Ohio State Opens NCAA Tournament Play at No. 23 Tennessee Saturday

Buckeyes in NCAAs for fourth time in five seasons

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State women’s soccer team (10-8-2) travels to fourth-seeded Tennessee (15-6) for an opening round NCAA match Saturday, Nov. 12. Game time for the match, to be played at Regal Soccer Stadium in Knoxville, is 2 p.m. ET. The winner will face the winner of the Illinois State-Milwaukee match.

 

Tennessee is ranked No. 23 this week after advancing to the SEC tournament semifinals. Ohio State tied Illinois 1-1 in an opening round match at the Big Ten Tournament last Wednesday, but lost to the Illini, the eventual tournament champions, 4-2 in penalty kicks.

 

Ticket prices will be $7 for adults, $3 for UT and Ohio State students (must show your valid student ID at the ticket office during normal business hours or on game day) and $1 for children aged five and under.  The Tennessee ticket office is open Monday-Friday from 8:30am-5:00pm, can be reached by phone at 1-800-332-VOLS (8657) or fans can order online 24 hours a day/seven days a week at UTTix.com.

 

IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

In 19 seasons of women’s soccer, this marks the seventh time overall and fourth time in the past five seasons the Buckeyes have reached NCAAs. Ohio State is 7-6-1 all-time in NCAA play, all under the direction of Coach Lori Walker, and advanced to last season’s College Cup.

 

The Buckeyes have faced six teams in this year’s NCAA field: Dayton, Illinois, North Carolina, Penn State, Radford and West Virginia.

 

Ohio State has only met the Lady Vols one time previously on the pitch, a 1-0 Buckeye win in the 2004 NCAA tournament in a match that was played in Columbus.

 

ALL-BIG TEN

Three members of the Ohio State women’s soccer team garnered 2011 Big Ten postseason awards. Danielle Scoliere was named a first team All-Big Ten defender while Danica Wu earned second team All-Big Ten honors as a midfielder. Liz Sullivan was Ohio State’s Big Ten sportsmanship award honoree.

 

IN THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT

Ohio State made its 14th Big Ten tournament appearance; the Buckeyes are 8-11-4 all-time in that postseason event.  OSU senior defender Danielle Scoliere, a first team all-Big Ten selection, was named to the 2011 Big Ten Tournament all-tournament team for her outstanding defensive play in the Buckeyes’ 1-1 opening-round tie with eventual champion Illinois. The Buckeyes lost to the Illini on penalty kicks, 4-2, after two scoreless overtimes on Wednesday. Illinois defeated Penn State 2-1 in overtime to capture the Big Ten’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.


THE SENIOR CLASS

Members of the 2011 Buckeye senior class are Katie Baumgardner, Colleen Brady, Lauren Cusick, Caitlyn Martin, Paige Maxwell, Taylor Moront, Danielle Scoliere, Liz Sullivan and Brooke Taylor.

 

The 2011 senior class is trying to make its mark as the winningest four-year group in Buckeye history. The current seniors have 49 career wins since the beginning of the 2008 campaign. The senior classes with the most career victories in Ohio State history:

 

51 wins: 2010

49 wins: 2006, 2011

48 wins: 1999, 2007

 

200 BUCKEYE WINS

With the 2-1 win over Illinois, Ohio State posted its 200th win in program history. Since women’s soccer became a varsity sport in 1993, Ohio State has an overall record of 204-156-29. Some of the previous milestone wins in Buckeye history:

 

1st          1-0 vs. Dayton (1993)

25th       4-1 vs. St. John’s (1996)

50th       4-0 vs. Purdue (1998)

100th     3-1 vs. Coastal Carolina (2003)

150th     2-1 in 2OT vs. Illinois (2007)

200th     2-1 vs. Illinois (2011)

 

IN OVERTIME

Ohio State is 1-0-2 in overtime contests this season. The 1-0 double-overtime win over Ohio University was Ohio State’s first overtime decision of the 2011 campaign; the Buckeyes played to a 1-1 draw at Minnesota, and also tied Illinois 1-1 in the Big Ten Tournament before the Illini advanced on penalty kicks (4-2).  All-time, Ohio State is 25-16-26 in overtime games, and 7-3-19 in double overtime contests.

