Then-junior midfielder Ellyn Gruber dribbles the ball in a game against Eastern Michigan Aug. 25, 2013. OSU won in overtime, 2-1.
Credit: Lantern file photo
After a loss on Tuesday, the Ohio State women’s soccer team is looking to regain its momentum with a pair of home games this weekend.
OSU is scheduled to host the Dayton Flyers and George Mason Patriots as a part of the Ohio State Tournament. The Buckeyes are set to play Dayton at 7 p.m. on Friday before taking on George Mason at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
OSU is currently 1-3-0 for the season after the team’s most recent contest resulted in a loss in double overtime against the Toledo Rockets on Sept. 2. The loss marked the third straight for the Buckeyes after falling to then-No. 4 North Carolina and then-No.4 Virginia Tech.
“It’s been tough because we started off so strong and now I think we fell off a little bit, but I think that’s also been good for us to push ourselves in training this week,” junior midfielder Michela Paradiso said. “I think that will be good for us to know that we have a long way to go and we can get there together.”
Although OSU has struggled so far this season with creating a rhythm on offense, coach Lori Walker said her expectations for the team are to remain aggressive.
“There have been snippets where we’ve attacked extremely well and other snippets where we’ve attacked poorly. Our objective is every game you’ve got to be playing more and more of those segments together,” Walker said. “That’s what we’re really looking to improve. To minimize our mistakes, increase the speed at which we play and increase our ability to be dangerous in the end.”
With three of the past four games being away, senior midfielder Ellyn Gruber said the team is looking forward to playing in front of their home crowd.
“It’s a lot more fun playing in front of all the fans and our family and playing against an in-state rival,” Gruber said. “(Dayton’s) fans should be at the game I’m sure, so it’ll be good.”
After the tournament, OSU is scheduled to kickoff Big Ten play against Indiana Sept. 12 in Bloomington, Ind.
