Oct. 16, 2015
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THE BASICS
Score: Ohio 4, Ball State 1
Records: Ohio (7-6, 2-1 MAC), Ball State (2-13, 0-3 MAC)
Location: Athens, Ohio (Pruitt Field)
Short Story: The Ohio field hockey team (7-6, 2-1 MAC) came out on top with a 4-1 victory over Mid-American Conference foe Ball State (2-13, 1-2 MAC) on Friday (Oct. 16) at Pruitt Field in Athens, Ohio.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Bobcats won the statistical battle, leading in shots (14-6) and penalty corners (8-3)
• The Bobcats grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute when sophomore Maria Russell (Hudson, Ohio) scored on a ball pushed in front of her by senior Adele Sammons (Upminster, England) and past the keeper for the goal. Russell's goal marked her career-high 10th of the season, which leads the team.
• Ohio extended its lead in the 17th minute when senior Clarissa Leickly (Gahanna, Ohio) took a shot that fired directly in front of the goal on passes from Sammons and junior Kristen Buchanan (San Diego, Calif.) off of the penalty corner chance. Leickly tallied her career-high fifth goal of the season. Sammons upped her season assist total to a career-high nine to lead the squad while Buchanan posted her career-high sixth helper of the year.
• The Cardinals' redshirt sophomore midfielder/back Merinda Morley responded in the 20th minute on a penalty corner that rebounded from a deflection off an Ohio player to the right side of the net
• Sammons scored the third goal for the Bobcats on a pass from Leickly off of the penalty corner opportunity to the left of the keeper in the 62nd minute.
• Sammons scored her career-high seventh seven minutes later with another assist from Leickly off of another penalty corner chance. Leickly dished out her career-high seventh assist of the season.
• Sammons led the way in shots for Ohio with four -- including two on goal. Her season total now stands at a career-high 35 to lead the team, with a career-high 20 coming on goal, which ranks second on the squad. Russell recorded three shots -- including one on goal. Her season shots total now stands at a career-high 22 to rank fourth on the team, with a career-high 13 coming on goal, which ranks third. Junior Hannah Kingsbury (Louisville, Ky.), Curley and Leickly each tallied two shots for the 'Cats, with Curley posting two on goal and Kingsbury and Leickly each recording one. Leickly ranks second on the squad with a career-high 34 shots and leads the team with a career-high 21 shots on goal. Curley has notched a career-high 25 shots to rank third on the team and a career-high 12 shots on goal to rank fourth. Kingsbury has totaled a career-high 14 shots -- including a career-high eight on goal.
• Redshirt junior goalkeeper Lina Trucco (Lake Bluff, Ill.) finished with one save in 70 minutes in the cage for the 'Cats. Her season saves total now stands at 49.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
• The Bobcats have already surpassed their entire win total from the 2014 season.
• The 'Cats have scored 32 goals through 13 matches in 2015 after scoring just 20 in 17 matches during the entire '14 season. Ohio has also earned 98 penalty corners this year after garnering 86 all of last year.
• Sammons career goal total now stands at 14. Her career assist total currently stands at 16. She has now notched 90 career shots, with 48 coming on goal.
• Leickly has now posted six career goals. Her career shots total now stands at 46, with 27 coming on goal.
• Russell has now scored 12 career goals. Her 10 goals in 2015 are the most by a Bobcat since Luli Gomez Teruel scored 11 during her senior season of 2013 en route to being named Mid-American Conference Player of the Year. Russell has now recorded 28 career shots, with 19 coming on goal.
• Curley's career shots total now stands at 37, with 21 coming on goal.
• Kingsbury's career shots total now stands at 19, with 10 coming on goal.
• Buchanan's career assist total now stands at seven.
• Trucco's career saves total is now up to 58.
QUOTABLE
"She is the key in the middle of the field for us, she dominates that area with the ball and she sets up our defense and she does so much with that. To be able to use her in corners and have her execute around goal and finish like she did today, it's really important for the team. " - 11th-year head coach Neil Macmillan on Adele Sammons and her two goals for Ohio.
"We've got to do a much better job with how we defend, we didn't do a very good job with that and allowed too many fast break opportunities for Ball State. Our ball possession wasn't very good either, in the start of the game and the start of second half we had too many turnovers and we weren't able to combine with each other. If we're not doing that then we're not playing the game that suits our style." - Macmillan on improvements he wants to see
UP NEXT
Ohio wraps up its current three-match home stand by playing host to MAC foe Longwood on Sunday (Oct. 18) in a noon ET clash. Sunday's match is designated as Rufus Kids Club Day and Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day.
#BleedGreen
