Buckeyes play Nittany Lions at 1:15 p.m. Thursday in first-round action in East Lansing, Mich.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State field hockey team (13-5 overall; 4-2 Big Ten) enters the 2009 Big Ten Tournament in East Lansing, Mich., Thursday-Sunday as the No. 2 seed after finishing the regular season tied for second with Indiana.
By virtue of its win over Indiana this year, the Buckeyes earned the tiebreaker and will open the conference tournament vs. Penn State, the No. 7 seed, at 1:15 Thursday.
REVIEW: 2008 BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
In 2008, Ohio State finished 3-3 in the Big Ten, entering the tournament as the fifth seed. The Buckeyes made a run through the league tournament all the way to the title game where they pushed two-time defending conference champ Iowa into overtime but ultimately fell, 2-1. To advance to that game, Ohio State upset top-seeded Penn State in overtime in the semifinals.
BIG TEN, BIG HONORS
Last year, for the third-consecutive season, a Buckeye earned a major player of the year award from the Big Ten as Linda Haussener was named Co-Offensive Player of the Year. Prior to Haussener's honor, former Buckeye Yesenia Luces earned the offensive award the last two seasons (co-P.O.Y. in 2007) while Saskia Mueller was selected overall Big Ten Player of the Year in 2006.
Haussener, who led the Big Ten overall in scoring with 47 points at the end of the regular season, also was a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection while then-senior Emily Mikac and Aisling Coyle, now a sophomore captain for the Buckeyes, were named to the second team. Mikac also picked up the Sportsmanship Award for Ohio State.
HISTORY 101 - OSU AT BIG TEN TOURNEY
The Buckeyes have a 15-14 record in the 15 years of the Big Ten tournament, including a 13-12 ledger under head coach Anne Wilkinson. Ohio State hosted the event in 2002 and 2007. This is the third year in a row the Scarlet and Gray have faced Penn State in the tournament and the Buckeyes are 2-2 all-time against the Nittany Lions in the event.
Ohio State has appeared in the championship game in both 2008 and 2001. In 2001, the Buckeyes downed Iowa, 2-1, in the championship game. A season ago, the Hawkeyes returned the favor, eking out a 2-1 win of their own in overtime.
QUINTILIANI EARNS THIRD P.O.W. AWARD
Goalkeeper Lindsay Quintiliani was named the Big Ten's Co-Defensive Player of the Week Monday, after posting four second-half saves to ensure Ohio State's 2-1 conference road victory at Northwestern last Saturday.
The senior came in after halftime vs. the Wildcats and backstopped the Buckeyes to a crucial Big Ten win, helping Ohio State finish the regular season with a 4-2 league ledger to tie Indiana for second.
The Mountain Top, Pa., native has made 60 stops in 2009 to give her three seasons with 60-plus saves. As a freshman in 2006, Quintiliani recorded a career-high 64 saves and followed with 62 as a sophomore in 2007.
THE TEN SPOT
The Buckeyes have earned 10 Big Ten weekly honors this year, recording the most awards an Ohio State team has won in a single season since the conference honors began in 1992. Michigan State holds the all-time Big Ten record, earning 11 weekly honors this season en route to its first regular-season conference title.
OVERALL NUMBERS
In 18 games, Ohio State has scored the third-most goals (52) and has limited its opponents to 25 goals to rank second behind Michigan State (24) in the Big Ten. Overall this season, the Buckeye keepers own a combined 1.37 goals against average, the second best mean in the league.
With six shutouts in 18 games, the Buckeyes lead the league with Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State and Northwestern in a tie for second with three. Ohio State is tied for second with Indiana and Iowa with six defensive saves while Penn State has recorded nine.
With a .722 overall win percentage, Ohio State has the second-best mark while MSU leads the league with a 15-3 record (.833). Indiana is third with a 12-5 overall ledger (.706).
AGAINST THE BIG TEN
When playing against their conference foes, sophomore Maria Briones and freshman Berta Queralt lead the Buckeyes with 12 points on five goals and two assists each to rank third in the Big Ten. Briones is tied with MSU senior Floor Rijpma for first with three gamewinners in league play.
Sophomore captain Aisling Coyle is tied for fourth in the Big Ten with four assists. Senior goalkeeper Lindsay Quintiliani is third in both saves (28) and goals against average (1.62).
