Sports
Soccer: Ohio Draws With Wright State, 1-1
< < Back to soccer-ohio-draws-wright-state-1-1The Ohio soccer team battled back in the sizzling heat on Sunday to draw a 1-1 tie against Wright State at Chessa Field. The Bobcats put eight shots on goal, six coming after the first half.
“I think once again we came in a little tentative, afraid to make mistakes,” head coach Aaron Rodgers said. “I continue to tell them, ‘We’re going to make mistakes.’”
The Bobcats’ first mistake came in the first half, when Wright State got on the board with a 30-yard shot from Emilie Fillion that just got over the outstretched Nicole Amari. Ohio had a slow start to the game, but quickened its play in the second half, getting four corner kicks in the first eight minutes.
The Bobcats had several missed opportunities with 17 shots and 12 corner kicks. As a team, they were pleased with the pressure they put on Wright State goalie Brooke McCurdy.
“I’ll take it as a positive that we’re creating those opportunities. We’re getting the corner kicks,” Rodgers said. “We have a lot of players that are good in the air. Maggie’s good in the air. Lexi’s very good in the air. Those are going to start to pay off, and we’re going to start scoring goals off those opportunities.”
Ohio didn’t hit the back of the net until the 67th minute when Sasha Haverchak struck the first goal of her career and the Aaron Rodgers era.
“I think it helps [Haverchak’s] confidence. It helps the team’s confidence tremendously,” Rodgers said. “Now she knows that she put in the hard work to get where she is and to score a goal in her second game back is fantastic.”
Ohio went with Mattie Liston in the second half, which was a coach’s decision before the game, according to Rodgers. Liston made two saves and kept the Raiders scoreless in the second half and both overtimes.
The Bobcats’ next game is home against DePaul on Friday at 4 p.m. As the season progresses, Rodgers and the Bobcats collectively hope to see the shots start to find the back of the net.
“We’ve been working on [finishing] and talking about drive,” midfielder Maggie Murnane said. “We need to figure out in here who has the potential to drive and get the goal and finish it. Be the kid to finish it.”