Last November, Ohio accomplished one of the greatest feats for any sport during the entire year: winning the Mid-American Conference championship and earning a bid in the NCAA tournament.
The magical run to being crowned MAC champs started with a 2-0 win against Ball State before the team moved on to No. 2 seed Bowling Green, a team Ohio defeated by a score of 2-1. All the Bobcats had to do was topple Kent State for MAC glory, and a 2-1 victory with both goals coming in the second half did exactly that.
Ohio’s run would unfortunately end against Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but the season as a whole was a massive success after winning the MAC title for the first time in program history.
As with most successful tournament-winning teams, there were some apparent changes when looking at the roster for 2024. Let’s take a look at what has changed for Ohio soccer heading into this season.
The first and most glaring difference in the team from last year to this year is the absence of the Bobcats’ leading goal-scorer from 2023, Shae Robertson. The forward was a senior last year, and she made every minute of her final season count, going for 8 total goals on the season while spearheading Ohio to the MAC title with a goal against Ball State in the MAC tournament.
She graduated after her senior year and her offensive prowess will certainly be missed this year for Ohio.
Another big loss for Ohio comes in the midfield, this time with the loss of senior midfielder Izzi Boyd. Her impact was massive as she only started four games for Ohio in 2023 but finished second on the team in total points, finishing with 5 goals and two assists. She also showed up when it mattered most, scoring a goal against Ball State and assisting Scout Murray’s title-winning goal in the MAC title game against Kent State. She also graduated after her senior year, and will be a big loss for Ohio to stomach entering 2024.
The final large loss for Ohio has to be losing another senior midfielder, this time in Carsyn Prigge. She was as impactful as anybody in the MAC tournament run, saving some of the best play of her season for the biggest stage, assisting in the title game against Kent State and then going on to be named to the All-MAC tournament team for her efforts.
Ohio will be losing a lot of senior experience this year, but the trio of Robertson Boyd and Prigge are losses that will be hard to overcome this season for Ohio.
On the bright side, head coach Aaron Rodgers is back for another season, his 11th to be exact. He is also returning a lot of promising young talent, such as forward Scout Murray, who finished with 5 goals and one assist on the year, with one of her 5 goals being the eventual MAC title winner in the 64th minute against Kent State.
She and returners Ella Deevers, Rayann Pruss and Jaimason Brooker will all be impact players for the Bobcats, especially with another year of development.
The loss of so much senior talent will be tough to handle, but this Ohio team is championship tested and seasoned, and has the returning talent to make another run at a MAC title.
