Sports
Big Second Half Propels Bobcat Field Hockey Over Michigan State
By: Blake Baker
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After five games and nearly a month on the road, Ohio field hockey returned to Pruitt Field to top the Michigan State Spartans 4-1 on Sunday.
The ‘Cats came into the game following a 2-0 loss to conference foe Missouri State on Friday, and the Spartans were Ohio’s third Big Ten opponent of the season.
Much of the first five minutes of the game were played in Michigan State’s end, and Ohio dominated first half shot totals with 11 to Michigan State’s three.
The Bobcats scored first as Adele Sammons notched an unassisted goal in the 25th minute, and just seconds later, Heather Howie put the Spartans on the board with help from Kristin Matula.
The score was tied 1-1 at the half, but the second half was all Bobcats as they scored three more goals over a span of 10 minutes. Clarissa Leickly started the trend in the 54th minute with assists from Sammons and Kristen Buchanan.
Maria Russell recorded her team-high ninth goal of the year with the help of Emma Eggleston in the 56th minute. The fourth and final goal for the ‘Cats came in the 64th minute on a goal from Elena Curley. She was assisted by Sammons and Buchanan.
“This is one of those games we tried to really focus in on scoring goals, and we happened to do that in the second half and ended up in a really good place at the end of the game,” Ohio head coach Neil Macmillan said.
With three saves on the afternoon, Lina Trucco increased her career high to 48, and entering the game, she was ranked second in the Mid-American Conference in save percentage.
The Bobcats improve to 6-6 with the 4-1 victory over Michigan State, and hope a strong showing against a Big Ten opponent will impact the remainder of their season.
“Hopefully it gives us a lot of confidence,” Macmillan said. “What’s been unfortunate in the season prior to now is that we’ve outplayed Big Ten opponents. We outplayed Ohio State and we outplayed Rutgers if you look at the stat sheet, but we didn’t win the games on the score sheet.”
The Bobcats return home for two conference contests at 7 p.m. against Ball State on Friday and at noon against Longwood on Sunday.