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Stretch Run of Big Ten Play Begins as Ohio State Hosts No. 21 Rutgers Friday, Maryland Sunday

Stretch Run of Big Ten Play Begins as Ohio State Hosts No. 21 Rutgers Friday, Maryland Sunday

10/10/2018 9:38:48 AM | Women's Soccer

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s soccer team returns home to take on No. 21 Rutgers and Maryland this weekend at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The matchup with the Scarlet Knights is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday before a 2 p.m. Sunday matchup with the Terrapins.

Fans can follow live stats and streaming video on the schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com or follow on Twitter @OhioStateWSOC.

OHIO STATE OF LATE
Ohio State split its trip north last weekend, dropping a 1-0 decision at Michigan Friday night before picking up a 1-0 win at Michigan State Sunday afternoon. Marissa Birzon scored the game-winner in the 51st minute against the Spartans while Devon Kerr made a pair of saves on her way to her sixth shutout of the year.

RODRIGUEZ EARNS ANOTHER B1G HONOR
Izzy Rodriguez earned her second-consecutive conference weekly award, garnering Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors, the conference office announced Oct. 2. The award is the third-career Big Ten weekly honor for Rodriguez. The sophomore scored twice and assisted on another as the Buckeyes went 1-0-1 against Iowa and Nebraska.

Izzy Rodriguez – Offensive Player of the Week (10/2)
Devon Kerr – Goalkeeper of the Week (9/25)
Izzy Rodriguez – Defensive Player of the Week (9/25)
Emaly Vatne – Freshman of the Week (9/4)
Kayla Fischer – Offensive Player of the Week (8/28)
Kayla Fischer – Freshman of the Week (8/28)

SOME MORE NOTES
– Ohio State is 40-1-2 when scoring at least two goals in a game since the start of 2014, including 3-0-0 in 2018 and 11-0-0 a season ago. The Buckeyes went 5-0-1 when scoring at least twice in 2014 before going a perfect 11-0-0 in 2015 and 10-1-1 in 2016.
– Ohio State is 7-0-0 on the year when scoring first after it went 15-1-0 when scoring first last season and 10-0-1 in 2016.
– Ohio State played its first overtime contest of 2018, topping No. 21 Northwestern 2-1 Sept. 23, and then played to a 1-1 draw against Nebraska Sept. 30. The Buckeyes were 3-1-1 in overtime contests in 2017 and are 9-2-8 in overtime matches since the start of the 2015 season.
– Devon Kerr’s nine shutouts last season tied her with Emily Haynam and Amber Barnes for second on the Buckeyes’ single-season shutout list. Kerr also sits third on the Ohio State career clean sheet list with 17.
– Kerr sits tied for 32nd nationally and tied for second in the Big Ten with six clean sheets in 2018. Kerr’s 50 saves and .820 save percentage both rank fourth in the conference.
– Kayla Fischer became the first Buckeye freshman to score the team’s first goal of the season since Lisa Collison did so in a 2-0 win over Xavier in 2005.
– In the win over No. 5 Florida, the Buckeyes knocked off their highest-ranked opponent since a 2-0 victory over No. 3 Penn State in the 2004 Big Ten Tournament championship game.
– The eight goals scored by the Buckeyes against Morehead State tied for the third-most in a single game in program history. Ohio State also scored eight goals in an 8-1 win over Xavier in 2004. The highest scoring outputs in Ohio State history:
14 vs. Robert Morris (10/12/95)
9 at Valparaiso (11/2/96)
8 vs. Xavier (9/2/04)
8 vs. Morehead State (8/30/18)
7 vs. Youngstown State (9/21/03)
7 vs. Illinois (9/14/17)
– Emaly Vatne’s hat trick vs. Morehead State was the 15th in Ohio State history and the first since Lindsay Agnew scored three times in a 3-0 win over Iowa Sept. 25, 2016. Vatne becomes the third freshman in program history to notch a hat trick, joining Sammy Edwards in 2014 and Nichelle Prince in 2013, and her seven points against the Eagles were the second-most in a single game in Ohio State history. Lisa Suttmiller notched eight on three goals and two assists at Valparaiso in 1996.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
No. 21 Rutgers is 9-1-4 on the year, leading the Big Ten at 5-0-2 in conference play, after picking up 1-0 wins at No. 14 Northwestern and Illinois last weekend. Amirah Ali leads the Scarlet Knights with 10 goals while Nicole Whitley has added a team-high seven assists. Meagan McClelland has played every minute in goal, tallying a 0.65 goals-against average with six clean sheets.

Ohio State is 0-6-1 all-time against the Scarlet Knights after dropping a 1-0 decision on the road last season.

SCOUTING MARYLAND
Maryland enters the week at 4-7-4 overall, 2-4-1 in Big Ten play. Jarena Harmon leads the Terrapins with six goals while Rachel Egyed has seen the majority of time in goal, notching a 1.09 goals-against average with three shutouts.

Ohio State is 4-0-1 all-time against Maryland and has won the last three matchups.

UP NEXT
Ohio State travels to Purdue at 6 p.m. Oct. 18 before hosting Wisconsin to conclude the regular season at 2 p.m. Oct. 21. Both matches will be televised live on BTN.