After the Bobcats’ lack of offense in their three game homestand, Ohio will be in search of goals in its road trip to Liberty and Richmond.
With its longest road trip of the season ahead, Ohio will focus on repairing its youthful, middling offense over the weekend.
Ohio (2-4, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) will travel to Virginia to face off against Liberty and Richmond.
Ohio is currently coming off a 1-0 loss to No. 17 Indiana, as the Bobcats have not scored a goal during regulation since their 1-0 win over Ohio State on Sept. 12.
Over the past 170 minutes of play, the Bobcats have struggled to gain any traction on offense. Against Indiana and Longwood, Ohio withered on multiple breaks and coach Neil Macmillan said the team will look to use the weekend to find some offensive identity.
“It’s disappointing because we had the opportunity to beat (Indiana) based on our first half performance, but if you don’t the chances you have, you’re never going to win a game,” Macmillan said. “We’re young up front, I’ve said that a few times this year, but we’ve challenged them. They need to start scoring goals.”
Defensively, the Bobcats have been stout so far this season. Ohio only gave up one goal in its past three games and junior Adele Sammons was announced Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday. The Upminster, England native had two defensive saves against the Hoosiers.
The honor comes just a week after goalie Brittany Walker was announced MAC Defensive Player of Week from her eight saves in the span of two games.
Liberty (4-4, 1-0 Big South Conference) comes into the weekend after defeating Missouri State 7-1, where forward Sarah Gipe led the team with two goals. She currently ranks first on the team with 11 points this year.
The Flames are led by four-year coach Jodi Murphy, who has led Liberty’s offense to outscore its opponents 19-17 this season.
Richmond (4-4) will look to cap off a three-game homestand of its own, after the Spiders face off against Massachusetts the day prior.
The Spiders are led by Rebecca Barry — who has eight points — and an offense that has taken 95 shots this season. Richmond’s opponents have averaged 2.62 goals per game against the Spiders this year.
Walker said that in her four years at Ohio she has never travelled to the Virginia area, but the Bobcats are looking forward to the challenge.
“I’m really excited, I’ve never played any Virginia teams, I’ve always heard great things about them,” Walker said. “I’m excited. It gives us another weekend to work before we hit Ball State, our second MAC game. I think our main focus will be scoring goals. We need to get points on the board.”
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