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ATHENS, Ohio – Last season, the Ohio women's soccer team won the first Mid-American Conference Championship in team history. It also made its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. This season, it hopes to do that and more.
"Everybody is going to ask about how do you repeat and I think that's something that we value, the experience that we had, and I think we're very proud of the accomplishment. But, I think we did it because of the cohesion that we had as a group and, and yes, we are competitive athletes, and that's our ultimate goal. That's kind of a given," head coach Aaron Rodgers said. "We have to focus on the little things and and remembering the things that helped us accomplish that championship. I think this group is mature enough to understand that. Are we going to win it again? I have no idea. I hope that we can, and we're going to push really hard. I know the players are working hard to do that."
Rodgers sees the same qualities in this year's squad: hardworking, fun and competitive. Although Ohio graduated influential goal scorers, it returns a majority of the championship team. Of the 31 student-athletes on its roster, 19 are returning from 2023, including Second-Team All-MAC nominees Quintin Tostevin (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Celeste Sloma (Columbus, Ohio) and All-Freshman honoree Jaimason Brooker (Powell, Ohio).
The Bobcats also have nine new faces on the team this year, including three transfers. With the larger roster size, Rodgers wants to emphasize each student-athlete's importance on the team. He believes that each person serves a purpose, especially when it comes to crunch time.
Within the first few weeks of the season, Ohio will face Michigan State, who it lost to in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Ohio is excited to see the outcome of the match-up especially with its revamped team. Ohio's other nonconference opponents include Northern Kentucky, Butler, Valparaiso, Marshall, Western Kentucky and Oakland.
However, once the calendar turns to the third week in September, the Bobcats will be on the hunt for the MAC title.
"The competition was tough last season," junior Eve Berish (Hudson, Ohio) said. "I think as new players come in every single year, no team looks the same. But, I do think we always have a few teams that are pretty tough for us. We have our typical rivals."
Among the list of rivals is Kent State. Last season, Ohio fell to Kent State 1-0 in the regular season, but defeated it 2-1 in the MAC Title game. It was the first time Ohio defeated Kent State since 2020.
The MAC proved to be tough for the Bobcats in 2023. They finished 4-4-3 and squeezed into the tournament. Although the Bobcats had the skills, they struggled to complete games even when they had the upper hand. That's something they want to change this season.
"We couldn't turn games where we have the upper hand in into wins from ties or losses. I'd love to see it grow in that area," Rodgers said. "I think also I'd like to see us grow again in overcoming the lack of goal scoring. We didn't score as much last year. That's where we ran into some issues."
With a near-even split of home and away conference games, the Bobcats have plenty of chances to improve and possibly take a regular season title.
Ohio will begin its 2024 campaign on August 15 at Butler. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl.
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