The season came to a close for Ohio at Pruitt Field Friday as Appalachian State secured a spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament with a 2-1 victory, eliminating Ohio from playoff contention.
The match started out well for Ohio. It had early shots from Mijntje Ligtenberg and Weslee Littlefield, both of which saved by Appalachian State keeper Addie Clark. Unfortunately for Ohio, its defense couldn’t keep up in the end of the first quarter as Henriette Stegen found the net for a goal to put Appalachian State up 1-0.
In the second quarter, the Bobcats had numerous opportunities to tie the match. With two penalty corner attempts by Noa Desmaretz and shots from Kal Merle, Emily Risser and Katelyn Whittle, the Bobcats were unable to find the mark.
Ohio continued to pressure the goal in the second half with shots from Whittle, Ligtenberg and Sasha Dikotla proving no good. But Lucy Davis finally found the net for Ohio in the 39th minute off a penalty corner to tie the score 1-1 with her second goal of the season.
In the final quarter, the Mountaineers applied pressure on the Bobcats with a shot from Charlotte Bosma, which Nele Graner did not let through, making an amazing save. To the Bobcats dismay, with the goal wide open, Sarah Farrell got to the ball first and put the Mountaineers up 2-1.
It was a valiant effort by Ohio to keep the score tied, as Graner made another excellent save, this one on a penalty shot, and defenders such as Meela Kopp made a number of impressive defensive plays late in the match.
With time running low Ohio took Graner out of the goal to put full offensive pressure on Appalachian State in the last minute of the match. But the effort from Ohio was just not enough, and the match ended 2-1 in favor of Appalachian State. Ohio put up a fight until the last minute but fell short of the victory that would have taken them to the MAC Tournament.