HELPING OUT
Ohio State has had help in scoring, recording 42 assists throughout the 2009 season which ranks as the eighth most by a Buckeye squad since 1991.
Freshman Berta Queralt leads the team and the Big Ten with 12 helpers (tied with NU's Chelsea Armstrong) while sophomore captain Aisling Coyle has a career-best nine to rank third and sophomore forward Maria Briones has seven for seventh in the conference.
POINT TAKEN
On 52 goals and 42 assists, the 2009 squad has racked up 146 points which ranks as the eighth most by an Ohio State team since 1991.
Freshman Berta Queralt leads the Buckeye offense with 44 points on a team-high 16 goals and 12 assists which ties former Ohio State All-American Yesenia Luces for 10th on the single season points record list. She is just the third freshman in Buckeye history to break into the Top 10 of the category, joining the likes of Sue Marcellus (1976-79) and Britta Eickhoff (1994-97).
Queralt's point total also ranks second in the league while her 12 helpers are first overall (tied with NU's Chelsea Armstrong). Among other Big Ten rookies, Queralt currently holds a 16-point advantage over Indiana's redshirt freshman Morgan Fleetwood who has 28.
Sophomore Maria Briones is second on the squad with 31 points on 12 goals and seven assists to rank fifth in scoring in the Big Ten. Junior forward Jena Cacciatore is third on the team and eighth in the league with a career-high 25 points on 10 goals and five assists while sophomore Aisling Coyle is fourth with a career-high 21 points on six goals and nine assists.
Through 18 games, the Buckeyes have seen 11 student-athletes record points and nine different players notch goals.
D-TIME
Goalkeeper Lindsay Quintiliani has started in all but two contests this season. The senior, along with the help of a tremendous Buckeye backfield, has recorded a league-high five shutouts, lowering her goals against average to 1.18 by allowing just 19 goals in 1130:37. Her GAA is the best overall in the Big Ten while her .759 save percentage (60 saves) ranks third in the league.
Sophomore Ally Tunitis has started two games for Ohio State and is 1-1 on the year. Tunitis, who helped the Buckeyes win six of their last seven contests of 2008, earned her second start of 2009 vs. Northwestern last Saturday, making two saves to keep Ohio State ahead of NU, 2-1, in the first half.
Earlier in the year, she played all 72:26 minutes vs. then-No. 7 Princeton (Sept. 5) with Ohio State losing a 5-4 heartbreaker in overtime. Tunitis also played 28:29 minutes between the pipes in the 7-0 shutout of Saint Louis (Aug. 30).
Ohio State's midfielders and backs have limited opponents to just 10 shots per game in 2009 while the Buckeyes average 14.6 shots a game. The backfield has a combined six defensive saves with Jenn Sciulli posting three to tie for third in the Big Ten, Laura Napolitano two and Rachel Hunter one.
NETMINIDING RECORDS
Senior goalkeeper Lindsay Quintiliani keeps working her way up the Ohio State record book in 2009.
Adding on Wins
After setting the Ohio State all-time record for career wins with the 2-0 blanking of Iowa Oct. 11, Quintiliani upped her record to 40 with the 2-1 victory vs. Duke (the Buckeyes' first win against the Blue Devils in program history) Oct. 25. The graduate of Crestwood High School passed Lindsay Williams (2002-05) who previously owned the record with 36 victories.
Making the Stops
With 214 saves in 66 career games, Quintiliani ranks eighth in the program's all-time record book. Earlier this season she passed Anna Schwartz (180 saves, 1998) to crack into the all-time career Top 10 and jumped ahead of both Stefanie Eyerkaufer (188 saves, 1993) and Allison Blanton (211 saves, 1998-01) to take over eighth place.
Quintiliani has made 60 stops in 2009 to give her three seasons with 60-plus saves. As a freshman in 2006, Quintiliani recorded a career-high 64 saves and followed with 62 as a sophomore in 2007.
Clean Slates
Quintiliani posted her fifth shutout of 2009 vs. Iowa Oct. 11, the 14th of her career, and is just one shy of tying Sue Willson (1989-92) who owns the record with 15. With the 5-0 blanking of Ball State (Sept. 22), Quintiliani took over the No. 2 spot in the program's all-time record book passing Kim Willis (12.5; 1985-87).
