Ohio went another gritty 110 minutes against Ball State, but each squad was left scoreless after two overtime periods. In a match reminiscent of Sept. 30’s matchup against Bowling Green, stellar defense and back and forth play left Ohio tied 0-0 for the second time this season. Ohio still has yet to lose a match in Mid-American Conference play, with both draws occurring during away matches.
The Bobcats (9-3-2, 5-0-2 MAC) had no shortage of shots however, putting up 14 to bring their total to a conference-leading 205. Six of those were on goal, but Ball State’s (4-7-2, 2-3-2 MAC) Alex DeRuvo was on top of each of them. Ohio’s Regan Berg commanded the offense with four strong shots to bring her total to 12 on the season. Two of her shots came in the second overtime period but couldn’t cash in to send the Bobcats home with a win. Abby Townsend added another three shots with two on goal.
Ball State had nine shots and kept both Olivia Sensky and goalkeeper Sam Wexell busy throughout the match. Despite having only three shots on goal, Ball State controlled and calculated its possessions for intervals, but it wasn’t enough to break through Ohio’s steady defense.
The Bobcats were unable to capitalize on several opportunities late in the match. They attacked with four shots total in the two overtime periods to the Cardinals’ one. Three shots in three minutes in the second overtime period left the Bobcats still desiring a score.
In the second period of regulation, possession was all Ohio’s. The ball occasionally went back to Ball State’s end of the pitch, but a dominating stretch of just over 20 minutes left Ohio with six shots and Ball State with none.
Each team was disruptive in breaking up passes and preventing more opportunities, and it ultimately left them knotted up, 0-0.
