Sports
Ohio Soccer Falls 3-0 at Home to Western Michigan
By: Jordan Gallagher
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Coming off of the excitement of a 2-0, double overtime win on Friday, Bobcat soccer couldn’t match that kind of excitement in a 3-0 Western Michigan Broncos win
The ‘Cats came out in full force to celebrate the Breast Cancer Awareness Month wearing bright pink jerseys for the occasion. The Bobcats opened the game on the attack forcing a corner kick in the first minute and keeping the ball in the Broncos half for the first two. But it was the Broncos who controlled the ball for the majority of the game, as they put five shots on goal to the Bobcats two.
The first goal of the game occurred at the 39th-minute mark with the Bobcats on the defense and struggling to get into position Western Michigan’s Candice Yule found the foot of Gina Maddie on a low cross in front of the goal that gave Western Michigan the early lead.
With the Bobcats needing a big play to get back in the game it appeared that they may have found an opening after breaking away into a three on two situation but the opportunity quickly ended when midfielder Mollie Whitacre fell down while trying to catch up to the ball.
With 23 minutes left in the half and the Broncos still in control of the game Bobcat midfielder Carly Manso was able to make a few nice moves in the box and shake off a few pressing defenders in order to get off a nice cross that rolled just down the goal line falling short of a ‘Cats player. This was a constant problem for the Bobcats all night as they were able to get the ball to the outside and create chances for crosses but they were just unable to ever connect with anyone in the box.
However, it was in the box that the Broncos scored their next goal. For Western it was a quick and concise series of passes that allowed Olivia Vollmers to put the ball in the dead center of the box giving midfielder Tiffany Buckler the perfect opportunity for a one touch which she put in the back of the net with three minutes remaining in the half to give the Broncos a 2-0 lead.
The Bobcats came out in the second half looking slightly different in terms of how they were looking to put the ball in the box, as well as in their personnel as it was Vanessa Cordoba who got the second half start in goal.
Just one minute into the half the Bobcats had arguably their best opportunity of the game after a Broncos infraction led to a free kick for the Bobcats that founds its way into the box but once again the Bobcats failed to put a ball on goal.
Once again it was the Broncos controlling the majority of the possession as they constantly worked their way deep into Bobcat territory getting off multiple shots in the first 15 minutes many of which Cordoba had to punch out or save.
After a strong attack from the Broncos in the 25th minute and the Broncos caught out of position it looked like the Bobcats might fall down 3-0 but after a good defensive stop and a great counter attack it was the Bobcats who were in position two score off of a two on two with Carly Manso controlling the ball on the outside but it was a Broncos defender who stepped in front of the ball.
The Broncos on the constant attack all game shrugged of the Bobcat attack and put up one of their own quickly making their way down the field before finding Vollmers cutting across the box where she was able to put the ball in the back of the net and give the Broncos a 3-0 lead.
The final 15 minutes of the game were fairly quiet with neither team really able to challenge the other until a nice move on the outside by Holly Harris allowed for her to find Manso in the middle in the 9th minute but a Bronco defender got in the way of any shot opportunity.
Another loss for the Bobcats came in the form of an injury as Mikaela McGee went down in the midfield after a collision. As of right now the severity of the injury is still unknown.
The Bobcats fell to 4-7 overall and 2-2 in conference but will look to pick up a big conference win next week in Oxford against Miami; while the Broncos improved to 6-3 overall and 2-2 in conference and will play host to Buffalo next week.