Sports
Ohio Field Hockey defeats Davidson to end three-game losing streak
By: Andrew Woods
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB)– After three straight losses, including two in overtime, the Ohio Bobcats (6-10, 2-5 MAC) righted the ship by defeating the Davidson Wildcats (7-7, 3-3 A10) 2-1.
Ohio started the match with all the momentum, firing a shot on goal and securing a penalty corner within the first two minutes. Davidson had their own spurt of momentum midway through the first but could not convert their penalty corner. Momentum continued to swing throughout the first quarter and early in the second, but Ohio would gain late.
In the final minute of the second half, an Ohio shot was blocked, but the Bobcats received a penalty corner. They cashed in when Addy Basile scored her first goal as a Bobcat. This goal, assisted by Marie De Grande and Meela Kopp, made the score 1-0 Ohio at halftime.
Head coach Ali Johnstone said that Basile, while out of her usual position, ran the penalty corner “exactly how she does in practice” to score her first goal. Anouk Plaehn said that Basile “deserved the goal” and that she “couldn’t be happier” for Basile.
Overall, Ohio outshot Davidson 13-9 and led shots on goal 7-4. This was exactly how Coach Johnstone wanted the game to go, saying she wrote shots “40-50 times on my game plan.”
Ohio continued their attack as the third quarter began, securing two penalty corners and shooting three shots, but Davidson quickly took the game back. After a 1-on-1 shot by Davidson missed, the Wildcats got a penalty corner and converted. Matilda Collins fired the shot that tied the game.
After an even middle of the quarter, Davidson applied pressure, racking up multiple penalty corners and shots throughout the third and early in the fourth quarter.
However, it took only one break for the Bobcats to change everything. After a missed Davidson shot, Ohio flipped the field and were awarded a penalty corner. Plaehn rose to the occasion, scoring her fifth goal of the season to give Ohio the lead for good.
However, Davidson would not go down easily. With five minutes left in the game, the Wildcats pulled their goalie. Davidson secured a final chance with a penalty corner with less than a minute to go. However, Ohio stepped up. Emily Risser stopped the corner to win the game for the Bobcats.
After the game, Johnstone praised her team’s resilience, saying that staying in the game and bouncing back was “what we ask of them, and they did it.”
Ohio hosts their regular season finale and Senior Day next Friday against Central Michigan.