Ohio’s Sunday matchup with Ball State could arguably be its most significant this season.
Ohio’s Sunday matchup with Ball State could arguably be its most significant this season.
Following a 4-3 loss to Kent State last Saturday, Ohio is on the outside looking in when evaluating the Mid-American Conference standings.
Ohio (2-8, 1-2 MAC) is ranked fifth in the MAC behind Central Michigan, Kent State, Miami and Ball State, and a loss to the Cardinals could jeopardize the Bobcats’ opportunity to reach the MAC tournament for the first time under coach Neil Macmillan.
“Kent and Miami are always two teams that end up on top of the conference,” Brittany Walker said. “The end result is always to qualify for the MAC, and I think we need to put ourselves in a comfortable position, and only winning is going to get us into that spot.”
Against Kent State, Ohio’s offense gained some identity after scoring three times — twice in the first half. Senior Ashley Cureton ended the Bobcats four-game scoring drought three minutes in and redshirt senior Lauryl Desch scored twice against the Golden Flashes.
So far, the Bobcats season has been an anomaly in itself. Over the past ten seasons, Ohio has usually hovered around, or above, the .500-mark, but in 2014 the Bobcats have a .250 winning percentage.
Macmillan, who is the second-winningest coach in program history, has reiterated throughout the season that the Bobcats are a young team still developing. Of the 19 players on the roster, 12 are underclassmen.
“It’s a great season for coaching and a great season for learning because when things aren’t working smoothly, you have to be adapting and changing,” Macmillan said.
Ball State (5-7, 1-1 MAC) still has a bulk of their conference games to play, including its match with Ohio. It will play MAC opponents Longwood, Kent State and Miami to finish out its regular season.
Similar to the rest of the MAC, the Cardinals season has been one filled with highs and lows. After beginning the year 3-0, Ball State lost seven consecutive matches before finally ending its losing streak to Missouri State on Oct. 11.
Coming off a 2-1 overtime win against Michigan State, Ball State is seeking to gridlock the fourth and final spot.
Earlier in the week, Ball States’ Lexi Kavanaugh and Shelby Henley were announced MAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, as the two will look to help the Cardinals extend their winning ways as of late.
“We’re adapting, we’re changing and we’re making these improvements and the MAC is hopefully a time where we’ll see some reward for that,” Macmillan said.
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