Oct. 26, 2008
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio - A two-goal second-half deficit was too much for the Ohio field hockey team to overcome, as they dropped a disappointing, 3-2 decision to the Miami RedHawks Sunday afternoon on Senior Day at Pruitt Field. The Bobcats (7-11, 5-4 MAC) cut the Miami lead in half with just over 15 minutes to play, but Ohio could not capitalize on a penalty corner as time expired, allowing the RedHawks (12-6, 6-3 MAC) to escape with the victory. With the loss, Ohio fell into third place in the Mid-American Conference, while Miami took sole possession of second.
"It's always been our status that we have to get through the MAC Tournament to get to the NCAA Tournament," Ohio head coach Neil Macmillan said. "Nothing has changed with that, but unfortunately Miami has second place pretty much wrapped up and gets the (first-round) bye, but you can't worry about that right now. We're a good team. We just have to put it all together at the right time."
The Bobcats jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, as sophomore Louzeth Schutte (Senekal, S.A.) scored her second goal in as many days. Schutte blasted the ball into the top half of the cage off a penalty corner, as junior Nina Bruno (Chevy Chase, Md.) and senior Estienne Coetzee (Bloemfontein, S.A.) earned assists on the score.
In the 20th minute, Miami evened the match on sophomore Christine Brightwell's goal, while senior Elizabeth Gilroy earned the assist. As time expired in the opening period, the RedHawks struck again as senior Danielle Gaynor scored off a penalty corner to give Miami a 2-1 halftime lead, with Gilroy recording her second assist on the day.
The RedHawks extended their lead to 3-1 when junior Mary Hull pushed in a rebound in the 39th minute. Ohio would not go quietly however, as sophomore Katherine Ballard (Charlottesville, Va.) scored her first-career goal after deflecting senior Rachelle Coetzee's (Bloemfontein, S.A.) shot off a penalty corner to put the 'Cats down just one. Ohio earned their fifth penalty corner of the match with time running out, but Rachelle's shot was blocked and Miami snuck away with the 3-2 win.
"As a team, we're really going to pull together in practice and make sure that we're on top of things from the beginning," said junior Marcy Dull (Ephrata, Pa.). "That way our energy will carry over into the weekend and when the whistle starts the game, we'll be ready to go."
Miami held a 16-9 edge in shots, with Hull taking a team-high four for the 'Hawks. Dull led Ohio with five shots, two of which were on goal.
Senior goalie Jessie Martin (Louisville, Ky.) made six saves in her final start at home for the Bobcats, while junior Kelsey Dean stopped two shots in goal for the RedHawks.
Ohio returns to action Friday, Oct. 31 for a Halloween match-up at Missouri State in their final MAC regular season match of the year. Game time is set for 3 p.m.
