Sports
Ohio Drops 1-0 Contest To No. 17 Indiana
By: Tajah Smith
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The Ohio Bobcats field hockey team fought a long and hard battle against No. 17 Indiana on Saturday, but a 45th minute shot by the Hoosiers was the only goal in a 1-0 defeat.
MAC defensive player of the week Britney Walker had one save in goal in the first half, and her teammates came in clutch blocking two of the Hoosiers’ shots. The Hoosiers had nine fouls during the first 35 minutes of play and the Bobcats only two. Either team was able to put any points on the board leaving the game at a stalemate before halftime.
For the second game in a row the Bobcats failed to score a goal. While their defense continued to play effectively, Ohio struggled to push the ball forward against the Hoosiers’ adjusted formation at the start of the second half. Indiana came back on the field after a little break with a change in direction. The Red and White positioned more players on the back line and Ohio could not adjust.
After 45 minutes of scoreless play, junior Nicole Volgraf scored the first goal of the game. Walker said from her perspective she thought the shot was wide and was not going to go in.
On the other hand, Redshirt-Sophomore Maggie Olson had her third MAC team shutout of the season.
Desch who played 61 minutes, almost the entire duration of the game, led Ohio on goals posting three shots, followed by freshmen Elena Curley (Louisville, Ky.) and Junior Clarissa Leickly (Gahanna, Oh.) who both fired one shot. Overall the Bobcats were only in position to shoot five times, while the Hoosiers doubled that firing off 11.
While Ohio only allowed one goal, head coach Neil MacMillan was disappointed with the result.
“We had a chance to beat a team that’s ranked, we should be at that level, and we could be at that level,” Macmillan said. “As coaches we expect to excel in everything that we do and when we don’t it is a disappointing outcome.”
The Bobcats have a challenging weekend ahead of them as they travel to Virginia to take on the Liberty University Eagles (3-4) on Friday and the University of Richmond WebstURs (4-3) on Saturday.