Ohio suffered its fifth straight loss Friday. The Bobcats were unable to finish their opportunities in their 2-1 loss to Kent State at Pruitt Field.
Despite 12 shots on goal, Ohio was frustrated by Kent State goalkeeper Mary Crumlish with only one goal from top goal scorer Jillian Shive who fired through a crowd in front of goal to cut the deficit.
"It’s frustrating,” Shive said. ”We need to be able to move the goalie and get better shots because I think we were making it easier for her by just shooting it right at her, but props to her she made good saves against us."
The loss means Ohio may finish with the same Mid-American Conference record as last year. The Bobcats’ final game is against conference-best Miami. In the conference tournament, Ohio (4-9, 2-3 MAC) will be the fifth seed unless Appalachian State (5-10, 1-3) is able to beat both Kent State and Miami.
Defensively, Ohio had one of its best games, limiting Kent State’s (6-10, 4-1 MAC) chances as a result of improved performance of the focus points by coach Ali Johnstone.
“I thought actually our defense today really stepped up, and finally, they are really performing the details that I've asked of them all year,” Johnstone said.
Both of the Kent State goals came off scrambles in the shooting circle, which opened opportunities for the Golden Flashes to finish.
Against a tough Kent State defense, Ohio was able to not only outshoot Kent State, but also have a 9-3 advantage on penalty corners.
“Kent State is notorious for really, really structured defense and they give up very few attack penalty corners.” Johnstone said. “For us to be able to get nine corners against Kent State is really good, and it shows that we’re creating not just shots, but we're creating a lot of danger inside their circle."
Leah Warren and Karynne Baker led the attack for the Bobcats with 10 shots combined and nine on goal.
The final home game of the season will be Oct. 26 as Ohio takes on No. 4 Duke at 3 p.m.
