Fifth-year midfielder Leanne Bough (1) tracks down a ball during Ohio State field hockey’s 1-0 loss to Rutgers at Buckeye Varsity Field Oct. 13.
Credit: Lance Haupricht | For The Lantern
After going 13-5 overall in its regular season, Ohio State will head into the Big Ten tournament Thursday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the No. 5 seat.
Both coaches and players have their goals set high but must avenge a loss to kick off the weekend.
Ohio State (13-5, 4-4 Big Ten) will begin this weekend with a rematch against No. 6 Penn State (9-7, 4-4 Big Ten) to whom they lost 2-1 on Oct. 6.
“Every game is going to be competitive,” assistant coach Kate Lipton said. “We’ve left every game knowing that we can have success, so I think the team is ready for anyone.”
In the October matchup between both teams, Ohio State outshot Penn State 14-10. However, the Nittany Lions managed to make two shots in the final half, while Ohio State made just one.
Hope is higher for the team than last year when its regular season ended with a record of 11-8 and it ranked No. 20 in the NCAA. Ohio State’s Big Ten tournament journey was cut short when it lost to Maryland (14-4, 7-2 Big Ten) in the quarterfinals.
“We’ve played a lot of great teams and had some great results, even from the ones that got away from us,” head coach Jarred Martin said. “I’m not too concerned who we’re going to play; we’ll be prepared. I think the team is in a great spot, I feel like we’re healthy, and we’ll head up to Ann Arbor ready to go.”
Graduate midfielder Leanne Bough believes the team has had an amazing season by focusing on the basics and celebrating the little things.
“I think the entire team is very excited with all of the possible matchups, and I think with the way that we’ve performed this season, we have a very strong attitude,” Bough said. “With this week not having any games, we will be very focused on getting our minds right and getting our game plan down.”
The Buckeyes will be in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from Nov. 2 to 5, with their first match starting on Thursday at 11 a.m. against the Nittany Lions.
