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Bobcats Drop Season Opener To No. 16 Boston


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The Ohio University field hockey team was unable to upset nationally ranked Boston University in their season opener Saturday at New Balance Field in Boston, Mass., falling to the Terriers, 5-1.

After being outscored 3-0 and out-shot 15-5 in the first half, the Bobcats (0-1) battened down the hatches on defense and tried to mount an impressive comeback against No. 16 Boston (1-0) at the beginning of the second frame.

Senior midfielder Katie Fenzel was at the forefront of her team’s comeback effort in the opening minutes of the second half.

“Even after what happened in the first half, we still had a ‘we can do this’ mentality,” Fenzel said.

That sentiment was strengthened when senior Jessica Jue took a penalty corner in the 38th minute.  Jue’s corner went to redshirt junior Lauryl Desch who set up Fenzel for the goal, cutting the Terriers’ lead to 3-1.

Despite attempting just four shots on goal in the second half, the Terriers were able to capitalize on two of their opportunities and pull away for the win.

“The ending score of the game was not really a reflection of how close the game actually was,” Fenzel said. “We never thought the game was over and we fought to the end. We didn’t get the ‘W’, but I was so proud of how we battled.”

The Bobcats had trouble containing Boston’s offense. Particularly, Amanda Cassera, who tallied a hat trick in the contest with goals at 27’, 32’, and 68’.

Katie Bernatchez and Ysi Schieb also scored goals for Boston, coming in the 13th minute and the 46th minute, respectively.

The Terriers proved to be the more opportunistic team, scoring goals on five of their 12 shots (.417) compared to the Bobcats, who scored just once on eight shots (.125).

“[Boston] is a good team and we really could have won,” Fenzel said. “We just have to be better defensively, put more emphasis on our midfield transfers, and to be sure to stay aware of our marks when there are turnovers.”

But despite the loss, Ohio still came away from the game with a positive attitude.

“Even the negative things are going to go in a positive direction because we know what things we need to fix and we’ll fix them.” A confident Fenzel said.  “All we can do now is keep our heads up and get ready for another game tomorrow.”

The Bobcats will have a second chance to get their first win of the year at New Balance Field when they take on the Delaware Blue Hens on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 1 p.m.