Ohio travels to Columbus on Sunday to play Ohio State to continue interstate rivalry.
Sunday marks Ohio's first opportunity to go above .500 since the first game of the season against Saint Francis.
The only team standing in the way: Ohio State.
The two teams played in an exhibition game, in which the Bobcats came out victorious, 3-2. Coach Neil Macmillan, however, said his team has evolved since this preseason match-up.
"That was very early on," Macmillan said. "We were still trying to figure out which players were going to play in which positions. We had a very basic idea of a game plan going into that game."
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Ohio's last three weekends have ended with one win and one loss, culminating in a 3-3 record.
After losing 7-1 to Liberty last Friday, Ohio bounced back to defeat Appalachian State, 4-0, on Sunday. This resiliency is a positive for sophomore Elena Curley.
"I feel like our team is much more resilient this year," Curley said. "We're not letting one game keep us down and we're learning from our mistakes better than I've seen us do."
Per Macmillan, both Ohio State and Ohio have played "good quality opposition."
Ohio State is coming off wins against Mid-American Conference opponents Missouri State and Ball State.
The Buckeyes are averaging three goals a game and giving up less than two goals a game, including two 5-0 shutouts.
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The Buckeyes field hockey program, however, is not synonymous with their football team; the Bobcats are not intimidated by the name.
"They've made improvements. They've moved people around on the set pieces and they have different people taking them from when we played them in the scrimmage," Macmillan said. "You're looking at a totally different team."
@tony_heim
ah083514@ohio.edu
