Around The Oval: Women's Soccer Preview

last season

The team started the season without three starters,and they certainly missed them. The injuries cost the Buckeyes talent, experience, and probably most importantly depth.

Ohio State went an underwhelming 6-10-3, missing the NCAA Tournament and the Big Ten Tournament. The team was especially shaky on the road, winning just one game on nine tries.

Graduating Seniors

• Ellyn Gruber (Midfielder/Forward): Team captain who played 18 of the team's 19 games last season, tallying one goal with two assists.
• Ashley Gruenbaum (Defender): Played all 19 games on the Buckeye defense, adding experience and leadership.
• Kenzie Schlemitz (Midfielder): Appeared in just one game last season.
• Kayla Varner (Forward): Started all 19 games last season, scoring three goals and tallying four assists. She was also the team's penalty kick taker, and she went 2 for 2 in PKs on the season.

2015-16 season

Incoming Freshmen

Head Coach Lori Walker holds this year's freshmen class in high esteem calling them "one of the most complete classes in program history." The class is seven members strong. Here's what Walker had to say about each one from an Ohio State release:

• Brianna Gazmarian (Defender): “Bri is a physical, hard-nosed, athletic defender. When I watch Bri play, I am reminded of the old school defending mentality where battling for 90 minutes is expected. Bri takes a no-nonsense approach to the game and has the pace to track attackers as well as the skill to negotiate the flank to start our attack. We are looking forward to Bri making an immediate impact upon our back line and within our team.”
• Arden Holden (Midfielder): “Arden has a massive engine that will allow her to cover the space in midfield while imposing her will upon the opposition. She is technically clean with the ball at her feet and plays best in roles where she’s allowed to be creative with the players around her. She’s a blue-collar, hard-working player that will complement our midfield work ethic and personality.”
• Devon Kerr (Goalkeeper): “Devon has all the tools to be a top level goalkeeper including size, strength, soft hands, domination on crosses, clean distribution, foot skills and verbal command. Devon joins our squad with tremendous experience as a result of her battling to earn spots with the Canadian U-17 and U-20 World Cup teams. As a starter with Canada at the last U-17 World Cup, her international experience gives her the confidence to play on any stage.”
• Kylie Knight (Defender):  “Kylie is a fiery defender with the pace and athletic ability to find immediate success. She reads the game well and makes intelligent positional adjustments. Her individual comfort on the ball allows her the confidence to play out of the back as she’s a player that will always look to keep possession. She’s a fantastic 1v1 defender that finds the greatest success against the greatest opposition.”
• Taylor Momburg (Midfielder): “Taylor will add depth and versatility to our midfield. Her quickness and ability on the ball will allow her to compete from the moment she arrives. As a player that looks to take players off the dribble, her creative 1v1 ability makes it difficult for anyone she faces. As a fantastic youth player, we expect Taylor to find the same level of success collegiately.”
• Sarah Roberts (Midfielder): “Sarah will have an immediate impact both on our squad and within the Big Ten. Her vision and technical dexterity will be a huge asset to our attack as she’s one of the best final passers of the ball in the country. Sarah is dangerous anytime in possession and we look forward to her being a focal point of our plans next season. She plays with great passion as a true soccer junkie and will be a personality both on and off the field.”
• Adrienne Ross (Defender): “Adrienne adds a massive physical presence to our squad as she’s an amazing athlete who will be able to play in multiple roles. With the size and pace to be a dominating defensive player, we look forward to grooming her into a mainstay of our back line.”

As talented as this group of freshmen appears to be, I did find something that certainly merits some concern:

when the freshmen thought Bi Bi Bop was the name of a fitness test.....

— mclovin' it (@jill_mclovin) June 16, 2015

You see, it's more concern for the freshmen than concern about the freshmen. I feel genuinely sad for anybody who lives in Columbus and hasn't tasted the majesty that is Bibibop.

Season Outlook

Despite a difficult schedule which includes eight of last season's NCAA Tournament teams, Ohio State will likely have a much better season. When compared to last year's team, this year's Buckeye team will be better in just about every aspect of the game.

The team lost three major contributors in Ellyn Gruber, Ashley Gruenbaum, and Kayla Varner (as well as celebrity supporter Bryce Harper in the process), but the talent they receive from former starters returning from injury and incoming freshmen far outweighs the losses. Returning from missing significant time last season due to injury are three starters — two forwards, Morgan Wolcott and Nichelle Prince, and the team's top goalkeeper Jill McVicker.

This year's team will have a wonderful combination of veteran leadership and young potential with lots of depth in the roster. Expect them to compete for a Big Ten title, and at least make some noise in the NCAA tournament. At the very least, they will certainly be talented and fun to watch.

Key Players

• Jill McVicker (Goalkeeper): After sitting out the entire 2014 season due to injury, McVicker returns in 2015 as the team's top goalkeeper. She's played significant minutes every season since her freshman year in 2012, and has performed exceptionally, allowing an average of just 0.57 goals per game her freshman season (good for second all-time), and 1.16 her sophomore season. 
• Nichelle Prince (Forward): Like McVicker, Nichelle Prince also missed the majority of the 2014 season due to injury. She missed the first nine games, but played the final 10. To give you an idea of just how much of an asset she is, she played just over half the team's games and still ranked third on the team in points. Having her healthy next season will be huge for the Buckeye offense.
• Nikki Walts (Midfielder): As a freshman, Walts started all 19 matches, and tallied a team high 1,696 minutes. She had two goals and two assist. She was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. With a year of experience and conditioning under her belt, expect her to be the heart and motor of this Buckeye squad.
• Sarah Roberts (Midfielder): Head Coach Lori Walker talked very highly of the incoming freshman and expects her to be "a focal point of our plans next year." It's always difficult to imagine a freshman's impact on a team before the season begins, but Coach Walker shown that she doesn't shy away from putting freshmen on the field early and often if she thinks it will help her team. 

The Buckeyes are off to a great start, going 4-1 on their spring scrimmage slate with wins against Cleveland State, Kent State, Xavier and Louisville, scoring one of the more unbelievable goals I have ever seen against Louisville (if anyone somehow has a video, please send it my way. I would love to see it again). 

Ohio State begins their 2015 season August 21st against Illinois State. We'll have weekly updates throughout the season here, but for the most up to date scores and news follow the team's official Twitter account @OhioState_WSOC and the Block "O" student section @BlockOSoccer.