The Bobcats are finally home.
After four consecutive road matches and nearly three weeks of action away from Athens, Ohio will be back at Chessa Field to face Toledo on Friday and then Bowling Green on Sunday.
Road matches are always tough, and Mid-American Conference road matches can be even tougher. The Bobcats took their longest trip of the season last week when they visited DeKalb, Illinois, to play Northern Illinois. They won that match, but lost in Kalamazoo to Western Michigan on Sunday and ended their long road trip with a split of their first two conference matches.
“Coming back home to start our home portion of the MAC league play is great,” coach Aaron Rodgers said. “We look forward to it. We love playing here. We love our field, and we love our fans.”
Ohio returns home this weekend for two massive MAC matches that will help determine how it could be viewed in the MAC for the rest of the season.
First, the Bobcats begin their weekend against Toledo on Friday. Just as it was important for the Bobcats to start conference play with a win against Northern Illinois a week ago, it will be vital for them to get a win in their first conference match in Athens.
Toledo has struggled so far this season — it has a 3-7 record and is 1-4 away from home. It was tough going for the Rockets last weekend as they began MAC play with a pair of home losses against Buffalo and Akron. Toledo is still seeking its first conference win, but it will still be a tough match against the Bobcats, who have only lost one home match all season. Ohio will use its potent offense to control the match early.
The real test for the Bobcats comes Sunday when they face perennial MAC championship contender and defending champion Bowling Green. The two teams met last season in the MAC semifinal, where the Falcons won 1-0.
The Bobcats are looking for revenge, however, and hope to make a statement with a win. Bowling Green enters the weekend 4-4-2, but has played high-powered schools such as Kentucky, Michigan and Michigan State.
The Falcons are looking to continue their recent MAC dominance, as they have been to the past two conference finals and finished last season with a dominant 10-1 conference record and a MAC title. They have started this season strong in conference play and defeated Akron and Buffalo at home last weekend. The Falcons, however, have yet to register a road win and are 0-4-2 away from Cochrane Stadium.
“Bowling Green is a very good team,“ Rodgers said. “They’ve had a really good team. It’s exciting for us to put ourselves up against the top teams in the league because that’s where we want to be.”
Kickoff on Friday is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Chessa Field and kickoff on Sunday is scheduled for 1 p.m.
