Ohio will travel to North Carolina this weekend to face Appalachian State on Friday and No. 2 Duke on Sunday.
Here is the information for the two matches:
Opponent: Appalachian State Mountaineers | Duke Blue Devils
Match Location: Brandon & Erica M. Adcock Field, North Carolina | Williams Field, North Carolina
Match Date: Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. | Sept. 22 at 12 p.m.
Opponent’s Current Record: 6-0 | 6-0
How to watch: Streamed on ESPN+
What’s happened so far:
The Bobcats are on a two-match win streak heading into the weekend, recently shutting out both Davidson and Lock Haven. They hold a solid 3-1 record overall.
Match information:
Ohio will play its first conference match Friday against Appalachian State. After a rough 7-14 season last year, the Mountaineers have bounced back this season and currently hold a perfect record through six matches.
Coach Ali Johnstone hopes to start off Mid-American Conference play with a win.
“The importance of setting a tone for this team and this year sets us up for the rest of the conference,” Johnstone said.
The Bobcats defeated the Mountaineers last season by a score of 1-0, but will have to play at the top of their match on Friday as Appalachian State is outshooting its opponents this season 79-48 and outscoring them by a 12-2 margin.
After its match against Appalachian State, Ohio will travel to Durham, North Carolina to face Duke, who has wins over No. 4 Maryland and No. 7 Iowa.
The Bobcats lost to the Blue Devils 4-0 last season.
“(We’re) are up for the challenge and just making it a really competitive game,” Johnstone said.
Ohio has faced a nationally ranked team this year in Boston, however, the outcome was in favor of Boston, 4-1.
Duke is outscoring opponents 17-4 while freshman Hannah Miller currently leads the team in goals, scoring five thus far.
The Bobcats, however, can’t just focus on one player.
“They are just solid everywhere they go,” Johnstone said. “The team is very highly skilled.”
