FOLLOW OHIO FIELD HOCKEY: Facebook | Twitter

ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio field hockey team (1-3) was defeated by a score of 2-0 by Michigan State (4-0) on Sunday (Sept. 5) afternoon at Pruitt Field.

The Bobcats fell behind in the first half as Merel Hanssen got the ball past Ohio goalkeeper Nele Graner in the eighth minute. The Spartans scored again in the 21^st minute on a goal from Isa van der Weij.

Ohio's defense held strong in the second half as the Bobcats didn't allow a goal on seven shots from the Spartans. Graner made four saves in the game, including stopping a one-on-one opportunity, not allowing Michigan State's Hanssen to get a shot off.

"We unfortunately put a lot of pressure on Nele in the first half a little bit too much," head coach Ali Johnstone said. "She was playing well, and she understood how Michigan State plays, so we kept her in for the second half."
Graner and the Ohio defense also shut down nine second-half corners, seven of which came in the third quarter.

Offensively, the Bobcats were led by Kaelyn Long and Jillian Shive, who each put one shot on goal. Forward Katelyn Whittle also fired three shots, but did not record an official shot on goal.

One big takeaway for the Bobcats was to get experience against power five competition before heading into MAC play.

"(Michigan State) is very fast and very strong, so it makes us prepared to play at the speed we need to play in the MAC," Johnstone explained. "They are a really good team and they have really good ball strength, so it's good preparation."

The Bobcats don't start conference play until Sept. 24, but will continue to play nonconference opponents like UC Davis on Wednesday (Sept. 8) at 1 p.m.