180 minutes.
That’s how much time Ohio (6-4-4, 2-2-2 MAC) will need to play at the top of its game this weekend in order to finish with much-needed results.
The Bobcats will host Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan this weekend, both of which enter potent offensive attacks.
High-scoring teams have given Ohio trouble throughout the season — as the Bobcats have not been able to beat those teams in the possession game — but this weekend they hope to end that trend.
“We have to keep the ball,” coach Aaron Rodgers said. “The more we keep the ball, the less opportunities the other teams have. We’ve worked all week making a few tactical changes. We’ve worked on keeping possession of the ball and getting back to creating more attack for us so that we are able to limit the other team’s opportunities with the ball.”
Friday, Eastern Michigan (7-6-1, 4-2 Mid-American Conference) will take Chessa Field and bring one of the best offenses in the conference.
The Eagles have five players with three or more goals, including a triad of players who have scored at least five goals. Eastern Michigan has scored a MAC-best 30 goals, which is an average of 2.14 goals per game.
On the flip side, the Eagles have allowed their opponents to record an average of 15.6 shots per game, so the Bobcats will look to convert their chances in order to stay competitive with the Eagles.
“If we can be ourselves and we come out intense, I think we can come out and stop them,” senior midfielder Maggie Murnane said. “I don’t think they’re as good as any other team we haven’t played. It’s literally about who wants it in the MAC.”
The tough competition will continue for the Bobcats on Sunday when they welcome the Broncos (7-3-3, 5-0-1 MAC), who hold the only undefeated record in MAC play and have a balanced offensive attack, as six different players have scored three or more goals.
The goals have exploded during MAC play, where Western Michigan has scored 17 of its 25 goals. Unlike the Eagles, they are better defensively, having conceded just 12 goals this season.
Ohio has been a second half team the entire season, including its current streak of 486 minutes without allowing a second half goal, but in order to control the opposition’s solid offenses, Ohio will have to play a consistent 90 minutes each game.
“I think we just get this mentality where we take our time for granted,” Murnane said. “Once we figure out there’s not that much time left we buckle down and concentrate more. We need to know that the whole 90 minutes is critical time. We take the last 45 as more critical so we have to balance that out.”
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