Throughout the Bobcats’ last four games, they have amassed 66 shots, half of which were on goal, 37 corners and only four regulation goals. The number of times the ball is blasted to the twine is Ohio’s chief focus as it enters Mid-American Conference play Friday.
The Bobcats’ play, for the most part, has been acceptable, said Ohio (4-3) coach Neil Macmillan. Ohio has moved the ball well and has put itself in situations to score. But the Bobcats’ focus is improving the quality of their opportunities and turning them into goals.
Ohio’s shots per game (16.3) have improved by almost two shots from last season’s 19-5 team. The difference is that, with the exception of a nine-goal performance against Radford, this season’s squad is averaging only 1.33 points per game, as opposed to last season’s 2.67.
The team’s shooting percentage is .37 points fewer than the 2011 team.
“The one key that we need to address is finishing,” Macmillan said. “We don’t have enough opportunities from the possessions we have at (the other team’s) end.”
Another abnormality facing the Bobcats has been their sudden abundance of overtime appearances. Ohio has gone to two penalty shootouts (Indiana and Ohio State) in its past three games, which, Macmillan said, is unheard of in the field hockey world.
“In my 13 years before these two games … there’s three or four (penalty shootouts) that I’ve seen — not only been a part of, but seen across Division I hockey,” he said. “So I told the team, ‘It never happens. Don’t worry about it. It never happens.’ Then we get two in a row.”
But it’s not like the team isn’t prepared to play in strenuous situations. Macmillan stressed conditioning early in the year, a decision that has paid dividends so far this season.
“We rely on our fitness a lot,” he said. “And I think at the end of the game that starts to show. So we don’t mind getting into overtime games.”
The team is 1-1 in overtime situations and and senior Taylor Brown is proud of how the team has soldiered through games despite the extra pressure.
“We leave everything out on the field,” she said. “It’s just the fact that we put everything that we have in the game. We got really unlucky going into shootouts again, but I think the fact that we put all of our effort into it is good.”
Sophomore goalie Brittany Walker, who has logged 340 minutes in the past four games, has thrived as of late. She’s allowed only three goals in regulation over the four-game stretch and has stood her ground in the shootouts.
“We really practice them a lot even though Neil says that he never sees it come down to a shootout,” Walker said.
ch203310@ohiou.edu
