Sports
Field Hockey: Ohio splashes in nine goals, slides past Ball State
< < Back to field-hockey-ohio-splashes-nine-goals-slides-past-ball-state“When it rains, it pours.”
Today, that was true in every way possible. Saturday afternoon was a rainy day at Pruitt Field, but that didn’t stop the Bobcats from pouring in nine goals against the Ball State Cardinals. The ‘Cats had a great balance of offense and defense that led to them playing a nearly flawless game and winning by a final score of 9-1.
The Bobcats came out strong in the first half and finished the half with a 7-0 lead. Goals came in pairs for the ‘Cats, as Taylor Brown started the game off with the first two goals. Brooke Edwards added two goals of her own, scoring them within three minutes of each other in the middle of the first half. Cathryn Altdoerffer continued the trend as she scored two of her three total goals within the last 11 minutes of the half. Jessica Jue was able to beat the buzzer at the half as she scored her lone goal of the night just as time was expiring.
To say that Ohio dominated the first half is an understatement. The Bobcats had a total of 12 shots in the first half compared to Ball State having none. For as good as the ‘Cats’ offense was scoring seven goals, their defense was just as good (if not better) as they suffocated the Cardinals by not allowing them to even threaten.
“I kind of hung out by myself down there. I was trying to do things to keep my legs warm,” Ohio goalkeeper Jen McGill said. “It’s really awesome to know that I have that (good defense) up in front of me.”
The second half of the game started slower than the pace of the first half, but the ‘Cats were able to maintain their supremacy. Altdoerffer completed a hat trick with her third goal to put the Bobcats up 8-0 with 14 minutes left in the game. With such a big lead, Ohio was able to get some experience for their younger players as they substituted eight players on the day. Most of these players were able to get significant time as they finished out the game.
Laura Mastro put in a goal for the Bobcats with one minute left in the game to give them their ninth and final goal. Ball State’s Devanny Kuhn scored her team’s single goal on a breakaway with under a minute left in the game to make the final score 9-1.
“I was a little disappointed to give up the goal in the end, but we only gave up four shots and if you score nine goals and give up four shots you can’t lose,” coach Neil Macmillan said.
However, Macmillan was very happy with his team’s overall performance and is looking forward to their game Sunday, when they host rival Miami. The Ohio’s record improved to 9-2 (2-0 Mid-American Conference) after its win.