Sept. 24, 2010
Final Stats
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Regulation and two extra frames were not enough to decide Ohio's 2010 Mid-American Conference opener as the `Cats battled Eastern Michigan to a 0-0 draw on the road Friday. Ohio's defense picked up its third shutout of the season with the scoreless tie.
Freshman keeper Mattie Liston (Lakewood, Ohio) recorded seven saves while picking up her third shutout of the season, already tying her for sixth on Ohio's single-season shutouts list. The `Cats' backline of Sarah Brown (North Royalton, Ohio), Lauren Burke (Medina, Ohio), Paige Howard (Mentor, Ohio) and Kim Nordtveit (Newtown, Pa.) all turned in strong showings to maintain the shutout. Freshman Natalie Bechtel (Westlake, Ohio) paced Ohio's offense with a match-high four shots, including one on goal, while Kelsey Pichel (Rochester Hills, Mich.) chipped in two shots.
Amidst windy conditions, the Green and White (3-3-2) won the shots battle, claiming a 12-11 edge on the day. EMU (3-5-2) landed seven of their attempts on goal, while the Eagles claimed a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks.
"It was a typical close, physical MAC game," Ohio coach Stacy Strauss said. "We definitely had our chances to win this one, but we just didn't convert. That said, we defended really well and battled hard. It was nice to get the shutout and pick up a point (in the standings) on the road."
Ohio didn't waste any time putting the pressure on the EMU defense as it picked up corner opportunity later in the second minute. Action went back and forth until late in the 28th minute and into the 29th minute when Pichel fired a couple shots that just missed. The `Cats had another good opportunity to score late in the 38th minute when they picked up another corner opportunity, but Rachael Philpot's (Cincinnati, Ohio) promising attempt was blocked away be the Eagles' defense.
Action continued to go back and forth through the final few minutes of the first half. The Green and White held a slight 3-2 edge in shots for the frame, while corner kicks were even at two apiece.
Play stayed close at the start of the second half as neither side was able to gain any momentum. The Eagles took control of the possession early in the 62nd minute and had some opportunities to score over the next few minutes, but three nice saves from Liston kept EMU off the scoreboard. Ohio took possession late in the 69th minute and had a couple shots of its own to take the lead, but the Eagles' keeper came up with a couple of nice saves herself on shots from Toye Famodu (Bloomington, Minn.) and Bechtel.
The remainder of the second half went back and forth with both sides picking up a couple shots, only to see them miss high or wide as regulation ended with the scoreless tie. Both squads ended the second period with nine shots, while EMU held a 7-2 advantage in shots on goal and a 5-3 edge in corner kicks.
EMU took control of play early in the first overtime and had a pair of opportunities inside Green and White territory, but a shot missed wide and the `Cats' defense turned away a corner kick try. Ohio had a pair of chances late in the first frame, but Bechtel missed wide with a header in the 98th minute and just missed wide again with 21 seconds left in the stanza. The `Cats held an 11-10 edge in shots after the first overtime, with the Eagles still managing to hold the advantage in shots on goal and corner kicks.
EMU managed to pick up a corner opportunity early in the 108th minute, but the Green and White defense again held strong and turned the Eagles away. Nordtveit came close to ending things late in the 109th minute, but EMU's keeper managed to collect her try and seal the tie.
Paige Sheridan led the Eagles with three shots, while Stephanie Clark added two shots, both of which came on goal. Keeper Monique Budani recorded three saves.
Ohio returns to play Sunday as it wraps up its five-game road trip against defending conference champion Central Michigan. First touch at the CMU Soccer Complex is set for 2 p.m.
