Aug. 19, 2011

Stats

ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio Soccer dropped its 2011 home opener this afternoon at Chessa Field, allowing an early goal and falling to visiting Wright State, 1-0. The Raiders struck in the eighth minute when Liz Soto headed in a free kick for the visitors.

The Bobcats out-shot the Raiders, 9-5, with the closest chance coming when senior Kelsey Pichel (Rochester, Mich.) saw her shot from the right side skid across the crossbar.

A corner kick by Cathryn Rogers (Etrobicoke, Ontario) set-up the sequence prior to Pichel's try. Rachel Philpot (Cincinnati, Ohio) had a try blocked and another Ohio player mistimed her attempt to rebound the shot. Pichel was then able to get her foot to the ball and lob the shot over McCurdy. However, the woodwork was unkind to the 'Cats.

Ohio had six shots in the first half but Wright State goalkeeper Brooke McCurdy made five saves to keep the Green & White off the scoreboard. Erin Schwenke (Solon, Ohio) had the first shot of the game and Veronica Rock added a try for Ohio (North Royalton, Ohio). Schwenke had another try denied by McCurdy in the opening stages of the second half as the teams took turns in possession of the ball. Remi Famodu (Bloomington, Minn.) also registered a shot on goal while her sister Toye had three in the first 45 minutes.

Goalkeeper Mattie Liston (Lakewood, Ohio) made only two saves but was strong in net, snaring a number of crosses and directing traffic in the back. After a first half that saw one corner-kick opportunity, Ohio had three tries in the second half, while the visitors had two attempts.

The Ohio women's soccer team will return to the pitch on Sunday afternoon when it hosts Pittsburgh at 1 p.m.