 

IN NOVEMBER

The Buckeyes are 19-24-5 all-time in matches played in November; under Lori Walker, they are 18-18-5 in November. At home, Ohio State is 10-7-1 during that month (10-6-1 under Walker). The Buckeyes are 9-17-4 away from Columbus all-time (8-12-4 under Walker).

 

THE COACHING STAFF

Ohio State is under the direction of 15th-year head coach Lori Walker. She has guided the team to seven NCAA tournament berths (2002-03-04-07-09-10-11) as well as two Big Ten tournament championships (2002 and 2004). Her record at Ohio State is now 168-119-26 and her career record, including two seasons at Kansas, is 181-142-27.

 

Greg Miller is in his fourth season as associate head coach and 11th overall with the Buckeyes. The 2011 season marks the fourth campaign for assistant coach Glen Tourville; former team manager Spencer Bownas serves as a volunteer coach this season.

 

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA

Two members of the Ohio State women’s soccer squad have been selected to the Capital One/CoSIDA academic all-district teams for District 5. Named to the all-district academic third team were goalkeeper Katie Baumgardner and defender Liz Sullivan. Baumgardner, a senior from Sterling, Va., holds a 3.41 grade-point average in sport and leisure studies. Sullivan, a senior co-captain from Powell, Ohio, is a 3.96 student in psychology.

 

A “NEW” HOME FIELD

Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium is sporting a new playing surface this season. Now a 100% Kentucky Bluegrass surface, the sod from the Tuckahoe Sod Farm was put down in July after work to the drainage, sprinkler and conduit systems underneath. Some more “stats” about the home of the Buckeyes:

 

- The home team is 90-37-11 all-time.

- Ohio State is 71-20-9 since 2003 and 46-15-5 since 2006.

- The Buckeyes went 9-2-0 at home in 2009; 9-2-2 in 2010; 7-4 in 2011.

 

BAUMGARDNER PLAYER OF WEEK

Goalkeeper Katie Baumgardner earned OSU’s first Big Ten player of the week honors, being selected as defensive player of the week for her work against Illinois and Northwestern. The senior tallied nine saves while allowing just one goal over the weekend, recording a season-high seven saves in win over the Illini.

 

MAXWELL ON MAC HERMANN LIST

Forward Paige Maxwell has been named to the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy watch list. The senior from Medina, Ohio, is the reigning Offensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten after leading the Buckeyes and tying for second in the conference with 10 goals, including five game-winners, while adding a pair of assists. The 2010 NSCAA third team All-American has led the team in goals in each of her three seasons and ranks seventh in program history with 24 career goals.

It marks the third time in program history that a Buckeye was named to the Hermann Trophy watch list after Lara Dickenmann was selected in 2007 and Cassie Dickerson was chosen in 2010. The award is considered the highest individual honor in collegiate soccer.

 

CANADIAN CONNECTION

Ohio State has received more than 50% of its offense (13 of 25 goals) this season from North of the Border. Canadians Tiffany Cameron (6 goals), Lauren Granberg (3), Kiiri Kuld (2) and Danica Wu (2) have led the charge on the net, as well as contributing seven assists.

 

CLIMBING CAREER RANKINGS

Senior Paige Maxwell has moved to seventh place on the Ohio State all-time list in career points (66), and is now sixth in career goals scored (27). She ranks eighth in career shots (190) and 14th in career assists (12). Junior Tiffany Cameron is now 12th in career goals (17) and 13th in career points scored (43). Junior Lauren Granberg ranks 14th in career goals (13), 16th in career points (32) and 12th in career shots (138).