Ohio looks to hit the road running this weekend when it travels to Bloomington, Ind. for games against Louisville and Indiana.
Louisville was ranked 23rd in the preseason polls before a 3-2 loss to Northeastern on July 24 knocked them out of the Top 25. But despite the Cardinals’ loss, Ohio coach Neil Macmillan feels that they will provide a significant test for his team.
“They’re very well organized and have some good individual players,” he said. “They do a really good job with system play and move the ball really well. That’ll be a great challenge for us.”
Louisville coach Justine Sowry is entering her second season with Louisville, and is beginning to see her team adapt to her brand of field hockey, Macmillan said.
Indiana enters the weekend with a 3-0 record that includes victories against Mid-American Conference teams Kent State and Missouri State.
Ohio was defeated 3-2 by the Hoosiers in a home game last season, a performance Macmillan looks to build upon.
The Hoosiers hit the ball well out of the backfield, and have an above-average crew of midfielders, Macmillan said.
“The games against them always seem to be one-goal games,” he said. “Last year they took a three-to-nothing lead and we couldn’t quite rebound. They’re a team we have a good battle (with) every time we play, and that’s the fun part of playing them.”
Macmillan has safeguarded his team against a letdown performance following the Bobcats’ 9-0 romp with Radford at home. He isn’t at all concerned that his team will come out flat this time around.
“We’re aware of the caliber of the opposition this weekend,” he said. “Last weekend, Radford wasn’t a team we saw going in with the experience or depth of these two teams. We’re a little bit more focused on the game plan of Louisville, rather than worrying about ourselves like we did against Radford.”
Ohio University senior Marissa Higgins said the team will look to build upon their great performance during the weekend and continue to execute the basics as the quality of opponent improves.
“I think our biggest thing is to keep up the mentality we have at home and keep up with our transfers,” she said. “There were so many plays last weekend where I was standing on the field with my jaw dropped. We’ll just need to build on that.”
UP NEXT:
Louisville, 2 p.m. Saturday
-
Ohio leads all-time series 28-8.
-
The Cardinals finished last season 10-9.
-
Louisville Co-Big East regular season champions from 2007-2009
Indiana, 1 p.m. Sunday
-
Ohio leads all-time series 4-3
-
The Hoosiers finished last season 9-8
-
Indiana hasn’t won a Big Ten title in more than 10 years
ch203310@ohiou.edu
