It was a black-tie affair on the pitch at Chessa Field as the Bobcats unveiled their new black jerseys at home Sunday.
Ohio finished its first homestand of Mid-American Conference play, tying Ball State 1-1 in their first overtime game of the season.
The Bobcats got on the board quickly as sophomore forward Liz Finley scored two minutes into the game off an assist from freshman forward Holly Harris and junior forward Natalie Bechtel.
“That’s been a real focus for us this year,” Ohio coach Stacy Strauss said about Finley’s early goal. “One of the improvements we’ve made thus far since last year, and that is the first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes we need to dominate, and I thought getting that early goal was good for us.”
The Cardinals had a chance to tie the game directly before halftime, but they were called offside.
Ball State was unable to put the ball in the back of the net despite having opportunities and holding the edge in shots at halftime 12-7.
Ohio junior goalkeeper Mattie Liston made several key saves for Ohio, making three in the first half but could not keep Ball State off the board in the second half.
Ball State sophomore forward Nicole Pembleton equalized the score at 1-1 seven minutes into the second stanza. The goal came off a rebound that deflected off of Liston. The ball bounced to Pembleton who finished the chance.
Harris had two chances to convert in the second half but could not finish.
Ball State’s offense dominated in shots and finished with 17 more than Ohio but Finley said that was not the difference in the game.
“They definitely came out hard and worked hard but I think we kept it to a fair game and I think we came out and we could have possessed better but in the end it led to an overtime,” Finley said.
Finley, despite the team wanting the win, said the team needs to move on and prepare for next weekend.
“It’s kind of disappointing because you really want the win but it’s better than a loss,” Finley said. “So now we have to move on, go to practice on Tuesday and look forward to the next game.”
mk277809@ohiou.edu
