Sports
Ohio Soccer Falls 3-1 to Eastern Michigan
By: Jordan Gallagher
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Bobcat soccer entered Friday’s game needing a win to move one step closer to second place in the Mid-American Conference East standings, but Ohio was unable to get the victory against a strong Eastern Michigan team that took a 3-1 win as visitors.
Both teams came out from the very first whistle attacking and providing constant pressure whenever the opportunity arose. The two teams had 31 shots, 17 of which were on goal, leading to a game full of offensive firepower.
Both teams were able get corner kicks and shots on goal early with the Bobcats first shot coming from Alexis Milesky in the fifth minute, but it was the Eagles who struck first off a deep corner kick that landed in the outside of the box where Madison Hirsh scored in just the third minute for an early 1-0.
Even in the loss Ohio goalkeeper Taylor Smith had another great game for the Bobcats, as she recorded six saves on the night for the Bobcats and was the driving factor that kept Ohio in the game until late in the second half.
Mollie Whitacre was able to respond early for the Bobcats, receiving a nice pass from Carly Manso and capitalizing on a shot across the net from the back of the box tying the game at 1-1 in the eighth minute.
Although the Bobcats were able to record 16 shots, eight of which on goal, they suffered constant setbacks on the offensive side of the ball — namely offside penalties of which they had three. On all three occasions the Bobcats were in the box and had good opportunities to score.
The second half started off with much of the same fast pace of the first. The ‘Cats forced a corner kick but the pass was punched away by. It was Michelle Rollins who returned the favor for the Eagles, this time putting the ball in the back of the net in the 54th minute to give Eastern a 2-1 lead.
The visitor’s final goal was a wild shot that the Eagles were able to capitalize on a pass to the back half of the box. After receiving the ball, forward Kristen Nason took a few quick dribbles before taking a shot that hit the top corner of the crossbar and bounced down into the middle of the box. It spun its way back into the top corner of the other side of the net, putting the Eagles up 3-1 in the 75th minute.
Even down, the second half was all Bobcats as they had the Eastern Michigan defense on its heels for the better part of the half and gave the Eagles offense few opportunities to provide any offense of their own, but with all the pressure and constant offense Ohio was never able to match the score.
After the Eagles score late in the second half made the score 3-1, Ohio changed its formation but still continued to provide pressure up the middle. The ‘Cats seemed deflated after the goal however and were never able to regain the momentum that they had for most of the half and they were not able to get another shot off until the 84th minute eventually falling 3-1.
Other than Smith there were some bright spots for the Bobcats as both Allie Curry and Carly Manso were able to put up four shots, providing much of the team’s offense.
The Bobcats fell to 4-10 (2-5), and will take on Bowling Green at home on Sunday.