Centered on the positivity radiating from the women’s soccer preseason camp at Ohio Valley is the noticeable strength in numbers heading into a brand new season.
The original founder of the program, Brianne Lodato, is back on the sidelines as head coach for the Fighting Scots in an interim role. This will be her fifth season of coaching at the institution altogether since launching the sport.
Like a lot of programs, Ohio Valley is using the preseason to get to know each other better and really determine the team’s strengths before the team’s first game.
The 2016 roster will be the school’s largest in the history of the program. Additional depth should help reduce some of the wear and tear on student-athletes throughout the season.
Ohio Valley is looking to show signs of improvement by bouncing back from a tough 2015 season.
Junior striker Andrea Ortiz-Borray led the team with 14 goals in just 16 games. Ten of those 14 scores came at the expense of Salem International, but she also scored against more than respectable defenses like Cedarville, Kentucky Wesleyan and Alderson Broaddus.
Ortiz-Borray is the team’s top offensive threat as the Fighting Scots to look increase goal production as a team.
OVU scored 21 goals in 2015, a number that unfortunately did not bode well in most outcomes against opponents.
Senior captain and defender Tijana Radman helps form a small group of three seniors on this year’s OVU roster. She scored two goals and assisted on another as a junior. Radman mentioned that one area the team really wants to make strides in is communication. She will be entering her final season with Naschena Richards and Shanice Bailey.
Goalkeeper Precious McIntosh led the league in the saves a year with 126. She was under duress as the Fighting Scots faced a flurry of shots for most of the season.
Lodato welcomes three incoming freshmen as she will continue to work on developing the existing talent on the roster.
Head Coach: Brianne Lodato (5th season overall)
2015 Record (Overall): 2-14-0
2015 Record (Conference): 2-12-0
2015 All-Conference Performers: N/A
Quotable: “I think it’s looking very well. I think we have a lot of potential. And even though it’s been a couple of days, we’re already getting along so well and I feel like we’ve known each other for a long time. I’m really excited for us to play together and the competition that we’ll be (playing) against. One goal is to keep up with our communication on the field and work together and be there to support each other.”
- Ohio Valley senior defender Tijana Radman
Records Watch: Andrea Ortiz-Borray set the new standard with several G-MAC single-game superlatives last season on Oct. 1 vs. Salem International…She scored seven goals on 15 shots with both numbers established as new conference single-game highs…Her 14 points vs. the Tigers in that game is tied for first in league history…The 22 saves made by Ohio Valley as a team on Oct. 22 vs. Ursuline is also tied for a single-game conference record.