Seven Buckeyes Earn All-Big Ten Accolades
10/27/2022 12:04:04 PM | Women's Soccer
Complete 2022 All-Big Ten Team
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Seven members of the Ohio State women’s soccer team have been named to the All-Big Ten Team as voted on by the conference’s head coaches. Captains Talani Barnett and Kayla Fischer headline the group as they earn first team accolades. Emma Sears was named to the second team and Kine Flotre took home third team honors. Mirann Gacioch, Molly Pritchard and Brooke Otto were all named to the All-Freshman Team.
Fischer is now a three-time All-Big Ten honoree as she earned first team honors in 2020 and third team honors last season after being on the All-Freshman Team in 2018. The Kent, Ohio native is in the Top 10 in the conference in goals and points this season. She has a career-high eight goals, and her 18 points are second-most on the team. She had a career-long streak of five consecutive games with a goal, which included the first hat trick of her career against Illinois. Fischer is now eighth in program history with 28 career goals, and she is tied for second in career shot attempts with 294.
For Barnett, this is her second All-Big Ten honor. She was a third-team honoree in 2020 in addition to her All-Freshman Team accolades in 2018. The Bay Shore, N.Y. native has played like one of the top players in the country this season. She has been named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week twice this year, becoming the first Buckeye to earn the award multiple times in the same year since 2009. She has been the anchor of the Buckeye defense, playing all 90 minutes in all but two matches this season. The Buckeyes have eight shutouts this season which is the most since the team had nine in the 2018 season.
Sears has had a career season. She has a team-high eight goals, five assists and 21 points. All three totals are also career highs. Sears garners her second All-Big Ten accolade as she also collected second team honors in 2020. She has had a pair of matches this season in which she has scored two goals and had an assist for a five-point night. Sears was key in the Buckeyes’ seven-match unbeaten streak during Big Ten play as she had 11 points in a four-match span.
Flotre earns her first All-Big Ten honor. She was also on the All-Freshman Team in 2020 when she had three goals and an assist. This season, the Norway native has played in every match and has two goals and a team-high tying five assists out of the midfield. She dished out three assists in the win at Indiana on Sept. 29, tying the school’s single-game record.
Gacioch, Pritchard and Otto have all made a significant impact in their first seasons. Pritchard has played in all but one match, including starting each of the last four. She has been a part all eight shutouts on the year and has made 47 saves. Gacioch and Otto have each appeared in 13 games and has played a key role on the Buckeye’s back line. They have combined for 20 starts and each has started the last six matches down the stretch of the regular season. This is the third year in which three Buckeye freshmen have been on the B1G All-Freshman Team, joining the 2018 and 2010 teams.
Two-time captain Emaly Vatne is the team’s Sportsmanship Award Honoree. Vatne has appeared in 14 of the 17 matches, including one start on senior day against Kent State. Vatne led the offseason workouts this past summer and has been part of the heart and soul of the program over the last five seasons. She has played in 76 matches and has four career goals.
The Buckeyes tied for fourth during conference play this season with a 5-3-2 mark and holds a 10-4-3 overall record. Ohio State is currently No. 21 in the RPI and will open the Big Ten Conference Tournament this Sunday at Nebraska.
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