If the Bobcats were looking for a miracle Sunday night, they found it between the posts in Mattie Liston. But even her outstanding play could not give Ohio the victory.
The Bobcats put together one of their strongest performances of the season, as coach Stacy Strauss fielded a squad that held off No. 8 Ohio State for 108 minutes, with 30 total shots against the Bobcats. Liston was the standout, stopping a season-high 12 shots to put her in fourth place on Ohio’s list of saves in a single game.
“It was a terrific, spirited, intense game. We defended with pride and consistent energy for the entire 119 minutes,” Strauss said. “Mattie Liston was inspiring in goal.”
The Bobcats fell to Morehead State Friday 2-1, with a late goal in the 3rd minute. It was the second consecutive loss, after dropping a 3-0 contest to Cleveland State last weekend. Strauss rallied her troops for one of the toughest games of the season against the Buckeyes, and the Bobcats produced defensively.
“The game today was what this team needed. Above all else, we proved to ourselves the high level at which we are capable of playing,” Strauss said. “They played as a team and with an all-out absolute effort.”
The never-say-die attitude was evident through Ohio’s ability to hold Ohio State without a goal through 90 minutes of regulation and another 18 minutes of overtime. The Bobcats’ faster style of play came out in full force Sunday night.
“Our speed of play was the best of the season thus far and allowed us a few dangerous chances, especially in the overtimes,” Strauss said. “Finally, we played with a team-first, battling mentality.”
Strauss and Liston both pointed out after the Morehead State loss that the team needed to put together a full 90 minutes consistently, and on a rainy night in Columbus, they did just that with few errors and incredible defending.
“There were few weaknesses. We could have, on the rare occasion, played a touch quicker to send our forwards to goal,” Strauss said.
The tough non-conference games against the likes of Ohio State and Marshall is what is preparing Ohio for conference play and for making a deep run in the Mid-American Conference for the postseason tournament. Mattie Liston and Strauss have emphasized that the tough games will benefit the Bobcats in the end.
“As Stacy keeps telling us, we don’t play easy teams. You can look at some MAC teams, and they may be 6-0 but they aren’t playing the teams we are playing,” Liston said. “Even if we’re losing these games, we’re learning a lot, and today I think we learned you can come out a full 90 minutes and score goals and give up less goals, then we’re obviously going to win.”
After the disappointing loss to Morehead State, the players and the coaching staff called for a higher level of play and intensity.
“I told the team at the end, it’s not good to go out with two minutes and have all sorts of adrenaline and energy and get a couple shots off. We could have played that way the first 30 minutes of the second half,” Strauss said.
While the Bobcats lost to the Buckeyes on the night, the effort and inspiring play will serve Ohio moving forward into conference play with a belief in bringing back the MAC Championship for the first time since 2004.
The Bobcats take the field again Friday against Indiana State.
mb832408@ohiou.edu
