A new season always brings new challenges.
This is especially true for the Ohio women’s soccer team, as there is a new philosophy and culture under first-year coach Aaron Rodgers, who brings in a strategy for something the Bob cats struggled to do last season: score goals.
Ohio will transition from a 4-5-1 formation to an attacking style in a 4-4-2 or even a 4-3-3 configuration. With more an ticipated goal scoring, Rodgers hopes that new schemes will lead to more Bobcat wins after last season’s 8-10-1 campaign, when Ohio won just three Mid-American Conference games.
“One of the things that I want ed to do coming in here was to have the opportunity to score more goals. So, that obviously means putting all players in the middle of the attacking third. I would ideally like to play a 4-3-3, but I’m not quite sure if we have the personnel to do that right now,” Rodgers said. “We’re going to set up in a 4-4-2 and it will be an easy, so we can then make an immediate transition to a 4-3-3, if we desire to make that change.”
In order for the Bobcats to be a threat offensively, Rodgers is looking for a handful of play ers to jump into the attack and score. With multiple scoring threats, the Bobcats could give opposing defenses more prob lems than last season when they only managed to net 18 goals.
“If we can spread the scor ing out over multiple people it allows for multiple threats, so teams will have to deal with not just one player who’s a threat, but alternatives,” Rodgers said. “I expect good things from Holly Harris, Liz Finley, Sasha Haver chak, who didn’t play much last year because she redshirted due to injury, and Maggie Murnane will have some opportunities to get into the goal scoring.
“We also have a transfer from Colorado, Carly Manso, that I think will be able to contribute to goal scoring. And Lexi Milesky, who will be a freshman, can con tribute to goal scoring.”
Experience in the back end has given coach Rodgers more reason to push forward this sea son with Grace Campbell and Gabby Hausfeld returning at center back, while the program’s all-time saves leader Mattie Lis ton will be between the pipes. The trio will look to lead a stingy defense that conceded just 1.21 goals per game a season ago.
“I feel like we have a great core of returning defending players and they will be able to organize to be disciplined. I believe the way we train and get organized as a team in training is a very understandable system (that) al lows for easy organization,” Rod gers said.
This year is the beginning of a long-term goal Rodgers has for his time with the program, as he thinks the Ohio soccer program has the potential to not only be recognized regionally, but ulti mately on the national stage.
This first group of girls will define the direction of the pro gram’s new culture.
“I want players to dictate what kind of program they have. Now that is going to come by design from how we organize things as a staff and the environment we put them in,” Rodgers said. “But I want them to share the responsibility of developing the program legacy and the program culture.”
