Ohio (6-5-2, 2-3-1 Mid-American Conference) traveled to Bowling Green (5-4-3, 3-1-2 MAC) on Sunday for its sixth conference match of the season.
The Falcons set the tone early, possessing the ball through their defense until an opportunity arose to attack the Bobcats' goal. That opportunity would come just four minutes into the game, when Kennedy White sent a ball through the Bobcats' defense as freshman Brynn Gardner, the Falcons' assist leader was making her run towards goal.
As Ohio goalkeeper Sam Wexell came out to defend against Gardner’s attack, she passed the ball to Maya Dean, who was wide open on the opposite side of the goal and easily tapped it into the goal to put Bowling Green up early.
The Bobcats responded with a corner kick, which led to a shot by Aubrey Rae that was deflected off of the Falcons' defense. The Falcons recovered the deflection and started a counterattack while the Bobcats were still pressing on offense.
Dean sent a ball past the Ohio defense, and Lacee Bethea beat Ohio’s defense to the ball and found herself 1-on-1 against Wexell. Bethea went to Wexell’s left side and found the net, putting Ohio down 2-0 inside of 10 minutes.
Chances went back and forth for much of the rest of the half, until the 45th minute, when Bowling Green’s Abby Koly hit a volley that was partially blocked by Ohio’s Maia Kaufman. The deflection crossed Wexell up and sent the ball into the net, giving Bowling Green a three goal lead just before halftime.
Coming out of the half, freshman Celeste Sloma replaced Wexell in goal and would remain there for the rest of the game.
During the second half, Ohio somewhat regained its composure with five shots on target, compared to zero in the first half.
Things remained steady as Ohio attempted to get back into the game and Bowling Green attempted to make the difference even greater. Eventually, in the 71st minute, Bowling Green got a free kick from their own half, which Mackenzie Reuber hit all the way into the Ohio box. The kick took one bounce, and Brynn Gardner volleyed it over a jumping Sloma, pushing the deficit to 4-0.
Ohio would continue to take shots, however, none would find the net as it lost 4-0. Ohio fell to 8th in the MAC, and Bowling Green rose to 5th with the win.
