The six seniors on the women's soccer team know what winning a Big Ten tournament tastes like. In their five years playing at Ohio State, they have won the title twice, in 2002 and 2004. This year will be their last chance to taste victory before they graduate.
"Going down there we know we need to win this tournament. Anything less then winning, we fail," said Lisa Grubb. Grubb, a sixth-year veteran of the team and holds the school record in points (95), assists (25) and goals (35).
Grubb, along with Melissa Miller, Emily Francis, Michelle Markus, Taylor Smith and Shannon Neely, will lead the team into the Big Ten tournament this weekend. Their first game will be against Purdue at 10:30 a.m. today in University Park, Pa. These seniors have been using their experience to prepare the younger players on the team.
"Going into the Big Ten tournament with experience is a great thing to have. We are able to prepare the younger players by telling them that this is not going to be easy but we can do it," Grubb said.
In order to bring the title home, the team will have to play three games in four days. That is 270 minutes of sprinting, slide tackling, kicking and heading a ball. Their plan for winning the physical battle is going mental.
"Your body can do whatever your brain tells it to," Grubb said.
Going mental means remaining focused. So far this season, the team's focus, or lack thereof, has opened up their goal box to opponents, and they have fallen four shutouts short of their preseason goal of 10.
"In the last five minutes of each half we can't give up silly goals and we have done that this year. So we have identified that as a period of time when we have to raise our intensity and focus," coach Lori Walker said.
This team's intensity has been high on the offensive side of the field. Forward Lisa Collison leads the Big Ten in goals with 11. Midfielder Lara Dickenmann is first in the league with nine assists and has 72 shots to her name this season.
"When Grubb, Collison and Dickenmann are interchanging and inter-passing it is very difficult to stop our attack," Walker said. "Our motion continues to rip apart defenses."
The Buckeyes' threatening offense pitted against the Boilermaker's pride and joy of their team, their defense, presents the game as anyone's for the taking, Grubb said.
Walker said she believes the team who wins the ball in the midfield will be the team that advances. If the Buckeyes can be that team throughout this tournament, they will have the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
"I think it is going to be a heck of a match," Walker said.
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