GAMEWINNERS
Freshman Berta Queralt is second in the Big Ten with five gamewinning goals, notching the deciding goal vs. Saint Louis (Aug. 30), Kent State (Sept. 16), Vermont (Sept. 18), Indiana (Sept. 27) and Louisville (Oct. 14). Only senior Floor Rijpma from Michigan State has more with six.
With five gamewinners, the Barcelona, Spain, native is tied for second on the Ohio State single season record list. A category tracked at Ohio State since 1994, Jayne Landis owns the record, notching six gamewinning goals in 1999.
Sophomore Maria Briones is second on the squad with three gamewinners, all coming vs. Big Ten opponents, while junior Jena Cacciatore has notched two gamewinners in 2009. In three seasons, Cacciatore has six gamewinning goals and ties for ninth in the Ohio State career record book, with Lauren Kruse (2003-06) and Landis (1999).
Junior Aisling McKeon and sophomores Aisling Coyle and Jenn Sciulli have a single gamewinner each.
SHUTDOWN BY OSU
The Ohio State defense has recorded a league-best six shutouts this season, three more than its closest opponents. In the team's six white-washings, its opponents have averaged just 5.3 shots a contest with Saint Louis (Aug. 30) limited to zero shots while Ball State (Sept. 22) did not put a shot on goal.
Also shutout in 2009 were Ohio (Sept. 11), Vermont (Sept. 18), Central Michigan (Sept. 20) and Iowa (Oct. 11).
CLOSE CALLS
Of Ohio State's five losses this season, four have been on the road, three have come in overtime and all have been just one-goal contests.
THE OCTOBER TRIALS
Heading into the 2009 season, Ohio State knew October would be a challenging month as five-of-eight teams the Buckeyes faced in the month made the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
Now with it in the rearview window, Ohio State posted a 5-2 ledger during the month, including three wins vs. 2008 NCAA Tournament teams in Iowa (2-0, Oct. 11), Louisville (2-1 OT, Oct. 14) and Duke (2-1, Oct. 25).
The Buckeyes' two October losses came in Big Ten action in the form of a 2-1 overtime loss to Penn State Oct. 2 and 2-1 loss to No. 8-ranked and 2009 Big Ten Regular-Season Champion Michigan State Oct. 23.
ENDING STRONG
Ohio State ended the season in a good rhythm, taking 2-1 victories over then-No. 13 Duke (Oct. 25) and No. 20 Northwestern (Oct. 31) to conclude its regular-season with a 13-5 overall ledger.
The Buckeyes won its first conference road game of 2009 against the Wildcats as freshman Berta Queralt tied the game at 1-all in the 12th minute and Maria Briones scored again at 19:15 to give Ohio State the lead and eventual win. Coming into the game at halftime, senior goalkeeper Lindsay Quintiliani made four second-half saves to ensure the win.
For the first time in program history, Ohio State downed Duke, 2-1, at home to top-off Senior Day. A strong defensive effort led by Buckeye co-captains Aisling Coyle and Quintiliani held the Blue Devils off the board until 45:43 despite Duke's 12-4 advantage in shots and 7-1 lead in penalty corners.
The win improved Ohio State's home ledger to 9-1 which ties for the most wins at North Turf Field in a single season and ranks as the program's second-best win percentage in Columbus this decade. In 2006, the Buckeyes were perfect at home, going 6-0.
HOME, SWEET HOME
Ohio State ended its 2009 home schedule with a 9-1 record, tying for the most home victories in a single season since 2001, allowing its 10 opponents to score just eight goals on its home turf.
This season, the Buckeyes blanked five teams at North Turf Field in Saint Louis (7-0, Aug. 30), Ohio (3-0, Sept. 11), Vermont (3-0, Sept. 18), Central Michigan (1-0, Sept. 20) and Iowa (2-0, Oct. 11).
The only teams to score multiple goals on Ohio State at home were Michigan (4-3, Oct. 17) and Indiana (3-2, Sept. 27) while Duke (2-1, Oct. 25), Louisville (2-1 OT, Oct. 14) and James Madison (0-1, Aug. 29) each tallied once.
The Scarlet and Gray outscored its opponents, 27-8, at home with assists on 22 of the goals for 76 total points while the Buckeyes limited their five opponents to a combined 22 points.
