FOLLOW OHIO FIELD HOCKEY: Facebook | Twitter
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Ohio field hockey team (0-1) opened its 2023 season Friday afternoon (Aug. 25), falling to American (1-0), 5-1, on the road.
Overall, the Bobcats recorded eight shots with five coming on goal. This was not enough to match the Eagles, who tallied 11 shots with six on target. The Bobcats did accrue seven corners to the Eagles' five.
Individually, Ohio was led by fifth year
Katelyn Whittle (Glenwood, Md.) who scored the Bobcats lone goal on one attempt. Freshman
Pauline Hartlieb (Leverkusen, Germany) and sophomore
Anouk Plaehn (Lower Saxony, Germany) each lead the Bobcats with two shots, while Plaehn added one assist, with four others notching one shot.
Senior goalkeeper
Macy Lotze (Louisville, Ky.) played all 60 minutes in the opener, saving one shot in the process.
The Bobcats trailed early, as American was able to put in an outside effort off a deflection off the right post in the sixth minute. The Eagles then doubled their lead shortly after. The American lead was three at the end of the first quarter, although the Bobcats were able to get pressure on goal when senior
Meela Kopp (Louisville, Ky.) had a shot blocked from a corner shortly before the quarter ended.
The Bobcats were able to find the net early in the second quarter, but the goal was disallowed after the shot was taken from outside the scoring circle. The Bobcats continued to mount pressure, with a shot on goal from freshman
Annie Ryan (St. Louis, Mo.), the first of her career. Despite the pressure, the Bobcats were unable to find the net before the half. The second quarter ended scoreless, although the Bobcats held a 6 -2 corner advantage.
Ohio opened the second half with a quick shot on target from freshman Hartlieb. Soon after, the American lead increased to four after a corner found the back of the Ohio net. The four-goal deficit remained into the fourth quarter.
The Bobcats had two quick shots early in the fourth, both courtesy of Plaehn. The Bobcats continually applied pressure in the beginning of the fourth and found their first goal of the season off a corner from Whittle. Whittle took the corner straight to Plaehn, who swept it back to Whittle, who was able to slot the ball straight into the bottom left corner of the goal. Whittle joint-lead the team in goals in 2022 and scored the first of the season in 2023.
In the 56
th minute, the Eagles scored from a penalty corner to increase the lead back to four, which would end up being the final deficit in a 5-1 loss.
Up Next:
The Bobcats will travel to Orono, Maine Sept. 2-3 for two matchups. Ohio opens the weekend on Sept. 2 against Boston University at 1 p.m., before concluding the weekend on Sunday against host Maine. First touch is set for Noon ET.
#OUohyeah