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ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio soccer team (7-6-1, 2-1-1 MAC) returned to action on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 13), falling to Buffalo (6-6-1, 3-3-0), 2-0, at Chessa field.
"We have to be better in the first half," head coach Aaron Rodgers said. "We've historically been a slow starting team. We have to do better at not giving away opportunities. Both goals that they scored came off our mistakes. But, if you look on the other side of it, we created ton of chances in the second half, but we didn't have that cutting edge to finish the chances."
Buffalo opened up the game with a shot on goal which was saved by junior goalkeeper Sydney Malham (Nashville, Tenn.).
After a couple of attempts by the Bulls, the Bobcats came back with a shot from the far right by senior Sydney Leckie (Medina, Ohio) in the 11th minute.
The Bulls responded quickly with a goal by Katherine Camper with the assist from Marcy Barberic and Taylor Cairidi, putting the Bulls up 1-0 in the 12th minute.
Sophomore Abby Townsend (Powell, Ohio) and freshman Maddie Young (Cincinnati, Ohio) responded moments later with back-to-back attempts in the 15th minute, however, both attempts would go wide, keeping the game at, 1-0.
Buffalo registered a shot on goal from Barberic late in the 26th minute, followed by another shot by Barberic which was saved by Malham. The Bulls struck moments later with a goal from Andrea Judasz in the 27th minute, giving Buffalo a 2-0 lead.
Buffalo registered a few more chances before the end of the half, sending the game to halftime with the Bulls leading, 2-0.
At the half, Buffalo outshot Ohio seven to three, with three corner kicks to the Bobcats' one.
The Bobcats opened the second half on fire, with senior Courtney Daugerdas (Libertyville, Ill.) recording an attempt in the opening seconds, however, the attempt went wide of the net. Townsend registered an attempt of her own in the 49th minute, however, the ball did not find the back of the net.
Ohio continued to put pressure on the UB defense, with Young recording a shot in the 50th minute, followed by a ball from junior Jenni Santacaterina (Geneva, Ill.) that forced the Buffalo keeper to make a save to keep the game at 2-0.
In the 53rd minute, senior Alivia Milesky (Plain City, Ohio) fired a shot of her own, followed up by a ball from Townsend that forced the Buffalo keep to make another save.
Early in the 60th minute of play, the Bulls came back with back-to-back attempts that both forced Malham to make save to keep the contest within reach.
Ohio kept the pressure up looking for a goal, with Milesky registering another shot in the 70th minute, followed by another shot on goal from Townsend, which forced another Buffalo save. A few moments later, Young recorded another attempt which forced another Buffalo save.
A shot by sophomore Morgan Collica (Aurora, Ohio) would go just wide of the net in the 78th minute, however the Bobcats would keep up the pressure. Junior Sarina Dirrig (Powell, Ohio) would get the next two Ohio shots in the 85th and 87th minutes, forcing two more Buffalo saves to keep the game at 2-0 in favor of the Bulls.
After the attempts from Dirrig, the Bobcats offense would be unable to generate anymore attempts, falling to the Bulls, 2-0.
Overall, Ohio outshot Buffalo 17-12, while taking seven corner kicks to the Bulls' four.
Individually, Townsend recorded four shots with two on goal, while Leckie and Young both had three attempts with one on goal. Dirrig added two shots with two on goal, while Milesky added two shots, while Daugerdas, Collica and Santacaterina all had one.
In net, Malham got the start, playing all 90 minutes, while allowing two goals and making six saves.
Up next, Ohio will wrap up the home portion of their schedule next weekend when the Bobcats stay in Athens to take on Central Michigan on Friday, Oct. 18. First touch is set for 4 p.m. at Chessa Field. Ohio will play their regular season home finale on Sunday, Oct. 20 against Eastern Michigan. First touch is set for 1 p.m. and will serve as the Bobcats' Senior Day.
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