Ohio (6-1-4) returned home from its two-game road streak to face Kent State (5-3-2). After tying its first two games of conference play, Ohio got its first conference victory last Thursday against Bowling Green, winning 3-0. However, Ohio could not build on that win, tying for a third time, 0-0.
Ohio and Kent State last played in last year’s Mid-American Conference Tournament final, where Ohio won 2-1. Kent State came in looking for revenge, and the aggressiveness from both sides showed neither team was going to back down easily.
With the field being wet from the rain in the morning, the ball was moving fast and the game was moving fast with it. However, despite the game being fast-paced, it remained tied through the entirety of the first half. Ohio beat out Kent State in shots with nine, corner kicks with five, and shots on goal with two.
The wet field made a noticeable difference. Passes that were usually perfect would not slow down like they usually would, causing a lot of unforced errors. It also affected defensive clears, with the teams not being able to get a good touch on the ball, making it difficult to get the ball out of the box. Despite this, Ohio coach Aaron Rodgers liked the looks his team was getting.
“We play right into our model and what we try to do, and where we want to try and exploit spaces,” Rodgers said. “On Thursday night we finished those chances, tonight we just didn’t quite do it.”
Ohio may have been leading in most categories, but the score would remain 0-0. Neither team was able to find a way through the other’s defense. Both Ohio and Kent State played tremendous defense in the first half, not giving each other the ability to get many good shots.
For Ohio, it was once again Celeste Sloma recording a shutout, her seventh of the season, tying her number of shutouts from last season just eleven games in.
“(Having Celeste) allows us to take more risks,” Rodgers said. “The players that we play in our back three and Celeste ... (allow us) to press up a little higher … I’m very confident that we’re able to defend that."
The second half brought more drama than the first. Both teams saw more opportunities to score in the second half after getting more comfortable with the conditions of the field. Ohio led in shots with eight, corner kicks with three, and tied with Kent State in shots on goal with two.
Kent State had multiple chances to score in the second half. On multiple different occasions, they had a one-on-one chance at Sloma but couldn’t get past her. They had more opportunities though, with multiple runs down Ohio’s side of the field that were stopped by Ohio’s defense.
“I think a couple of times their forwards really got good chances on us and I think our defensive back line just kept fighting and really pulled for each other,” junior forward Scout Murray said. “If someone was out of position or someone needed a cover, someone was right there.”
In the 83rd minute, Ohio had a great chance to score with the ball inside Kent State’s box. Sophomore midfielder Rylee Mensel took a shot directly in front of Kent State’s goalkeeper that was blocked, but Mensel was called offside before she could shoot the ball again off the deflection.
In the 90th minute, another controversial offside was called against Ohio after the ball was crossed into the box and hit the back of the net. The offside was called after the goal was scored, and Ohio started celebrating thinking they had won the game. After the offsides call, the final whistle was blown and the game ended in a 0–0 tie.
