Sports
Ohio Field Hockey: Bobcats’ Late Rally Not Enough Against Kent State
By: Zach Paquette
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Despite the defensive battle that was the first half of the game — the offense opened up in the second half for Ohio in their game against Kent State in what was a very physical field hockey matchup.
Both defenses were ready to play today as the Bobcats saw the Golden Flashes possess the ball in their offensive zone for the first five minutes of play. Ohio did a great job in the first half limiting the Golden Flashes to very little shots from point blank range.
Bobcats’ Goalkeeper Alex Pennington arguably had her best half of the year as she made very athletic saves at very key moments during the Flashes’ offensive onslaught.
Through 35 minutes of play, both teams were limited to just two shots each.
The second half was a different story — the field opened up and both teams focused more on the attack.
The physicality reached its boiling point when both teams received yellow cards — Kent State’s coming at the 45-minute mark, while Ohio’s Amy Edgerton earned her’s three minutes later.
From there, the wheels seemed to fall off for the Bobcats. Kent State gained some momentum at the 51-minute mark when they were awarded a corner and got one of their five shots on that possession. Not even two minutes later, Kent State’s Pippa Best opened up the scoring as she beat Pennington which made it 1-0 Golden Flashes.
Kent State did not take the foot off the gas pedal. Seven minutes later, at around the 60th minute, Kent State scored their second goal of the day via Luisa Knapp.
It wasn’t until around the 62nd minute that the Bobcats would find their offensive groove again, but credit has to be given to Kent State’s goalkeeper, Mary Crumlish, who made two key saves in the 62nd minute that kept Kent State in control of the game.
However, the Bobcats were finally able to get on the board when they converted on their seventh of nine total corners. The goal was scored by Jillian Shive who was in the right place and right time on the rebound.
The Bobcats played with urgency the last 5:20 minutes following the goal, but Crumlish’s goaltending proved to be the difference maker Friday afternoon for the Golden Flashes as they would go on to win it 2-1.
With the Bobcats suffering their fifth straight loss, they move to 4-9 (2-3) on the season and with a huge home meeting next week against nationally-ranked Duke, the Bobcats will need to find their swagger again if they hope to get back to their winning ways.