Ohio came out on the wrong end Friday, as the Bobcats’ losing streak is now four games long including their second in a row in Mid-American Conference play with a 4-3 loss to Longwood.
The teams combined for 26 shots, battling to see which team’s defense would be able to find the most stops. Last year’s game was a defensive battle too, with a combined eleven shots and three goals.
Ohio (4-8, 2-2 MAC) was able to take advantage of its chances as it only took eight shots with four of them on goal.
Jillian Shive continued to lead the Bobcat attack with two goals, bringing her season tally to eight. Shive opened the scoring in the ninth minute, when she redirected a ball from Karynne Baker past the Longwood goalie. She tied the game at two in the 46th minute when she directed a shot by Brittany Keen off a penalty corner into goal.
Baker assisted on two goals while scoring Ohio’s third in the 68th minute. Ohio stole the ball away in its defensive half, and passed ahead to Baker at midfield who ran all the way along the right side before firing a shot to the opposite corner for her fifth goal of the season.
The game was deadlocked at two, but it was broken by Longwood (8-4, 3-2 MAC) in the 54th minute, and then it added to its lead in the 60th, with the eventual winning goal. The Ohio defense couldn't stop Leonie Verstraete, as she scored three goals and had an assist.
Longwood was able to take advantages of the times it had the ball as it took 18 shots and had 8 penalty corners. Opponents have had plenty of chances against Ohio with more open chances coming recently as Ohio has allowed three or more goals in each of the last four games.
Ohio goalie Alex Pennington has been under constant pressure as she has faced 55 shots during the Bobcats’ losing streak, saving 19.
