The Ohio State women’s soccer team will take on Northwestern in the NCAA Tournament on Friday. Credit: Katie Good | Asst. Photo Editor
Ohio State begins its national championship chase with a matchup against Bucknell — the winners of the Patriot League Tournament — Friday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The Buckeyes (10-5-3, 5-3-2 Big Ten) hold the sixth seed in their region and are rewarded with the chance to host a first-round matchup against the Bison (8-5-6, 5-1-3 Patriot League).
Graduate midfielder Maddy Lowe has played in three NCAA Tournament games before, winning one and losing two, and said the Buckeyes are honored to play for a chance at a national title.
“I think we got a good draw,” Lowe said. “We’ve worked on some things that we’ve needed to work on. So, I think we’re really excited to get back out there and show everyone what we can do.”
The Buckeyes are scoreless in their last three games, all losses to conference opponents. They face a Bucknell team that allows just 0.74 goals per game.
Lowe said the team can’t wait to be back on the field.
“We really sat down and looked at a lot of film and really tried to work on some of the things that we might have been struggling with,” Lowe said. “But I think working through the different patterns that we can pull out there against Bucknell and see if they work.”
Head coach Lori Walker-Hock said her squad needs to refocus ahead of Friday’s match.
“Goals come when we do things the right way,” Walker-Hock said. “I have a lot of respect for Bucknell keeping the ball out of their net, and there’s a reason that they’ve given up so few goals, so we got to figure out how to break that down.”
Offensively, Bucknell is led by senior midfielder Abby Gearhart’s six goals and two assists, sophomore midfielder Teresa Deda’s two goals and eight assists and senior forward Rylee Donaldson’s four goals and three assists.
The Bison have two goalkeepers, junior Jenna Hall and senior Kaylee Donnelly, who have started at least three matches this season. Hall started 16 of the 17 games she’s appeared in and allowed 10 goals while making 67 saves.
Donnelly appeared in five games and made three starts while saving 18 shots and conceding four goals.
For the Buckeyes, senior forwards Emma Sears and Kayla Fischer lead the way, recording eight goals with five assists and eight goals with two assists, respectively. They are followed by sophomore forward Kailyn Dudukovich’s seven goals and one assist.
Ohio State fields a goalkeeper tandem this year, consisting of graduate Kat Robinson and freshman Molly Pritchard. Robinson has made 21 saves and allowed four goals in 13 appearances while Pritchard has conceded 14 goals while making 50 saves in 17 appearances.
The Buckeyes begin the final leg of their season Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
