Sports
Second Half Collapse Dooms Bobcat Field Hockey Against Northwestern
By: Blake Baker
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Ohio field hockey fell to 8-8 on the season after dropping a disappointing 4-2 loss to Northwestern on Sunday.
With the Bobcats holding a 2-1 lead in the second half, the Wildcats’ offense, led by a Dominique Master hat trick, caught fire for a comeback victory.
The Bobcats got off to a hot start as Clarissa Leickly converted a penalty corner opportunity in the third minute for a 1-0 Ohio lead. Her sixth goal of the season was assisted by Adele Sammons and Kristen Buchanan.
Sammons continued to shine early. Not only did she record her team high 11th assist on Leickly’s goal, but she created the opportunity for an impressive goal in the 14th minute to put the Bobcats ahead by two.
Just under seven minutes before the end of the half, Northwestern found the scoreboard on a Masters goal, making the score 2-1. She was assisted by Isabel Flens.
Ohio led 2-1 at halftime despite trailing eight to three in total shots, but the Green and White’s defense crumbled coming out of the locker rooms.
Masters struck again less than three minutes into the second half. The goal was unassisted and knotted the game at 2-2.
Just two minutes later, Lisa McCarthy put the Wildcats ahead with a goal off of a penalty corner with the help of Puck Pentenga.
“They put us under a lot more pressure in the second half,” Macmillan said. “We got frantic and didn’t execute as well as we wanted to. I wasn’t happy with our performance.”
Masters completed the hat trick in the 49th minute on assists from Charlotte Martin and Lisa McCarthy, putting Northwestern ahead for good 4-2.
The game turned out to be a tale of two halves, and Macmillan says the inconsistency is something his ‘Cats will need to improve on moving forward.
“We have to make sure we do a better job with the plan at hand,” Macmillan said. “We have to do a better job of changing some things up at halftime and go from there.”
Ohio will finish out the regular season at home against Miami on Saturday at 1 p.m. as it looks to claim a spot in postseason play.