Game ending of Carmen Ohio by the entire Ohio State women’s soccer team after the game against Ohio University. Ohio State won 3-1. Credit: John Huether | For The Lantern
Coming off a victory against Wisconsin, Ohio State will travel to Maryland to take on the Terrapins at Ludwig Field in its first road game of the season Thursday.
The Buckeyes (1-0-1) enter their contest with Maryland (0-2-1) after taking down the Badgers 3-1 thanks to a hat trick by sophomore forward Emma Sears, who was named the co-Offensive Player of the Week by the Big Ten.
“My speed and running in the backline makes me a little more dangerous and makes our opponents really have to shift their mindset and figure out how to stop me with the ball,” Sears said.
Maryland will be searching for its first win after losses against Northwestern and Purdue. The Terrapins have totaled three goals this season, including a score in the last minute by senior forward Mikayla Dayes to tie the game against Michigan State in their season opener Feb. 20.
“Maryland is an athletic group, but we are right now — we’re more focused on ourselves, trying to get 1 percent better each day,” senior goalkeeper Bailey Kolinski said. “We know that they’re going to come out fighting big time, we know they have two fast forwards that are gonna come up and challenge our backline so we’re just going to be ready for that.”
Thursday’s matchup will be the first game of the 2020 season in which Ohio State will play outside. In the fall, the team typically plays at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium but has taken up residence at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center this season due to it being moved to the spring.
Leading up to their first game outdoors, Kolinski said the team practiced outside this week to help adjust.
“For me specifically, looking at balls in the air is going to be different than being inside so that’s the factor — wind, weather, all those things we take for granted being in the Woody,” Kolinski said.
The Buckeyes get two important players on their roster back against the Terrapins in senior defender Izzy Rodriguez and junior forward Kayla Fischer, who received a red card against Michigan.
As Fischer makes her return to the lineup, she is reunited with Sears in the Ohio State offensive attack. The duo combined for 15 shots against Michigan in the season opener.
Sears said having Fischer back will keep opposing defenses on their toes.
“I’m super excited for these games this weekend because we’re starting to be a dynamic duo up top,” Sears said. “In addition to her speed and my speed, I think that our opponents will have a difficult time dealing with the two of us.”
The Buckeyes and Terrapins kick off at 3 p.m. on BTN+.
