Ohio has failed to beat NIU during Aaron Rodgers tenure as coach.
Ohio had an average weekend to start Mid-American Conference play, in which it defeated Buffalo — the favorite to win the Mid-American Conference East Division — and then fell late to another "East hopeful" in Akron.
Now, Ohio's focus shifts to Northern Illinois and Western Michigan and its return to Chessa Field over the weekend. The Bobcats take on the Huskies Friday and the Broncos Sunday.
Both teams provide a different threat to Ohio (3-6, 1-1), but coach Aaron Rodgers is vigilant of the threat. Though the Huskies have proven to be a problem for the Bobcats — they've won both times Rodgers has faced them during his tenure at Ohio — Rodgers believes they can succeed this year.
"I think NIU always poses a problem for us," Rodgers said. "We've played them on the road the (past) two years and so we finally get them ... here at Chessa Field. So I'm really looking forward to a game that's competitive but I think we're very ready for it."
And the Bobcats do seem ready. The goal scoring problems that plagued them through the first few games of the season have dissipated, as Ohio has managed to score in three of its last four games.
This can mainly be credited to the efforts of freshman Stephanie Rowland, who leads the team in goals, and the offensive efforts of junior Alexis Milesky and redshirt junior Carly Manso.
Both players have made multiple runs that open up space for Rowland to run into, and both players are adept at visualizing where Rowland will be — rolling the ball into her path to dispatch into the back of the net.
This combination was effective in the Buffalo match, in which Manso drove into space on the right, gravitated multiple defenders toward her and then slipped a pass to Rowland, who scored the game's only goal.
NIU (2-7, 1-1) has been suspect on defense for the majority of the year, allowing 17 goals in nine games. If the Bobcats can take advantage of the Huskies porous defense, they could their first win over a team in the MAC West Division.
Western Michigan (5-2-2, 2-0) should, however, pose a much greater threat. The Broncos are on top of the West and have failed to score in only one game this year.
But Rodgers believes that having the home crowd behind him will spur the Bobcats.
"Yeah it's awesome. Our crowds this year have been fantastic," Rodgers said. "We really appreciate all the Ohio fans that come out and support us and it really helps the girls, knowing people are supporting them."
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Rodgers said the Broncos are a "very talented team" and one of the top few teams in the MAC. He also mentioned how Sunday games can be a grind in the MAC, but regardless of that, he believes that if Ohio is organized, it can get the result.
If Rowland and the rest of Ohio's front three can keep up their form from the previous two games, the Bobcats can emerge from this weekend with a winning conference record.
@kellenbecoats
