April 3, 2008

ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio women's soccer team will begin its spring schedule on Saturday with two of eight out-of-season friendlies. The Bobcats will battle Marshall at 11 a.m. and then take on Morehead State at 1:40 p.m. The Thundering Herd and Eagles will play one another in between their contests with the Bobcats.

Ohio was supposed to begin the spring season on March 8 against Youngstown and St. Francis (PA) at Kent State's indoor football practice facility but poor weather prohibited travel and the games have been rescheduled for April 20. The rescheduled games will still take place at Kent State.

In the meantime, the Bobcats will open up the spring season outdoors at home.

"We are very excited about the opportunity to get back out onto Chessa Field and play a full-field game against an opponent other than ourselves," said head coach Stacy Strauss. "We are looking forward to showcasing all the technical abilities and techniques we practiced during the winter."

During the winter offseason the Bobcats ran and lifted together as a team in addition to receiving individual instruction from the coaching staff that stressed position by position skills.

The roster will be somewhat depleted with the graduation of seven seniors from last season's 5-12-3 season (5-6-1 MAC). But Strauss said she will have 13 players suited up for the games including first-team All-MAC selection and Bobcat goal leader Erika Schmitt, second-team All-MAC selection Rachael Goulding and All-MAC freshmen team selection Jackie Hanson. While some players might be playing slightly out of position due to the limited numbers, Strauss said those changes will not carry over to the fall.

In the fall the Bobcats and Strauss will welcome 12 incoming freshmen and one transfer from Old Dominion to the squad.

Other spring friendlies at home include two April 12 games against Austin Peay and Xavier as well as an April 26 match-up against Ohio State and May 11 showdown with Cincinnati. The spring season will be capped by the Alumni Game at 2 p.m. on May 17 at Chessa Field.

----------------------

Joe Waltasti is the women's soccer contact for the Ohio media relations office. He can be reached via email at waltasti@ohio.edu.