Sports
Ohio Soccer wins first MAC game in OT
By: Noah Wolf
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Ohio Bobcats Women’s soccer opened up Mid-American Conference play with an overtime victory over Eastern Michigan, 2-1.
Both sides were held scoreless in the first half. The story of the game was largely a battle in midfield, with both sides struggling to create chances. It seemed that whenever one team would start something, the other team would have the perfect response. Ohio’s closest opportunity came midway through the first half, when Hannah Jaggers got past all Eagles defenders and made her way into the 6-yard box. As she got to a one-on-one with Eastern Michigan goalkeeper Kaylin Williams, she opted to put the ball across the goal for one of her teammates. Her pass was intercepted and the ball was cleared harmlessly, leaving fans scratching their heads. The best chance of the half for Eastern Michigan came in the 41st minute, on an Eastern Michigan corner kick. Ohio goalkeeper Sydney Malham attempted to intercept the cross, but she dropped the ball. Luckily, her back line was able to get the ball clear without any harm done, and the game was scoreless at the half.
The second half started off much like the first: both teams showed proficiency in advancing the ball to the attacking half, but neither team could create decent chances. Then, with only twenty minutes left in the game, Lindsey Shira drilled a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box into the back of the net to give the Eagles a one-goal advantage. Eight minutes later, the Bobcats had a corner kick opportunity. They took it short, and Paige Knorr put a great cross into the box, which was dropped by Williams. After a few attempts to clear it, the ball fell to Alivia Milesky at the edge of the penalty area, but her attempt sailed over the goal.
It all seemed out of reach for the Bobcats as time was winding down. With 90 seconds remaining in regulation, Ohio was awarded a free kick in a good position on their attacking half. However, there was confusion in the Bobcats side as many players lined to be on the receiving end of the free kick to put the ball in goal, but no one stepped up to take the free kick. Eventually, Sydney Leckie stood over the ball, and lobbed a beautiful cross towards the back post, where multiple people fell towards the ball. Allie Curry had the defining hit, as her header rolled across the goal line, evening the score at 1 and sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, the Bobcats picked up right where they left off: scoring. Hannah Jaggers dribbled her way around a defender after a blocked pass found her, and while she had teammates running in for support, she made no mistake this time. Her shot was a screamer from close range, soaring over the crouching Williams and into the top of the net.
The Bobcats (4-5, 1-0) will continue MAC play at home against Central Michigan on Sunday, while the Eagles (3-6-1, 0-1) will travel to Kent State on Sunday for a matchup with the Golden Flashes.