Heading into Saturday, Ohio had momentum after winning three of its past four games, which had put the Bobcats in position to control their destiny for a Mid-American Conference regular season title.
But all the momentum is now gone after the Bobcats lost 1-0 to Ball State (6-11, 1-3 MAC) while outplaying them everywhere but the scoreboard.
“Unfortunately we let the opportunity we had to win the MAC get away today,” coach Neil Macmillan said. “If we won out we would’ve had a chance to win the league, and we lost that chance to a team that was very opportunistic and did a good job defensively against us.”
The Bobcats (6-9, 2-2 MAC) bombarded the Cardinals’ goal, totaling 19 shots, 13 of which were attempted on goal.
Senior Luli Gomez Teruel led the offensive charge with a season-high seven shot attempts, while senior Jessica Jue and freshman Franziska Schmiedel added five and three shots, respectively.
“We were statistically dominant today but that did not translate into a successful outcome,” Macmillan said. “I think everyone would admit we had some failings as a team in getting the job done both on the attacking and defensive ends.”
Ball State sophomore goalkeeper Shelby Henley was the main force that prevented Ohio from offensive success. She finished with 13 saves and left the Bobcats scoreless for the second time this season.
“(Henley) for Ball State made an excellent defensive save on the line that would’ve been a definite goal for us and could’ve opened the floodgates offensively,” Macmillan said. “We certainly had enough shots to turn that game into a win.”
The Cardinals’ junior Bianca Velez scored the only goal of the day during the 60th minute; the remainder of the day was a defensive showdown.
Defensively, the Bobcats finished with another strong outing, only allowing two Cardinals’ shots on goal.
“I’m very happy with how we played defensively, limiting them to six shots,” Macmillan said. “I also liked how we created up front. But we weren’t a team that had the edge to score and finish.”
The Bobcats will close out their regular season next Saturday against Kent State at Pruitt Field. The Golden Flashes are the only team undefeated in MAC play.
tj790511@ohiou.edu
