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ATHENS, Ohio— The Ohio soccer team (2-3-1) continued their home stand Sunday (Sept. 2) against Marshall (1-3-1), and through warm, humid conditions and a couple of water breaks, the Bobcats would come out on top, 3-1.
"To be able to put it in the back of the net, because I only scored in an exhibition game last year, so to finally net one Friday and then come out today, it was just an amazing feeling." Sarina Dirrig (Powell, Ohio) said after the match. "It wasn't even me, my teammates were setting me up perfectly, I get the credit for the goal, but it was everybody who helped me."
"I think we learned a lot from Friday's game. We definitely took what we needed to after the NKU game and applied it to today, and definitely got the positive result." Head coach Aaron Rodgers commented.
Ohio would bring strong offensive pressure from the start, as Jenni Santacaterina (Geneva, Ill.) would net her first career goal in the eighth minute, assisted by Sydney Leckie (Medina, Ohio) and Bryce Hueber (Cincinnati, Ohio), that was a cross in front of the net and fired to the left of Marshall's keeper.
Ohio would continue to be aggressive, with shots in the next few minutes of action from Abby Townsend (Powell, Ohio), Leckie, and Hueber all registering shots.
Marshall would score the equalizer in the 29thminute, with Jayne Lawman netting one past Sydney Malham (Nashville, Tenn.) on a cross to the upper corner of the net.
After a few minutes of both teams looking to make something happen, Alivia Milesky (Plain City, Ohio) would try and find an opening in the 33rdminute with a header that went wide.
Paige Knorr (Cincinnati, Ohio) would get a good look in the 42ndminute that resulted in a non-goalie save from Marshall defense and was followed by an Ohio corner and another shot from Knorr that was saved by the goal keeper.
At the half, the Bobcats and Thundering Herd would remain tied 1-1. Ohio registered nine shots with one goal. Leckie and Knorr each had two shots and Santacaterina recorded Ohio's lone goal. In net, Malham would allow one goal and make one save through the first 45 minutes.
The Bobcats started off the second half with a corner kick in the 45thminute from Townsend that Ohio was unable to capitalize on. Ohio offense continued their push early in the second where Leckie would register a shot on goal in the 47thminute, that was saved by the keeper.
Leckie would stand out offensively, pushing towards Marshall's net, but strong defense from the Thundering Herd stopped her pursuits in the middle of the second half.
Townsend would sustain the hard-offensive push in the 58thminute with a shot on goal that was narrowly saved by the goal keeper. A Marshall corner saw a shot go high and hit the crossbar in the 64thminute with both teams desperate to take control of the game.
Dirrig continued her outstanding weekend when she scored the goal that would put Ohio back in the lead 2-1 in the 79thminute of action.
Shortly after, in the 84thminute, Madelyn Kah (Hamilton, Ohio) netted her second goal of the season off an assist by Knorr that went left of the goal keeper and solidified Ohio's 3-1 win over the Thundering Herd.
Overall, Ohio registered 24 shots, 14 of them being shots on goal. In goal, Malham grabbed two saves and allowed one goal during her 90 minutes of action.
The Bobcats hit the road Friday (Sept. 7) when they take on Cleveland State in Cleveland, Ohio. First touch is set for 7 p.m. The Bobcats will then return to Athens on Sunday, Sept. 9 when Ohio hosts Wright State at 1 p.m. in their nonconference finale.
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