Aug. 28, 2009
Final Stats
EVANSTON, Ill. -
The Ohio Field Hockey team opened the 2009 season this afternoon with a 3-0 loss to the defending national champion Maryland Terrapins in Evanston, Ill.
The Terrapins struck early, scoring a goal six minutes into the match. Emma Thomas found the back of the net for Maryland, with assists from Ameliet Rischen and Katie O'Donnell. The goal was scored from a penalty corner with the decisive shot fired from the top of the circle. The Terrapins continued their attack throughout the first half, registering nine shots, four of which were on goal.
The Terrapins added another tally near the end of the half. O'Donnell's unassisted goal in the 32nd minute was her first of the season and came off a rebound from a blocked shot. The Bobcats were unable to clear the rebound and O'Donnell scooped it up for Maryland's second goal of the day.
With just moments left in the first half, Ohio's Katelyn Shelley (Ephrata, Pa.) fired a hard shot on net. Maryland's Alicia Grater was equal to the task and made the save. At halftime, the Bobcats headed to the locker room down by two goals after a potential goal of theirs was disallowed right before the half.
The second half started better for the Bobcats, as they came out firing on all cylinders. Senior Marcy Dull (Ephrata, Pa.) had two quick shots to begin the half, one of which was on goal and met by Grater.
Solid defensive play was the trend for the Bobcats' second half, with goalkeeper Courtney Seiders (Mt. Joy, Pa.) making one stop and Brittany Zorn (Millersville, Md.) making an important defensive save right around the 50th minute. The Green and White fought off shot after shot as well as several penalty corners by the Terrapins. "Courtney played extremely well in goal today," said head coach Neil Macmillan. "She made some great saves including a number of important one-on-one chances. I thought our defense played very well despite allowing so many corners."
With just eight minutes left in the match, Maryland's Emma Thomas found the net for the second time. Assisting on the goal were O'Donnell and Alexis Pappas. The assist for O'Donnell was her fourth point of the contest, as she finished the game with one goal and two assists. Dull again tried valiantly to find the score sheet for Ohio, but her shot in the 65th minute was stopped by Grater for her third save of the day.
Though the Bobcats were unable to score in their first game of the season, there were positives to be taken. Maryland entered today's match as 2008's second highest-scoring team in the nation, operating at a brutal clip of 4.79 goals per game. Only allowing three is a good indicator of what the Bobcats hope will be a solid defensive unit this season. Three saves by goalkeeper Seiders and one defensive save by junior Zorn are the defensive highlights of the day, while three shots (two on goal) by Dull and one shot (on goal) by Shelley rounding the offensive statistics.
"We did a good job against a very good team," said Macmillan. "I thought we competed very well all over the field, especially in the midfield. The difference in this match was the corner execution. Maryland's goals came from penalty corners, and that's something I need to work harder on."
The Bobcats will be back in action on August 29 at 3 pm against the Northwestern Wildcats (1-0).
