOOK AT 2019
The Buckeyes, led by three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year Lori Walker-Hock, return six starters and 13 letterwinners from a 2018 team that finished third in the Big Ten, tallying a 9-6-4 overall record on its way to the program’s ninth NCAA Tournament in the last 10 seasons.
Ohio State welcomes back players who accounted for 91 percent of the goals scored in 2018 but will Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Devon Kerr and second team All-Big Ten midfielder Sarah Roberts. First team All-Big Ten and United Soccer Coaches first team All-North Region selection Izzy Rodriguez is back along with 2018 Big Ten All-Freshman team picks Talani Barnett, Kayla Fischer and Emaly Vatne. The Buckeyes six returning starters have combined for 124 career starts and Ohio State will welcome back redshirt junior forward Meghan Kammerdeiner, a veteran of 38 career matches, including 18 starts, after an injury in the 2018 opener at Duke sidelined her for the remainder of the season.
BUCKEYES FOURTH IN B1G PRESEASON POLL
Ohio State was selected fourth in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the conference office announced Aug. 19. In addition, Alyssa Baumbick, Izzy Rodriguez and Jordan Silkowitz were 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.
RODRIGUEZ NAMED TO MAC HERMANN LIST
Junior Izzy Rodriguez was named to the 2019 MAC Hermann Trophy watch list, United Soccer Coaches announced Aug. 1. Rodriguez becomes the fourth Buckeye, and the first since Paige Maxwell in 2011, to be named to the watch list for the award given to the Division I collegiate player of the year.
Over her first two seasons, Rodriguez has played in 40 matches, including 39 starts, 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.
SCOUTING LOUISVILLE
Louisville finished the 2018 season with a 12-7-0 record, including a 6-4-0 mark in ACC play, on its way to an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cardinals return 10 starters from a year ago, including their five leading scorers.
Ohio State holds a 7-1-0 lead in the all-time series with Louisville, picking up a 2-1 overtime victory in the last meeting in 2008.
SCOUTING MISSOURI
Missouri posted a 6-11-2 record in 2018, going 3-7-0 in the SEC. All-SEC pick Sarah Luebbert returns after ranking second on the team with four goals to go along with a team-best three assists a season ago.
Ohio State trails the all-time series with the Tigers, 2-1-0, after a 1-0 defeat in 2011.
THE COACHING STAFF
Ohio State is under the direction of 23rd-year head coach Lori Walker-Hock. The three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year has guided the team to 13 NCAA Tournament berths (2002-03-04-07-09-10-11-12-13-15-16-178), two Big Ten regular season championship (2010, 2017) and three Big Ten Tournament championships (2002, 2004, 2012). Her record at Ohio State is 250-166-41 and her career record, including two seasons at Kansas, is 263-189-45.
Assistant coaches Brian Jankowski and Michael Needham are each in their third season on Walker-Hock’s staff.
JESSE OWENS MEMORIAL STADIUM
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, the home to the Buckeyes, has provided quite the home-field advantage for the women’s soccer team. Some stats about the facility:
– The home team is 135-53-23 all-time.
– Ohio State is 116-36-21 since 2003 and 70-24-13 since 2009.
UP NEXT
Ohio State travels to Florida to take on UCF at 6 p.m. Wednesday and USF at 6 p.m. Sunday.
