Oct. 21, 2005
Final Stats
ATHENS, Ohio - Torrie Albini scored twice and the Ohio defense limited the opposition to one shot on goal Friday, as the Bobcat field hockey team took down Missouri State, 4-0, on Senior Day at Peggy Pruitt Field.
Lindsay Rothenberger (Fleetwood, Pa.) gave Ohio (8-8, 6-2 Mid-American Conference) a 1-0 lead, and Nikki Gnozzio (Flanders, N.J.) scored her third goal in as many games to put the Bobcats on top 2-0 into halftime. Albini (Escondido, Calif.) found the net twice in the second half for her league-leading 10th and 11th goals of the season to lift Ohio past Missouri State (3-12, 2-5 MAC) in MAC Play.
The Bears took two shots in the first half and managed one shot in the second frame. Missouri State managed just two penalty corners on the afternoon--both in the first half.
With the win, Ohio keeps its lead atop the MAC standings with two games remaining--including a Sunday matinee with second-place Kent State.
"I'm pretty happy with the way we played today. It was a good, solid effort," said Ohio Head Coach Neil Macmillan. "Now we get the opportunity to focus on Kent State and prepare exactly how we need to."
Rothenberger found the net at the 10:25 mark, using her breakaway speed to slip past the Missouri State defense and put Ohio up early. Rothenberger led a two-on-one breakaway and took a shot from the top of the circle that flew past Missouri State goaltender Kim Kinsella.
About 15 minutes later, the Ohio offense put another tally on the board. Gnozzio, who scored in both of Ohio's previous two games, got her stick on an Amanda Arnold (Oceanport, N.J.) penalty corner shot and deflected it into the cage for a 2-0 Bobcat lead.
The game stood at 2-0 into the break, with the Bobcats statistically dominating on the offensive end. Ohio took nine shots in the first frame and doubled the number of Missouri State penalty corners.
Out of the break, it was all Albini. The sophomore took a pass from Taylor Edwards (Chatham, N.J.) at the 58:50 mark and notched her 11th goal of the 2005 season. Less than ten minutes later, she accepted a Gnozzio pass and flipped it past Kinsella for the game's final score.
"You can't put Torrie down easily," Macmillan said. "She knows how to take a shot and she definitely gets the job done."
Ohio finished with 20 shots on the day--13 on goal--and managed 10 penalty corners.
Jennifer Cote (Raynham, Mass.) made one save and posted her fourth shutout of the season. Kinsella made nine saves in the defeat.
Friday's game marked the final in Athens for Ohio's five seniors: co-captain Erica Bundalo (Virginia Beach, Va.), Cote, Edwards, Chelsea Mearig (Lititz, Pa.) and co-captain Rothenberger.
"It was great for them to go out in a game like this," Macmillan said. "They all play a very important role on this team, and they did exactly what they were supposed to do today."
Rothenberger was selected Thursday to participate in the NFHCA Division I North/South All-Star Game. She capped her career in Athens with a goal on two shots Friday.
"It was really nice for us to get a shutout today, especially on our home field," Rothenberger said. "We've really been getting more and more fan support and the crowd was great today. I think everybody played for each other and that played a big part in our win."
The victory now sets up a Sunday afternoon showdown with the second-place Golden Flashes--a game that carries heavy postseason implications. The Bobcats and Golden Flashes will tangle at 1 p.m. Sunday at the KSU Field Hockey Complex.
