Ohio State Buckeyes
Overall Rank: #16
Conference Rank: #2 Big Ten Conference
Ohio State Team Page
Head coach John Bluem has been with the Buckeyes for 15 years and he hasn’t exactly gone unnoticed. Coach Bluem has taken the Buckeyes to four Big Ten titles, eight NCAA appearances and the 2007 college cup. Unfortunately Ohio State didn’t make it to the NCAA tournament last year but will make another run at a bid this season. Matt Lampson, regarded as one of the best keepers in the NCAA last season, was picked up by the Columbus Crew in the draft back in January. Coach Bluem will be looking to replace him with one of his many talented players this year which may produce another star player. The Buckeyes are excited for the new season and hope to bring home another Big Ten title.
2011 Record: 10-7-2, 4-2-0
2011 Postseason: None
Coach: John Bluem
Strengths:
The strongest part of this team is the accuracy and confidence of the offense. Although only taking 285 shots last season, 108 being on goal, the Buckeyes found the goal 27 times in the 19 matches played. With the players only tallying 19 assists shows that each player who contributed goals was confident in their shooting ability. Chris Hegngi will be leading the offensive line again this year in the forward position after leading the Buckeyes last year with nine goals. Ohio State also has a young roster with freshman and sophomore taking up 19 of the 27 slots. Having a young team on the pitch can make them a threat not just this season but the next few as these young players log more minutes together each year.
Weaknesses:
Out of the 27 man roster, seven are freshman, five are transfers, and the rest are returning players. Two of the players coming back from last season played four or less games, one player being keeper Alex Wimmer. Wimmer was the sub for now Columbus Crew keeper Matt Lampson. Wimmer will be looking to be the starting keeper for coach Bluem but he has two new recruits and another returning red shirt to beat out for the position. Same goes for all the spots on the field, with a total of 12 new players no one is a definite for any position. Coach Bluem will need to sort out his team and perfectly place each player if they expect to be contenders this year. Five out of the nine defenders are new as well giving the previous defenders a little competition. The offense is better off welcoming in only a few new players so the struggle to bring them up to speed won’t present too much of a problem which will give coach Bluem more time to work with the defense.
Final Projection:
The Buckeyes have talent across the field but will have to work hard getting their defense in tune prior to their exhibition matches against Duquesne and Duke. The schedule after the pair of exhibition games won’t be too tough aside from a match against Coastal Carolina in the Wolstein Classic tournament, but they can’t afford to become over confident. As long as the accurate offense stays on target and the defense can fill the gaps then Ohio State can stay a top 25 team. The Buckeyes won’t have an easy schedule after conference matches start, taking on teams like Indiana and Northwestern with a break from conference play to take on a very good Akron team.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Tournament
Returning Leaders:
Goals: Chris Hegngi, Senior, F, 9
Assists: Austin McAnena, Senior, M, 2; Ben Killian, Senior, D, 2; Kenny Cunningham, Sophomore, F, 2
Shots: Chris Hegngi, Senior, F, 9
Saves: None
Madness 2012 Men’s Soccer Recruit Rankings:
#102 Louis Berra
#118 Zach Mason
