Oct. 30, 2008

Box Score

ATHENS, Ohio - Two first-half goals helped power Ohio to a 3-2 victory over Akron Thursday at Chessa Field. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, it would not be enough to grab the final spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament as Ball State squeaked by Miami 1-0 to bring the `Cats' season to a close.

"We played well today," Ohio coach Stacy Strauss said. "We didn't finish the way we wanted, but we were very dangerous and moved the ball well."

Ohio wraps up its 2008 campaign with a 5-10-3 record overall, including a 4-5-2 mark in conference play. The Zips concluded their season at 7-9-2 with a 2-7-2 conference record. Three different players scored for Ohio, as freshmen Toye Fomadu (Bloomington, Minn.) and Kelsey Pichel (Rochester Hills, Mich.) notched their first goals of the season. Amy Lower (West Chester, Ohio) moved into a tie for seventh place on the Bobcats' single-season goals list with her ninth goal of the season late in the eighth minute. She also led the way with four shots on the day, including three on goal. Senior Erika Schmitt (Wyoming, Ohio) enjoyed a strong outing as she tallied two assists to finish the season with a career-high six overall.

The Bobcats came out strong early and took control of the possession. It would pay off late in the eighth minute when they put their first score of the day on the board. Schmitt lofted a nice corner kick, and Lower timed her jump just right to head the ball into the right corner of the goal and give Ohio the 1-0 lead.

Akron battled back and put the pressure on the `Cats by controlling the action over the next few minutes. A pair of Zip shots missed wide, however, while the Ohio defense managed to keep the ball from getting too deep near the goal to keep the tally in favor of the Bobcats.

Fomadu put the second goal of the day on the board in the 26th minute as Ohio took control of the action. Sophomore Jackie Hanson (LaGrange, Ill.) made a nice play to get control of a ball at the top of the box. She sent a nice pass through a pair of Akron defenders to Fomadu in front of the goal. Fomadu then fired a shot past Zip keeper Jenn Wolbert and into the right corner of the net. That goal would hold up into the break as Ohio took the 2-0 advantage into halftime.

Pichel tallied the third `Cat goal of the contest of the day towards the end of the 54th minute. After getting a corner kick opportunity, Schmitt sent another nice kick in front of the goal. Pichel managed to fight a swarm of Zip defenders to knock it past an Akron player and into the net to make it 3-0.

The Zips fought back strong, however, and kept Ohio on its toes with a pair of late goals. Jessica Fix scored the first almost midway through the 84th minute when she fired a shot from the top of the box and past Bobcat keeper Jess MacLean into the left corner of the goal. Akron continued to keep the pressure on the `Cats over the next few minutes and scored again with 18 seconds remaining when Christina Vacha took a pass from Akron standout Britni Back and notched a shot from the top of the box and into the left corner of the goal. It would be too late for the Zips as Ohio took the 3-2 victory.

For the Bobcats, it marked the final games of their careers for Schmitt, Courtney Mink (Mason, Ohio), Erika Dietz (Yorktown, Va.), Kate Fledderjohn (Fairfield, Ohio), Elyse Merchant (Carmel, Ind.) and Halle Plagens (Bay Village, Ohio). Ohio will return nearly its entire roster for next season, while also welcoming back All-MAC defender Rachael Goulding, who redshirted this year to play internationally for her native Canada. The `Cats will now prepare for a series of games in the spring.