Nov. 2, 2008
Box Score
ST. LOUIS - The Ohio field hockey team defeated the Richmond Spiders, 3-1, Sunday afternoon on a neutral field at John Burroughs High School in St. Louis. Sophomore Paige Herr (Lancaster, Pa.) scored her second-career goal, both game-winners, and both in the Bobcats' last two games, to help lead Ohio (9-11, 6-4 Mid-American Conference) to the victory in their regular season finale and the first-ever meeting with Richmond (9-10, 5-1 Atlantic 10).
"This was a very good win," Ohio head coach Neil Macmillan said. "Richmond is a very good team. They're second in the Atlantic 10, which is a higher-ranked conference than the MAC, so for us to get the result we did, I'm very happy with. We played a good game of hockey today. We gave up a few too many chances, but our defense was sound and Jessie (Martin) made good saves, while we finished our chances on the front line"
The Bobcats wasted no time getting on the board, as senior Rachelle Coetzee (Bloemfontein, S.A.) scored her team-leading 11th goal of the season off a penalty corner just over two minutes into the game. Senior Nikki Gnozzio (Flanders, N.J.) earned the assist on the tally.
Richmond evened the score with fewer than 12 minutes to play in the first frame, as sophomore Dani Pycroft scored off an assist from junior Megan Thompson. The match would remain deadlocked at halftime, with the Spiders holding a slight, 4-3 edge in shots.
Two yellow cards would hurt Richmond in the second half, as sophomore Hannah Hess and junior Sarah Blythe-Wood each received a card, forcing the Spiders to play a player down for extending periods, allowing the Bobcats to capitalize.
With Hess out, Herr tallied her second goal in as many games with 15 minutes left to play in regulation, giving Ohio a 2-1 lead. Junior Marcy Dull (Ephrata, Pa.) garnered the assist on the game-winning score.
Dull then scored with Blythe-Wood on the sideline just over six minutes later, to give the Bobcats the 3-1 lead. Junior Patty Donahue (Powell, Ohio) tallied the final assist of the match.
"For us to utilize our extra person advantage and punish them for being a player down was fantastic," Macmillan said. "I was very happy with how we executed during those times."
Ohio earned the victory, despite being outshot 11-8 for the game. Both squads had five penalty corners. Senior goalie Jessie Martin (Louisville, Ky.) made four saves in her ninth win of the season.
The Bobcats return to action on Thursday, Nov. 6 as they'll play their quarterfinal match of the MAC Tournament against either Ball State or Missouri State. Ohio earned the No. 3 seed for the tournament, which will be hosted by Kent State University.
