Ohio losses its ninth game of the season to Louisville, 2-0, but shutout the Cardinals in the first half of play.
During Ohio’s 2-0 loss to No. 7 Louisville, rain hit Pruitt Field during the second half as puddles began to flood the sidewalks around the field.
As pellets came splashing down, the Cardinals handed the Bobcats their ninth loss of the season after Elisa Garcia’s second goal of the match came off a corner in the 65th minute.
Statistically, Louisville (12-4) outshot Ohio 8-3 and won the corner battle 7-1, with Garcia’s two goals giving the Cardinals their 12th win of the season.
However, during the game, pockets of sunshine could be seen breaking through the ominous clouds above.
Even with the loss, Ohio’s matchup was a positive building block for the Bobcats, who are amidst the race for a Mid-American Conference Tournament berth.
“We stepped up at a higher level than we did against Ball State and that was the number seven team in the country that we were highly competitive with,” Coach Neil Macmillan said. “We’ve gone through the hard times and we’re now playing some really good hockey.”
During the first half, Ohio (3-9) kept Louisville scoreless throughout, despite the Cardinals outshooting the Bobcats 4-0 and winning the corner battle 3-0. For the second time in three games, Louisville has been held scoreless in the first half.
Freshman Rachel Kho sliced through the Cardinals’ circle late in the second half and gave the Bobcats their only shot on goal.
Goalie Brittany Walker garnered three saves for Ohio, as the senior is one save shy of reaching her 200th career save.
Ohio’s defense made numerous fastbreak stops during the first half and it was the first time the Bobcats were able to hold an opponent scoreless in the first half since Richmond on Sept. 28.
The Bobcats were the more disciplined team in terms of penalties. Louisville led Ohio, 25-22 in penalties throughout the match.
“We were feeling really confident (going into halftime), we felt good about our play and we were playing beautiful hockey,” senior Caelyn Hartley said. “It was really exciting to know that we have the potential to be really great.
“We just wanted to keep that into the second half, which we did and unfortunately they scored two goals in the second half.”
Macmillan said the loss will give Ohio some confidence when going up to its last two Mid-American Conference opponents, Central Michigan and Missouri State.
The loss will have no effect on Ohio’s chances on making the MAC Tournament, which will be held on Nov. 7 in Kent.
If the season ended today, Ohio would be in fourth place — good enough to make the tournament — and would play first-seeded Central Michigan.
“It’s definitely helping us compete against high caliber teams,” Hartley said. “So when we compete against high caliber teams, we are able to take that into people at our level and tear through them and hopefully get that win and hopefully get to the tournament and win the MAC Championship.”
@Lukeoroark
Lr514812@ohio.edu
