Oct. 31, 2009
Final Stats
ATHENS, Ohio - The Bobcats took care of business at Pruitt Field on Saturday, shutting out visiting Ball State 3-0. This win, the ninth of the season for the Green and White, places them atop the Mid-American Conference standings, as Kent State fell to Miami earlier in the afternoon. The winner of tomorrow's game against Miami will determine the 2009 regular-season conference champion.
Marcy Dull (Ephrata, Pa.) led off the scoring for the `Cats, finding the back of the net in the 17th minute. Katelyn Shelly (Ephrata, Pa.) controlled the ball in the D from a penalty corner and was able to find Dull's stick with her pass. Dull wasted no time in scoring her ninth goal of the year, putting Ohio ahead by one.
Neither team found the score sheet over the next 25 minutes, but the Bobcats really outplayed the Cardinals. Ohio peppered Ball State goalkeeper Tiffany Shifflett, accumulating 19 total shots in the match. She was equal to six of them on the day, making some fine saves.
The `Cats broke through again when Paige Herr (Lancaster, Pa.) scored her first goal of the season. The second Bobcat goal of the day came from another penalty corner, and this time Dull provided the assist.
"We scored off three of nine corners," said head coach Neil Macmillan. "That's great. Scoring on one of every three...that's about as good as you can hope for."
The brilliant corner execution continued when Brooke Edwards (Milford, Pa.) found the back of the net on yet another penalty corner in the 69th minute. The goal was her third of the season and was unassisted. Though coming from a corner, the ball bounced around for a few seconds inside Ball State's defensive zone before Edwards was able to hammer it home.
"It was good all around," said Macmillan. "I'm happy with our corner execution and happy with our play."
Saturday's win puts even more emphasis on Sunday's regular-season finale against Miami. Whichever team wins Sunday's match will be the regular-season champion and earn an automatic bye in the first round of the conference tournament. If Ohio loses and Kent State wins their match against Ball State Sunday, the Bobcats would drop to third place, meaning they would not get the first-round bye.
Sunday's 1 pm match against Miami is 2009 Senior Day.
