Oct. 11, 2008
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio field hockey team snapped their two-game losing skid in convincing fashion, knocking off the Missouri State Bears (6-7, 1-2 MAC), 3-1, Saturday afternoon at Pruitt Field. The Bobcats (6-7, 4-2 MAC) set season highs in shots, shots on goal and penalty corners en route to the victory.
"The team came out ready to prove how well we can play," Ohio head coach Neil Macmillan said. "We created the chances and could have had 10 (goals) today. It's just unfortunate. We had a goal called back because the umpire called a foul, which is fine, but the advantage could have carried on. We had two or three chances where, if someone's stick is just an inch further away we can control the ball. It's exciting for me that we're creating these opportunities."
Ohio didn't waste any time getting on the board, as junior Katelyn Shelley (Ephrata, Pa.) snuck the ball behind Missouri State keeper Jessica Schuster from the baseline just two minutes into the game, giving the 'Cats the early 1-0 advantage.
"I dribbled down the baseline and it kind of went off the inside of the goalie's leg, into the back of the goal," Shelley said. "It was a bad angle, but Neil (Macmillan) says if we're going to shoot from there we better score, so I did."
In the 16th minute, Ohio stretched their lead to 2-0 when senior Rachelle Coetzee (Bloemfontein, S.A.) notched her team-best eighth goal of the year off a penalty corner. Senior Nikki Gnozzio (Flanders, N.J.) earned her team-leading fifth assist of the season on the tally.
Shelley gave the Bobcats a three-goal advantage after she deflected a shot by junior Marcy Dull (Ephrata, Pa.) into the cage in the 33rd minute, giving Shelley two goals in the game and three on the season. The game was Shelley's first-career multi-goal game. Dull grabbed her first assist of the year on the play.
Ohio would take their 3-0 lead into the break after controlling much of the first half. The Bobcats outshot the Bears 12-3 in the first frame and earned four penalty corners to Missouri State's one.
Ohio dominated the second half as well, not allowing the Bears to get the ball into their attacking zone until nearly 15 minutes into the half. However, the 'Cats could not find the back of the net in the second stanza, despite outshooting Missouri State 19-4 in the half and earning eight penalty corners.
Junior Melissa Lantz tallied her 14th goal of the season in the 66th minute, scoring on freshman goalie Jen McGill (Louisville, Ky.), who allowed her first-ever goal as a Bobcat, but it was too little, too late for the Bears, as they fell 3-1.
Ohio's relentless attack, combined with strong defensive play, limited Missouri State to just one shot on goal, while the Bobcats put a season-high 16 shots on frame. Ohio also fired a season-high 31 shots, with 10 Bobcats taking at least one shot. Prior to today, seven different shooters were the season high for Ohio. Rachelle fired a team-high eight shots, while Shelley finished with five.
"We need to get everybody involved and it's great to see a lot of people getting at least one shot and multiple people getting multiple shots, so it was just a good team effort today," Shelley said.
The Bears managed just seven total shots, with Lantz taking three of them to lead the way. Ohio also held a big advantage in penalty corners, 12-2, setting another season best.
"We played well stopping (Missouri State) from breaking, but I think the defense was us getting back from the forward line and us putting pressure on them, rather than the four or five at the back stepping up," Macmillan explained. "We kept putting pressure on them, which was another good turnaround the team made today."
Schuster made 12 saves in net for Missouri State, while senior goalie Jessie Martin (Louisville, Ky.) earned the win in goal for the 'Cats, playing 64 minutes before being relieved by McGill, who saw the final six minutes of action.
Ohio has now defeated Missouri State in seven-consecutive meetings, and hasn't lost to the Bears since they joined the Mid-American Conference in 2005 (7-0). The Bobcats control the all-time series 14-8 following the victory.
"We just really needed to fire everybody up and come together, because yesterday was disappointing (a 3-0 loss to Kent State), so we brought it in before the game and got everybody on the same page and just showed everybody what Ohio field hockey is all about," Shelley said.
Ohio returns to the field Tuesday, Oct. 14, with a 6 p.m. EST mid-week game at No. 9 Duke, before playing a pair of weekend games in the state of Michigan (Oct. 18 at No. 6 Michigan State and Oct. 19 at MAC-foe Central Michigan).
