Sept. 24, 2005
Final Stats
OXFORD, Ohio - Estienne Coetzee scored twice and sister Rachelle Coetzee scored once and provided three assists to lead the Bobcats to a 4-2 win over Miami Saturday in Mid-American Conference field hockey action at the North Turf Field in Oxford.
The victory snapped a three-game Miami (4-5 overall, 1-1 MAC) winning streak and pushed the Bobcats to 2-0 after the first weekend of MAC play. R. Coetzee (Bloemfontein, South Africa) posted five points and Erica Bundalo (Virginia Beach, Va.) was credited with two assists.
With Ohio (3-5 , 2-0 MAC) trailing by a goal in the first half, E. Coetzee (Bloemfontein, South Africa) found the back of the net to tie it up, then scored the first goal of the second half to put Ohio up for good. Amanda Arnold (Oceanport, N.J.) added an insurance tally in the second frame and R. Coetzee finished off the scoring as the contest came to a close, lifting the Bobcats to the win.
"It was excellent to score four goals today all off penalty corners," said Ohio Head Coach Neil Macmillan. "We still have a lot to work on, but I'm happy with the way we're playing right now."
Miami's Taylor Florence kicked-off the scoring at the 31:00 mark, pushing a penalty corner opportunity into the Ohio cage from the left side for an early 1-0 advantage.
From there, though, the Bobcat offense took control. E. Coetzee put the Bobcats on the scoreboard for the first time, taking a pass from her sister and tipping it in from the right post off a penalty corner to tie the score at one at the 32:45 mark.
The game remained tied at one into the break, but the Bobcat offense didn't let up in the second frame. Out of intermission, it was again the Coetzee sister show. With a tip-in off a penalty corner, E. Coetzee scored her second goal of the game--with R. Coetzee and Bundalo on the assists--to push the Bobcats into the lead for the first time on the afternoon.
Next it was Arnold's turn to hit the cage, scoring her first goal of the season to put Ohio ahead 3-1. For the third time in as many chances, R. Coetzee was credited with the assist.
"Rachelle was excellent today," Macmillan said. "It's very comforting as a coach to get that kind of performance out of a freshman."
Alyssa Nye scored at the 63:51 mark to pull the RedHawks to within a goal, 3-2, but Miami would never get any closer.
R. Coetzee capped off a five-point day with a goal as time expired, taking a pass from Bundalo and slapping it past the Miami goaltender to seal the conference victory.
Jennifer Cote (Raynham, Mass.) notched seven saves between the pipes. Ohio won the battle o f penalty corners 13-10, but was outshot 16-13.
The Bobcats will take a brief step out of conference play this week. Ohio will travel to No. 14 Ohio State on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the North Turf Field in Columbus before returning to the conference on Friday.
