As has been the case with Ohio in every defeat so far this year, the loss to No. 17 Iowa yesterday resulted from neither an inefficient offense, ineffective defense or lackluster goaltending.
For coach Neil Macmillan, the answer is simply luck — or a lack thereof.
“We put two behind the keeper in the first half that didn’t go in,” Macmillan said. “We created some great attack in the first half and (it was) just a little unlucky those don’t go over the line. Another day, they do.”
The Bobcats (11-3, 4-0 Mid-American Conference) outshot their opponent 14-4. They also received nine penalty corners compared to just three for the Hawkeyes.
As they have learned in the past, the repeated failure to convert opportunities into goals will likely lead to a tally in the loss column.
That was the case yesterday for Ohio, which fell by a final score of 2-1. Marissa Higgins scored the Bobcats’ only goal, and Cathryn Altdoerffer earned the assist.
“They’re good,” Macmillan said of the Hawkeyes. “They’re probably the most physical (team) we’ve played all year.
“They certainly challenged us in that way, and that was something that we were expecting coming into the game … It’s a different style.”
With the helper against Iowa, Altdoerffer now has 24 points, second on the team. She has a slight edge over Taylor Brown, who picked up three of her own in the win against Central Michigan on Friday.
“We just came to play as a team,” Brown said about the 2-0 win against the Chippewas. “Conference games are always important, and we lost to Central Michigan last year on their turf, so we just wanted to bring it to them.”
In the win, Jessica Vaeth scored her second goal of the season and Brooke Edwards picked up an assist, her fourth this year.
“It was great positioning for that goal,” Macmillan said of Vaeth’s score. “She was exactly where we need to be on the post and tipped in a shot from Brown that was either going in or just wide …
“Vaeth was there to finish it and that’s exactly what we want from any one of our forwards.”
The Bobcats could have used another goal from Vaeth in their game against Iowa. Things might have been easier if team captain Louzeth Schutte hadn’t been injured in the second half.
Macmillan said Schutte left the game with a facial injury. She did not return to the game after exiting it, and he said her status for coming action is unknown at this point.
Still, Macmillan said he was pleased with the efforts of his defense, even though it was without one of its most talented components.
“Conference wins are very important,” Macmillan said yesterday, “but every win is certainly one we want to get, and that’s why it hurts today.”
me811508@ohiou.edu
