Ohio’s season ended on Oct. 30 after a 1-0 loss to Miami in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. The first-round exit capped Ohio’s record at 10-7-2 and highlighted its untapped potential.
Going into the season, Ohio was the favorite to win the MAC. Ohio went 4-2-1 in nonconference play, with a notable 3-1 loss to Notre Dame, which ended the 2022 season ranked No. 1. The match against Notre Dame gave Ohio the confidence it needed to live up to the nomination.
However, MAC play did not start off well for Ohio. It lost its first match of the season to Kent State 2-0. Head coach Aaron Rodgers felt the game was well played by the team despite its scoring woes.
“To open up with (Kent State), I think (we) still had some memories, and I thought we actually played decently in that game," Rodgers said. “We created more chances to score than Kent did. We just didn't defend sharp enough, and they obviously scored the two goals. So I was disappointed that we didn't defend well, but I felt like we attacked all right in that game.”
The next game was another loss, this time 3-0 to Buffalo. Buffalo went on to end the season undefeated in MAC play and win the MAC championship. Buffalo is now competing in the NCAA women's soccer tournament.
Ohio collected its first MAC win on a 2-0 victory over Miami. Isabella Ginocchi scored Ohio’s first MAC goal of the season.
“We need to go like this, this is the time to start,” Ginocchi said after the Sept. 29 Miami game. “This is the time to turn the season around. So yeah, it was a good win for us, and hopefully a good confidence booster going into the next couple games in the Mac.”
Ohio went 4-2-1 after beating Miami. It found itself in the position that if it beat Akron in the last game of the season, it would be guaranteed a spot in the MAC Tournament.
Freshman Eve Berish’s two goals were the only source of offense for Ohio against Akron. Berish was later named to the MAC All-Freshman team.
“For Eve to have such an amazing game against Akron and score both goals and propel us to fourth place in the league, and then winning player of the week, (that) absolutely propelled her (to being named All-Freshman),” Rodgers said. “A well deserved honor for her.”
One of Berish’s goals that match was assisted by Abby Townsend, for her 10th assist of the season and the 31st of her career. She currently holds the record for most assists in a career, tied with Kendra Hornschemeier, who last played in 2004.
The win over Akron placed Ohio fourth in the MAC at the end of the season. It earned home-field advantage for the first round of the MAC Tournament. Ohio went on to lose the match 1-0 to Miami.
“Some of the things that we normally did, well, weren't quite there, but Miami wasn’t (doing what they did well) either, so it was just a tight, kind of cup game, one-off game where the loser was done.” Rodgers shared.
In 2021, Ohio’s defense was one of the best in the MAC. It allowed just 0.89 goals per game. In 2022, however, Ohio found itself with only one returning defensive starter, Ella Bianco.
Sydney Dawson, a transfer from Clemson, was a captain at Clemson and a major piece of the Clemson program. Dawson was a key in the Bobcats’ defense this season.
"You know, we're at a disadvantage when (new) people come in because you literally hit the ground running, and so when you if you're a freshman or a transfer that comes in in the fall, you show up on August 1, and we go and you don't have any opportunity (to acclimate) unless you kind of meet people before that time,“ Rodgers said. “You don't have any opportunity to build relationships and build rapport, it's much more difficult and you're just thrown right into the fire. For her to be able to kind of join in with the group, and acclimate with the group like she did. You know, I think it shows what a good leader she is and what a good person she is."
Both of the outside backs who played in the tournament and saw extensive time throughout the season were freshmen. Maia Kaufman made an immediate impact and ended the season with the seventh-most minutes on the team. Rayann Pruss, who didn’t make her start until later in the season, played a full match in each of the last five matches of the season, including the tournament.
“It's good because they got a lot of great experience on a good team that competed really well and hosted a MAC tournament game,” Rodgers said.
The goalie position was one that also saw some turnaround. Freshman Celeste Sloma started 10 games and played in 12. She acquired 766 minutes this season. Sam Wexell, who was named to the 2021 All-MAC First Team, sustained an injury early in the season, which allowed Sloma to prove she could keep up.
“For Celeste, she came here knowing that it might be hard to play this year because Sam was a really good goalkeeper. She was first team all-conference last year,” Rodgers said. “We talked to all the goalkeepers, especially the two freshmen coming in, (and said) that this is a great opportunity to just learn what college soccer is about, (to) be involved, grow and mature as a goalkeeper and as a teammate and learn from Sam and Reece. Then when Sam got injured, Celeste stepped up and did phenomenal.”
Even though the season ended too soon for Rodgers and the team, Rodgers was proud of the team's adversity and ability to fight throughout the season.
“I think the most satisfying thing, from a coaching standpoint, was the reaction to being 0-2 in the conference and winning, going 6-2-1 in our last nine conference games and earning a fourth seed to host the MAC tournament game,“ Rodgers said.
