After making it into the NCAA Tournament, the Ohio field hockey team was destined to make it no further. The Bobcats fell earlier today to top-ranked North Carolina, 4-0.
There was no scoring in the first half, as the Bobcats weathered a storm that saw eight shots from the Tar Heels. The home team kicked up its attack in the second half, though, scoring four goals on 11 shots.
“We were outstanding in the first half,” Ohio coach Neil Macmillan said. “Our defense was extremely resilient. … We ran with them. We put them under pressure. We kept them out of the ‘D’ for a long, long period of time.”
That Ohio kept the score close for so long is a credit to its defense, which of course received a big boost from Jen McGill, arguably one of the top goaltenders in the nation.
She had three saves in the first half and six in the second, but in the end North Carolina’s assault on net could not be halted completely.
“Jen was fantastic today,” Macmillan said. “Without her, it could have been really ugly.”
By the time the game had ended, the Tar Heels had fired 19 shots compared with just four for Ohio. They also edged the Bobcats in penalty corners, 8-1.
“If you give up that many shots, at some point goals are going to go in,” Macmillan said.
The four Bobcats to record shots were Brooke Edwards, Jessica Jue, Marissa Higgins and Kristine Gegas. All four chances came as the clock was winding down. Jue’s shot came during a penalty corner and hit the post.
“It was a great game, a great performance by all of us I thought,” Macmillan said. “I’m really, really proud of the team. I thought they did a really good job of representing Ohio.”
me811508@ohiou.edu
