The Bobcats will travel to play Saint Francis and Lock Haven for their season openers
As the summer air begins to transform into pockets of fall, the Bobcats are preparing for their first two games of the season this weekend. Ohio will travel to Loretto, Pennsylvania on Friday to play Saint Francis before heading to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania on Saturday to play Lock Haven.
The two games will start a four-game road trip which will end in Richmond, Virginia on September 6 when Ohio plays Virginia Commonwealth University.
Ohio went 6-11 last season, losing to Kent State in the Mid-American Conference Championship, 2-0, prior to upsetting No. 1 seed Central Michigan in the opening round.
Led by their defense in 2014 — Ohio surrendered 2.41 points per game — Saint Francis could be a quality offensive opponent to start the season.
Saint Francis offense scored 3.41 goals per game in 2014, and despite the squad never playing Saint Francis, senior Adele Sammons believes the team will do well defensively in its trip.
“I think in practice we work hard in training on the defensive end to contain opponents,” Sammons said.
Although the Red Flashes can score well, it should be a solid test for coach Neil Macmillan and the Bobcats — who relied heavily on their defense in 2014.
Opposed to a Saint Francis team, which went 14-3 last season, Ohio will also play Lock Haven — a team similar to Ohio, allowing 1.36 goals per game.
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Even though Lock Haven is stout defensively, Sammons believes the team will be able to get quality shots on the offensive end.
Last season, the Bobcats struggled on the offensive end until the end of the season, averaging 1.06 goals per game.
“I think we are going to look to win as many short corner goals as we can,” Sammons said. “We have very good short corner units.”
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