In Friday’s match against Toledo, the Bobcats offense didn’t get going until the second half when they exploded to make four goals to secure a victory.
Two days later, Ohio’s offense was once again stifled in the first half but found its footing in the second half against Bowling Green. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, the second-half surge was too little, too late this time around.
The Bobcats (7-5, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) could not overcome the first-half hole and fell to Bowling Green (6-4-2, 4-0 MAC) 3-1 at Chessa Field.
Including the 1-0 loss to the Falcons in last year’s MAC tournament semifinals, Ohio has lost three straight matches to Bowling Green and hasn’t secured a victory over the Falcons since 2015.
Coach Aaron Rodgers felt the team was soft in the first half, and the Falcons found the back of the net twice in the first 45 minutes because of it.
“To not take care of details on set pieces can hurt you,” Rodgers said. “We know that. We’ve taken advantage of that in the past, and we suffered for it today.”
Despite its struggles in the first half, Ohio showed signs of life in the second half, especially on the offensive side.
The Bobcats saw their offense open up significantly in the second half, but its ability to finish evaded them.
Early in the second half following another Falcon goal to make it 3-0, Abby Townsend tried to give Ohio its first goal of the match, but her free-kick bounced just off the top bar and into the field of play.
Later in the match, the Bobcats were able to lure the Falcons’ goalie out of the box and looked to have a clean shot at the goal, following a Townsend cross pass to Alivia Milesky. Her shot, however, was kicked away by a Bowling Green defender.
Rodgers didn’t change much at the half in terms of the playstyles, but he worked to improve Ohio’s mindset as they attempted a comeback.
“We had to compete a little bit more,” Rodgers said. “We had to battle a little bit more. We just have to be able to come out with a strong mentality to start.”
The Bobcats were finally able to get on the scoreboard in the 82nd minute, as Milesky scored her fifth goal of the season — a team-high.
Ohio kept the offensive aggression as time wound down, but the Bobcats simply ran out of time to make the comeback a reality.
The Bobcats will look to bounce back Thursday as they travel to Akron to take on the Zips. The first touch at Cub Cadet Field is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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