Sept. 25, 2010
Final Stats
ATHENS, Ohio - Cathryn Altdoerffer slapped in the game-winning goal in overtime as Ohio field hockey claimed a thrilling 2-1 victory over Miami in front of a near-capacity crowd in Saturday's Mid-American Conference opener at Pruitt field.
Down 1-0 with just over four minutes left in regulation, the `Cats' rallied to tie the score and send the game into extra frames before Altdoerffer (Conestoga, Pa.) poked in the game winner just over six minutes into overtime.
Ohio (5-5, 1-0 MAC) outshot Miami (5-3, 0-1 MAC) 11-8 on the afternoon. Taylor Brown (Elkton, Md.) helped pace the Green and White with six shots to go with her eighth goal of the season. Altdoerffer's game-winning score was her second of the season, while also adding her second assist of the year. Andrea Biegalski (Collegeville, Pa.) also picked up her second assist of the season with her helper on Altdoerffer's winning tally. Courtney Seiders (Mt. Joy, Pa.) recorded three saves in goal.
"Miami is a good team," Ohio coach Neil Macmillan. "We did a great job to limit them to just eight shots off 10 (penalty) corners. We had good chances to score, but we seemed to rush things some in front of the goal. When it comes to overtime, it's a matter putting the ball in the back of the net. We slowed things down and were able to score when we needed to."
In a tight, back-and-forth contest, the RedHawks' Olivia Miller managed to give Miami the advantage with her score with 4:03 left in regulation. Play got crazy after that as just 30 seconds later, the Green and White appeared to score the tying goal, but officials waved the goal off. Ohio picked up a corner on the play and converted when Altdoerffer deflected pass found Brown near the left corner of the goal. Brown then flicked past the keeper and into the corner of the goal to tie the score with 3:29 left to play.
Action was intense over the next couple minutes as two Miami players picked up yellow cards with under a minute to play. Neither squad was able to convert anything in the last minute of regulation.
With the RedHawks playing two players down, Ohio had its opportunities early in overtime, but Miami managed to keep them out of goal. The `Cats' persistence finally paid off with 8:40 left as Altdoerffer took a pass from Biegalski about five yards out with the RedHawk keeper coming out. Altdoerffer saw the opening and slapped it in to give Ohio the win.
Coming out of the gate, neither side was able to establish any type of consistent momentum early on. Miami took control of play with a couple of penalty corners just over midway through the first half, but Ohio's defense held strong and kept the RedHawks off the scoreboard. The `Cats battled back and created a couple chances of their own later in the half, but they were unable to score.
Ohio managed just three shots in the first frame, while Miami picked up just four, but held a 4-2 edge in penalty corners.
The second half saw the action pick up early on as both sides had opportunities, only to see them come to naught. Play continued to go back and forth through the remainder of the half before most of the drama unfolded over the last four minutes and change.
The `Cats outshot the RedHawks 5-4 in the second half, while Miami picked up six penalty corners in the stanza and finished with a 10-6 advantage.
Jackie Nguyen led Miami with three shots, while Miller recorded two shots.
Ohio will be right back at Pruitt Field tomorrow as it plays host to Ball State. Action is scheduled to get under way at 1 p.m.
