Rizzo on returning for a fifth season: One More Year
Ohio State CareerÂ
- Earned Ohio State degree in business administration in Spring 2020 and enrolled in graduate school for sport management
- 2021 Second Team All-Midwest Region and Second Team All-Big Ten
- Four-time team captain
- Four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, five-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete
- 2020 and 2021 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar; posted a 4.0 grade-point average in 2021
- Ohio State’s all-time leader in career saves (777); 36 career games with 10 or more saves
- Played in 70 of 71 games in five-year career, starting 69
- Recorded 600th career save against Cincinnati in Spring 2020; only Buckeye with 600+ stops
- 203 career ground balls, ranking second in program history and just the second Buckeye to cross the 200-ground ball mark
- Two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week (2/21/17, 2/12/19)
2021 (Graduate Season)Â
- Second Team All-Midwest Region and Second Team All-B1G honoree
- Received Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for Ohio State
- Team captain
- Started 12 of 13 games
- First in the Big Ten with 9.67 saves per game and a .438 save percentage, ranking third in total saves with 116; 20th nationally in saves per game
- Third on the squad with 21 ground balls
- Posted nine or more saves in nine games
- Led all 2021 active players in career saves (777), ranking second in career saves per game (11.03), tying for second with 203 career ground balls and ranking fifth with 2.90 ground balls per game
- Named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week March 30 after posting 19 saves in a two-game sweep of Penn State, along with four ground balls and a caused turnover
- Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-Big Ten and Ohio State Scholar-Athlete honoree
2020 (Senior Season)Â
- Team captain
- Started all nine games
- Led the Big Ten and was second nationally with 104 saves
- Tied for seventh nationally and second in the B1G in saves per game (11.00)
- Registered 600th career save in a 15-10 win over Cincinnati Feb. 19; became first Buckeye goalie with 600 saves
- Scooped up 28 ground balls to rank first on the team and was second in the Big Ten with 3.11 per game
- First on the team with eight caused turnovers
- Tallied 20 saves against No. 19 UMass March 1
- Earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-Big Ten and Ohio State Scholar-Athlete honors
2019 (Junior Season)Â
- Started all 17 games
- Team captain
- Picked up 55 ground balls
- First in the the Big Ten in saves per game (11), tying for fifth in the NCAA
- Led the Big Ten and tied for 11th in the NCAA in ground balls per game (3.24)
- Finished the season with 187 saves, ranking first in the Big Ten and 10th in the NCAA
- Save percentage (.479) was 19th nationally
- Posted double-digit saves in 12 of 17 games
- Opened the season with a 16-save performance against Cincinnati Feb. 8, marking her season high
- Named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Feb. 12 after 16 saves vs. Cincinnati and six against Detroit Mercy
- Tallied 10 saves in 15-14 overtime win against Brown Feb. 18
- Leadership Council member
- Academic All-Big Ten selection and an Ohio State Scholar-Athlete
2018 (Sophomore Season)
- Started all 15 games
- Led NCAA with 12.47 saves per game
- First in the Big Ten in ground balls (47) and ground balls per game (3.13)
- Finished the season with 187 saves, ranking eighth in the nation and just one behind the Big Ten leader
- Posted a Big Ten-best .503 save percentage, ranking 11th in the NCAA
- Posted double-digit saves in 10 of 15 games
- Made a career-high 23 saves against UMass March 11
- Opened the season with a 17-save performance against No. 10 Navy Feb. 10
- Tallied 16 saves against No. 18 Penn State March 31
- Wrapped up the season with an 18-save performance against No. 25 Johns Hopkins April 20
- Academic All-Big Ten honoree and an Ohio State Scholar-Athlete
 2017 (Freshman Season)
- Appeared in all 17 games, starting 16
- Led the team with 51 ground balls
- Caused eight turnovers
- Recorded 183 saves
- Earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors after posting 11 saves to help seal a win over Cincinnati Feb. 19
- Season-high 14 saves against Harvard March 13
- Had 13 games this year with 10 or more saves
- Named an Ohio State Scholar-Athlete
Prior to Ohio State
- Six-year starter and three-year captain for the Queensbury High School Spartans
- Six-time scholar-athlete award winner
- Named team MVP as a senior
- Named the 2015 and ’16 Queensbury Female Athlete of the Year
- Recorded 17 saves to carry team to the sectional final game
- Played six years for ADK club lacrosse, earning all-star honors in 2014
- Lettered six years on the field hockey team and earned first team all-state honors in 2015, along with four first team all-section accolades
- National Honors Society member
Personal
- Daughter of Bob and Jeanne
- Older sister Elizabeth played ice hockey at Ohio State; Older brother James played football and ice hockey at the The United States Coast Guard Academy and younger brother Andrew is currently on the football and ice hockey teams at the The United States Coast Guard Academy
- Earned bachelor’s degree in business administration in Spring 2020
- Enrolled in graduate school for sport management
- Plans to be a collegiate coach
- Enjoys hiking, skiing, biking and hanging on the beach with her family
- Got into lacrosse when she had to stop playing baseball and followed her sister into the game
