The No. 19 Ohio State women's soccer team will host Big Ten rival Northwestern Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. today and the No. 11 Fighting Illini of Illinois at noon on Sunday. Both games will be held at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, where the Buckeyes are undefeated this year with a record of 4-0-1 and have outscored their opponents 18-3.
"It's always easier to play at home," head coach Lori Walker said. "There are less distractions, an easier routine, and the fan support has been phenomenal. It's been very beneficial to us."
OSU (6-2-3 overall, 2-0-3 Big Ten) maintains its record nine-game unbeaten streak after beating Michigan State 2-1 in overtime on Friday and tied Michigan 1-1 in double overtime on Sunday. The Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 19-3 during the unbeaten stretch while the defense has recorded four shutouts.
The Buckeyes are led by junior midfielder Danielle Dietrich. Dietrich leads the team with five goals scored and is tied with freshman forward Carleta Arbulu with four assists apiece. The goalkeeping duties are held by senior Emily Haynam. Haynam leads the OSU goalkeepers with 24 saves.
Northwestern enters Columbus with a record of 7-4-1 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten, and has an unbeaten streak of their own, at four games. The Wildcats are coming off of an impressive weekend with victories over Iowa and Minnesota, outscoring their opponents 9-1.
The Wildcats have not been as impressive on the road this year, though. Having played four away games, they have a record of 1-3 and have been outscored 9-8.
"We have taken note of what they (Northwestern) have done over the weekend, having scored nine goals. Also, after seeing them upset us in football, we are definitely not looking past them," Walker said.
Kelsey Hans is the leading scorer for Northwestern this year. The freshman forward leads the team with 10 goals and has two assists. She is accompanied by teammate Shannon Schneeman, a sophomore midfielder, who has five goals and four assists. Northwestern's goalkeeper is sophomore Whitney Jones who is 7-3-1 on the season with 38 saves and two shutouts.
The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a 1-1 tie in overtime last year in Evanston, Ill. The lone Buckeye goal was scored by senior Heather Miller, who is tied for second on the team with four goals this season.
OSU leads the all-time series against Northwestern 6-3-1 and is 5-0 at home against the Wildcats.
Illinois comes in to town with a record of 10-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten. The Illini are riding a three game winning streak after posting wins over Iowa and Minnesota.
The Fighting Illini's only two loses of the season have come on the road; they are 5-2 while playing away from home. They have outscored their opponents 12-3 while on the road and 25-6 overall.
"They (Illinois) are very similar to us. Their style and type of play are a mirror image of ours. It will all come down to the individual personalities of the players to determine who will win," Walker said.
Illinois is led by senior forward Tara Hurless, who has seven goals and five assists during this campaign. Hurless will be accompanied by sophomore forward Jessica Bayne, who also has seven goals and two assists. The Illinois goalkeeper is senior Leisha Alcia, who is 10-2, with six shutouts and 45 saves.
OSU was shutout by Illinois 2-0 in Champaign last year. Illinois holds a 4-3 lead on the all-time series and has a 2-1 record when playing in Columbus.
As good as the fan support has been this year, the team is still hoping that their aggressive and exciting style of play will turn out more fans and students.
"We've been working on our attack for weeks now, and things are starting to click. We want this to be fun and exciting, and for students to see that watching us can be a great couple of hours on a Friday night," Walker said.
Be the first to comment on this article!