Despite two losses in a row to end the season, the Bobcats will play in the postseason for the first time since 2013.
Following a 2-1 loss to Kent State (13-5-1, 9-2-0 Mid-American Conference) on Thursday, Ohio (7-10-2, 4-5-2 MAC) will have a chance to redeem itself. The two team will match up again in round one of the MAC Tournament.
The Bobcats will be the tournament's No. 8 seed thanks to an Eastern Michigan loss, and the 2017 MAC Tournament will be coach Aaron Rodgers' second time leading the team to the tournament since he took over in 2012.
The Golden Flashes, who enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed, will be the favorites in that matchup, just as they were in this game.
In order to pull off the upset, the Bobcats will need to have a physical advantage, attack early and win the battle in the midfield.
In the regular season matchup, Kent State was the aggressor early, attacking Ohio and getting shots off.
This strategy paid off for the Flashes as they took the lead in the 24th minute on a goal by Kristen Brots.
Following that goal, the Bobcats tried to fight their way back into the game but couldn’t stop Kent State from getting its own shots off.
In the 74th minute, the Flashes made it 2-0 courtesy of a Maddie Holmes header.
Despite that, Ohio continued to fight. On a breakaway in the 82nd minute, Courtney Daugerdas cut the deficit in half and put life into the Bobcats.
But it was too little, too late for Ohio, as Kent was able to keep the Bobcats’ last-ditch efforts at bay and come away with the victory.
Ohio will return to Dix Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. to try to avenge the loss and continue its season.
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