Women’s Soccer: Ohio State looks to keep momentum in difficult week

Ohio State senior forward Kayla Fischer (2) fights for the ball during the Ohio State-TCU game Sept. 12. Ohio State lost 1-4. Credit: Christian Harsa | Special Projects Director

After splitting a pair of games to improve to 2-1 in Big Ten play, Ohio State will head into this week’s matchups with Indiana and Rutgers.

While the Buckeyes continue through Big Ten play against two talented teams in Indiana (8-2-1) and No. 9 Rutgers (7-2), head coach Lori Walker-Hock said she wants the team to push forward and recognize the importance of these two games following last week’s Big Ten matches, including a 4-2 home loss to Minnesota Thursday.

“What happened last Thursday was out of character,” Walker-Hock said. “You’re going to have those games.” 

Both Indiana and Rutgers are top five in the Big Ten in all statistical categories and offer a tough matchup for the Buckeyes.

However, Ohio State is also in the top five in the Big Ten, proving that this week’s matches offer some high stakes for Big Ten standings as the season rolls on.

Indiana comes to town Thursday and is currently 2-1 in conference play with its only loss coming against Michigan State by a score of 1-0.

The leading scorer for the Hoosiers is junior midfielder Paige Webber, who currently has five goals this year.

The head coach of the Hoosiers is Erwin Van Bennekom, who is in his third year with the program and holds a record of 22-16-4 since taking over at Indiana.

Rutgers comes to town Sunday while boasting the best record in the Big Ten.

Senior forward Frankie Tagliaferri leads the Scarlet Knights and has a conference-best eight goals on the year.

Rutgers is led by head coach Mike O’Neill, who’s in his eighth season with the Scarlet Knights.

Senior defender Izzy Rodriguez, who scored the game-winning goal against Penn State Sunday, said the Buckeyes need to keep their momentum going forward. 

“Penn State was a big win, but we need to put that behind us and try and get better every game,” Rodriguez said.

Thursday’s matchup with Indiana starts at 7 p.m. at Jesse Owens Memorial Field and Sunday’s matchup against Rutgers takes place at noon at the same venue, both broadcasting on Big Ten Network.