The Ohio women's soccer team has not lost a game yet this spring, and for that, they are being rewarded with a matchup under the lights at Peden Stadium against one of the state's best club teams tonight, the Cincinnati's United Premier Red U-18 team.
The squad is made up of nearly all high school seniors and was a 2005 state cup finalist in the Ohio South Youth Soccer Association.
Current Ohio players Kristen Miller, Lindsey Price, Danielle Young, Courtney Mink and Erika Schmitt are all former players with the organization, which boasts that about 90 percent of its players go on to play in college.
Many schools come to the club's games for recruitment purposes, and Schmitt said that she was one of those recruits.
It was through [the United Premier] that Ohio found me and started to recruit me
said the freshman midfielder. My CUP team played Ohio last year and we tied and went into overtime and lost in a shootout. I was already committed to come here when we played so I was pretty nervous for the game.
After finishing 3-14-0 overall last year in the regular season, the Bobcats enter tonight with a 1-0-3 exhibition record so far after a two-game series in Toledo this past weekend. The Bobcats notched their first and only win in a 2-0 final against Oakland before sophomore Lindsey Price scored Ohio's only goal in a 1-1 tie with Western Michigan.
Schmitt, who scored a goal and had an assist against Oakland, said that she really wants to win tonight, just to show the girls that are coming here that they are making a step up.
Coach Stacy Strauss, who missed Saturday's games to attend her grandmother's funeral in Wisconsin, will be back on the coaching lines tonight in the third of six exhibition games taking place in Athens this spring. She is encouraging all students and community members to attend tonight's game, which is free and open to the public.
The Bobcats take the field at 7 p.m. tonight at Peden Stadium.Walker gets first career MAC baseball honor
Willie Walker's efforts last week brought home the first conference award for the Ohio baseball team since the preseason.
Walker was named the MAC East Division Player of the Week after blasting two home runs in Ohio's loss to Marshall on April 4, and batting .400 in last weekend's series at Ball State.
The award was Walker's first in his career.
When the junior centerfielder was 2-for-4 with an RBI, the Bobcats won both games in the series, but in the sole loss to the Cardinals, he went 0-for-2.
The Marysville native also successfully stole a base on all three of his attempts and leads Ohio into its three-game set with conference foe Eastern Michigan this weekend as part of a six-game homestand.
Graham Taylor of Miami captured the MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week Award, and Bryan Mitzel of Central Michigan and Ethan Hollingsworth of Western Michigan were named the MAC West Division Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.
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