Women’s Soccer vs Bucknell in 2022. Credit: Katie Good | Lantern File Photo
Big Ten soccer is back, with the promise of an exciting Ohio State season to come.
The No. 13 Buckeyes (4-2-1, 0-0-0 Big Ten) start their march through Big Ten Conference matches Sunday in East Lansing, Michigan, against the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans (5-2-1, 0-0-0 Big Ten).
The Buckeyes have had a strong run, winning three consecutive home games and closing out their non conference matches with a win against Auburn 2-0 Sunday in Columbus. Now, they prepare to hit the road and take on their first conference match of the season.
With two early season losses under the belt of both teams, Sunday’s match has the potential to be a tough fight.
Ohio State head coach Lori Walker-Hock said the team is still working together to find their groove.
“I think we’re just finding a rhythm,” Walker-Hock said. “Now the pieces are falling in their place and players are finding their roles and that’s exactly what we need to do going into the Big Ten games.”
In the 2022 season, the Spartans won all but one of their conference matches, coming up short with a draw against the Iowa Hawkeyes. They went on to finish as runners-up in the conference playoffs, losing to Penn State in the final championships.
“Michigan State is a super tough opponent, they’re going to be physical and direct and we just have to take it one game at a time and [we’re] going to find our rest and recovery in between games,” Walker-Hock said.
With powerful goal scorers from each team, junior forward Jordyn Wickes for the Spartans and the Buckeyes’ own junior forward Kailyn Dudukovich, the two Midwestern schools have a long road ahead.
The Buckeyes are no stranger to a good challenger. After losing eight players last year, the young team has learned to readjust and regroup to find a new flow.
Centering in on their new cohesion as a young team, most of whom have not yet played in a Big Ten match, is something the Buckeyes have been attempting to hone in on this year, returning fifth-year forward Emma Sears said.
“It’s important to emphasize to them that Big Ten play is a lot different, it’s a lot more physical, it’s a lot more aggressive, it’s a lot faster,” Sears said. “There are things we’re definitely going to work on this week leading up to the Big Ten season.”
After the conference opener, the Buckeyes take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers for their Big Ten home opener Thursday.
