Head coach Brian Booher is heading into his seventh year as the men's coach and his eighth year as the women's coach. He's looking forward to another OAC Championship this fall.
The men's team graduated three seniors this past year, which Booher acknowledged was a loss while also emphasizing the number of new recruits coming in. "Big losses to the team heading into the fall season but we have a really good recruiting class, six students coming in to contribute to the team. We'll have a total of 14 on the team, which is a bigger squad for us so that's exciting. Nine of the fourteen players will be underclassmen."
Booher will also have a senior return. "We’ll have some continuity from the old to the new with Coury Rogers, who is a four-plus one MBA student. He'll be coming back for one more year."
Booher is excited to see how the team blends with the six new faces and losing the three lineup players. "From that standpoint, we’re just really excited about the team chemistry. I enjoy that aspect of it, getting the guys working together as a unit and getting to know one another. I think the biggest part I’m excited about in the fall is getting everyone acclimated in the classroom and on the golf course and together as a team, creating that rhythm." Booher said.
The men's team finished second at last year's OAC Championship.
Like the men's team, the women's golf team is also losing members of their leadership - two leaders of the squad graduated last spring. Despite this, Booher said there were enough new members to make up for the loss. "I have three contributors coming in, and they should be ready to compete right away for spots in the lineup. We have to push them to get them better. We are going to have a good balance this fall, it’ll be very even. I see the team being in the top two or three in the conference once again next year."
This past fall, the women's golf team played five team matches, only placing outside the top five once. They won their individual player event versus Capital 5-0 back in September, and also did well during the Denison Invitational last season. "Women's golf had a great year, with a top finish at Dennison. That was a top-five finish to start the season, and it was a big event. We won the fall OAC as a preview, which was a big win and a boost of confidence for the spring."
The women's team finished first in the conference in April and nineteenth at the NCAA Championships in May.
Both teams begin their season by competing at the Denison Invitational from September 3-4.
Otterbein women's soccer mid-season report
