After last weekend’s disappointment and frustration, Ohio righted the ship Friday
in Philadelphia.
The Bobcats defeated St. Joseph’s 2-0 on Friday, winning their first multiple-goal game since beating Robert Morris 2-1 on Sept. 15.
“It was just a fun game to play together,” said senior Laura Mastro. “Everybody was clicking and we really played well as a team.”
Ohio opened up its scoring early when senior Taylor Brown stole the ball from an opposing defender and ripped a blistering shot from the top of the arc in the opening minute. The goal, her 37th of the season, put Brown only one goal behind Elizabeth Holtzman for third in Ohio’s all-time career scoring record books.
The early goal forced the Hawks to play from behind for the remainder of the match.
“It was a great feeling,” Mastro said. “We got on the scoreboard early and I think that set the tone. We were able to get points up on the scoreboard along with playing well, so that was really good for us.”
The Bobcats’ scoring continued when junior Katie Fenzel gained possession of the ball on a scramble in front of the Hawks’ net and capitalized for her first goal of the season. The goal came just before the whistle signaling the end of the half and gave Ohio a cushion to work with for the remainder of the match.
St. Joseph’s was outplayed from start to finish, and the scoreboard may not have been truly representative of Ohio’s dominance, said Ohio coach Neil Macmillan. The Bobcats outshot the Hawks 19-5 and had 11 shots on goal compared to St.Joseph’s two.
After a defeat at the hands of Northwestern the previous Sunday, Macmillan pushed his team to regroup during the week and make a push toward a record more indicative of its level of play. The Bobcats’ win against St. Joseph’s was the first to reflect the team’s new mindset.
“Our execution was much, much better today,” Macmillan said. “We passed the ball around much more efficiently … I was very, very happy with us as a team today.”
The win also provided the Bobcats with their first shutout since blanking Ohio State through regulation Sept. 12, though they fell in a shootout against
the Buckeyes.
Ohio’s defense was also pivotal to its offensive attack, Macmillan said.
“I think they have five goals all year from (sophomore Jordan Martin), so we really focused in on her and did a good job of containing her today,” Macmillan said. “But defensively we were pretty solid.”
ch203310@ohiou.edu
