Aug. 22, 2014
Final Stats
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Ohio University women's soccer team overcame a two-goal deficit in the second half, but would fall in its season opener in double overtime to Butler, 3-2, at the Boilermaker Challenge Cup in West Lafayette, Ind., Friday evening.
"I think going into the game the girls' spirits were high," second-year head coach Aaron Rodgers said. "I've been so proud of them through the preseason on how hard they've worked and we were ready to play. Butler is a very good team and they had a great season last year and they returned a ton of starters. We had a very big fight on our hands and we knew that we were going to."
After a half of scoreless play, Butler (1-0-0) struck in the 67th minute when Kelly Mahoney scored on a header from the left side of the six-yard box on a corner kick. Less than a minute later, the Bulldogs went up 2-0 on a goal by Elise Kotsakis.
The Bobcats did not back down and in the 76th minute, senior Liz Finley scored on a shot over the head of the goalkeeper to cut the Bulldog lead in half. Senior Tonya Frasik was credited the assist on the goal.
Ohio continued to attack and in the 80th minute freshman Allie Curry, with an assist from fellow freshman Kelley Zebrowski, placed the ball inside the left post for the equalizer, tying the game at 2-2 and helping send the game into extra time.
"We played a tight first half and figured out how they were going to play," Rodgers said. "In the second half I actually felt like leading up to their goal we actually had a couple of really good chances. We were a little shell shocked and a little down because we had just given up a goal when we had a play. This is the resilience from last year and we came back. We scored two awesome goals. It was awesome for our senior to score and even more impressive that a freshman scored the tying goal."
In the second overtime, Butler's Mahoney would score her second goal of the game off a header in the 104th minute, giving the Bulldogs the 3-2 victory.
Overall, the Bobcats registered 11 shots, with Curry leading the team with three. Finley and senior Annie Beard both had two shots apiece.
Senior starting goalie Nicole Amari allowed three goals and recorded five saves.
"We fought really hard the rest of the game, but they were just a little bit better than us in extra time and scored in the second extra time," Rodgers said. "The team is disappointed that we lost and the girls are disappointed because they put a lot into that game and fought back. To me that shows the expectations of our program and the expectations of our girls and I'm proud of them for that. I know they are not satisfied and we're going to be ready to give a great effort on Sunday."
The Bobcats (0-1-0) return to action for the conclusion of the Boilermaker Challenge Cup on Sunday when Ohio takes on host school Purdue (0-0-0). Competition is set to kick-off at 2 p.m. at the Boilermaker Soccer Complex.
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