Sports
Ohio Blanks Wright State For First Win
By: Kellen Becoats
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An early strike from sophomore forward Alexis Milesky gave Ohio soccer its first win of the season in a tight 1-0 contest at Wright State on Friday.
Milesky, who led the team in goals and points last season, propelled the Bobcats (1-2-0) into the lead in the second minute with a bit of an unorthodox shot.
Redshirt sophomore Carly Manso, who provided much of Ohio’s attacking spark during the game, rushed into the Raiders (0-3-0) defensive third and fired a shot that was deflected back into the path of Milesky, who struck the shot while she was falling down and watched it ruffle the upper left corner of the net for the games only goal.
It was a bit nervy after the goal, as the Bobcats opted to sit back and defend their lead, allowing Wright State to apply pressure and force a honest effort out of the Ohio defense.
One player who was truly tested was senior goalkeeper Nicole Amari. The 5-foot-5 ‘keeper was huge in between the post, registering six saves and keeping the Bobcats in the lead.
There were a couple slip ups; a shot bounced over Amari in the 35th minute and narrowly rolled wide. The most dangerous opportunity for the Raiders came in the 38th minute when a slow back pass left the Wright State forward in prime position.
But Amari rushed off her line, watching the ball bounce off her twice as the forward struggled to wrestle the ball free and eventually an Ohio defender tracked back to tap it into the safe hands of the senior shot-stopper.
Then in the dying minutes of the first half, the Raiders made one last rush towards the Bobcat’s goal and nearly equalized after Amari left her line slightly early to defend, but also left the net unattended.
Luckily for Ohio, the Wright State forwards took too many touches in the box and made a couple passes to many, which allowed one of the Bobcat defenders to get back and get the ball out of the danger area.
Play became a little more frenzied in the second half, with both teams trying to maintain solid possession but failing to penetrate each other’s final third. The traveling Bobcat supporters were holding their breathe for the entirety of the second half, but when the final whistle sounded, the sigh of relief for Ohio’s first win was audible.
The game marked the first time the Bobcats have defeated Wright State since Aug. 26, 2005.
Ohio will travel to Lexington, Ky., to take on the University of Kentucky at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The game will be streamed nationally on SEC Network Plus.