Sports
Soccer: Ohio Falls to Western Virginia Wesleyan
By: Jerod Scheetz
Posted on:
Ohio fell 2-0 to the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats on Thursday at Chessa Field.
A second half goal from a controversial penalty kick and some missed chances for Ohio were enough for Wesleyan to close the door.
About midway through the second half with Wesleyan already ahead 1-0, Ohio goalkeeper Kelsey Warren came off her line in pursuit of a through ball. The Wesleyan striker got to the ball just as Warren dropped to snag the ball.
The ball popped loose and Warren found herself underneath the Wesleyan player. As both ladies hit the ground, the head referee made the call against Ohio and rewarded Wesleyan with a penalty kick.
Freshman Rachel Ritchey stepped up and drilled the penalty kick into the left side of the net to give her team a 2-0 lead that Ohio couldn’t come back from.
Ohio created numerous chances in the second half, but couldn’t get the right finishing touch on any of them.
Senior midfielder Cathryn Rogers was extremely active and was able to penetrate from the right wing and get into the box for Ohio. Rogers had a couple shot attempts blocked and she failed to connect with any of her teammates with a cross.
Rogers had a great chance off a cross from the left side, but she put the ball just over top of the goal.
Alex Stec and Paige Howard also contributed to the Ohio attack in the second half. The team’s struggles inside the box were just too much to overcome.
Wesleyan’s goalkeeper kept a clean sheet, making a few nice stops to keep Ohio out of the nets, especially in the second half.
“I don’t think that we matched the level of play from Saturday, at least consistently,” Ohio head coach Stacy Strauss said after the game. “We certainly created a lot of dangerous chances, but the result really wasn’t indicative of the game.”
Ohio had to battle through the match without services from regular goalies. Junior Mattie Liston and Sophomore Nicole Amari missed the match as they continue to battle through inuries.
Ohio will play host to Eastern Kentucky this Saturday at noon.