Sports

Not as simple as open and close: Ohio Soccer’s journey to break down barriers

By: Marc Goldstein
Posted on: Thursday, October 24, 2024

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Despite any notions that might be given through countless pop culture accounts, being a college athlete is far from easy. Compounding on the hardships, things like Title IX and NIL have clouded the waters for female collegiate athletes. While there have been a large number of improvements over the decades, there are things that plague female collegiate athletes that their male counterparts simply cannot understand. That is why Ohio goalkeeper Celeste Sloma established a club, Female Athlete Forum. 

As the catalyst for everything Ohio does on the pitch, Sloma understands the pressure to lead the team. In her freshman year, Sloma burst onto the scene as a key piece for the future of the program. During her breakout season when she turned heads on the pitch, she was setting up something much greater. She established FAF in her freshman year, hoping to give female athletes a space to discuss topics that can only truly be understood by them. 

“(I) was hoping that it could help a female athlete who might be struggling to talk about things that are on a deeper level,” Sloma said. “A lot of the people who would come to meetings or talk about things were from our team, so it was easier for them to open up, with some difficult topics or things that we might discuss.”

Ohio capitalized on its most successful season in program history in 2023, winning its first MAC title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time as well. Sloma was one of the key cogs in the miraculous run that saw Ohio sneak into the MAC Tournament via goal differential as the No. 6 seed. If her freshman season was her coming out party, her sophomore campaign was her emergence as a budding star in net. 

Sloma has gotten the Bobcats off to one of the best starts in program history this season. She finds herself in the top 30 in goal allowed average, save percentage and shutouts. No matter how high she ranks nationally, Sloma always credits her teammates for making her life easy. The reason Sloma believes that the Bobcats have been so successful is the tight-knit bond off the pitch. That bond is enhanced by the honest conversations held in FAF. 

“I think being able to talk about things that are not surface level is super important,” Sloma said.”I think that is the foundation of the relationships that we’ve built on our team as a whole. I’ve never been part of a program or a team that is this close, so I think being able to talk about things that are a little bit difficult to talk about really expands those relationships and makes them deeper.”

Ohio midfielder Hailey Jeng is, like Sloma, a junior and part of the group of leaders for the young Ohio roster. Jeng has likewise noticed that having the open discussions have only enhanced the team and made it a lethal squad. 

These discussions are wide ranging. Sometimes, they revolve around balancing school and a loaded schedule. Other times, they are a way for the players to delve into topics surrounding the next opponent. Many times, however, the players discuss some of the struggles of being a female athlete. From finding it difficult to prioritize mental health with a whirlwind of a schedule to simply finding a voice to know what to talk about, FAF fosters the platform to be open as both teammates and peers. 

“We really just are able to come together and it’s just a free space, a really non-judgment, no judgment zone, honestly, where we can just come together and talk about the struggles we have either in the sport or out of the sport,” Jeng said. “I just really do think that being able to come together in a safe space has really enhanced our relationships on and off the field.”

Ohio has embraced the phrase “united we stand, divided we fall,” making their bond as a team one of the priorities as it attempts to make it back to the NCAA Tournament. With a younger roster, Ohio has not skipped a beat this year. Both Sloma and Jeng credit that to the coaching staff, saying that none of the openness and transparency amongst the players would be remotely possible without their support. 

Transparency is as important in women’s soccer as any sport. The United States Women’s National Team famously spearheaded the fight for equal pay. Soccer icons have made it possible for female athletes to dream bigger and have the same opportunities as their male counterparts. However, the fight is not finished. Revenue does not flow through women’s sports in the same way it does for men’s sports. Despite being one of the most exciting teams on campus, Ohio soccer does not have the same name-brand recognition in the student body. Through FAF, Sloma and her teammates look to break down walls and tackle those issues with a full head of steam. 

“I think there’s just some topics in women’s sports that maybe aren’t super outspoken right now,” Jeng said. “Having a safe space where (we) can go and talk about the different struggles and the different topics that maybe aren’t widely talked about is just something extremely important where just a bunch of female athletes can come together and talk about various struggles through their different sports and their different perspectives on it.”

Certain buzzwords like “culture” and “tradition” are often used by coaches and athletes alike to describe a team dynamic. For a program and sport with less history of sustained success, the challenge has been establishing the same level of year-after-year achievement. Having outlets like FAF has been critical in Ohio soccer being able to continue to progress into the stratosphere of the elites in the MAC.