Ohio (2-1-1) returned to Chessa Field to challenge the Valparaiso Retrievers (2-2) after opening the season on a three-game road trip. Ohio entered the match looking for its second nonconference win of the season..
At kickoff, both the Bobcats and the Retrievers settled into tough defensive positions. Each team only managed one shot apiece through the first 18 minutes of action. That was until, in the 18th minute, Ohio junior defender Ella Deevers made a move to find an open shot on the right side of the Valparaiso box, which she drove into the back of the net to give Ohio an early 1-0 advantage.
Ohio wasn’t done applying heavy pressure after taking an early lead. The team managed a corner kick 33 seconds after Deevers’ goal. Then, in the 21st minute, Ohio midfielder Eve Berish split two defenders to find forward/midfielder Jaimason Brooker open down the right side, who then connected with forward Scout Murray sprinting open into the Valparaiso net, who put the ball in the back of the net for a controlling Ohio 2-0 lead.
The pressure emitted from Ohio on both sides of the ball was evident throughout the first half. Ohio outpaced Valparaiso in shots (6-1), shots on goal (3-0), and corner kicks (4-0). The play of the defense was a high-point Coach Aaron Rodgers noted from his team’s performance.
“The strength of our team is defending,” Rodgers said. “And so, I don't think that I have to motivate them to be intense, because that's just the nature of the 3-4-5-6 that play back there.”
After both teams traded shots early in the second half, Scout Murray looked to pick up where she left off. In the 53rd minute, Murray split two defenders to find a lead pass from Iro Fakinou resulting in Murray being one-on-one against Valparaiso sophomore goalkeeper Kate Sheridan, where Murray connected with the back-left of the net for her second score of the day, giving Ohio a 3-0 lead.
As the second half progressed along, Ohio’s offensive attack became overwhelming for Valparaiso. The Bobcats managed 11 shots and four corner kicks in the second half, while only giving up two and zero respectively.
In the 68th minute, Jamaison Brooker put a pass across into the Valparaiso box where, once again, Scout Murray found the pass and put the ball into the top-right corner of the net over the outstretched arm of Valparaiso freshman keeper Hailey Wade for her third goal of the day, securing the hat trick, and giving the Bobcats a commanding 4-0 lead.
Coach Rodgers had immense praise for his reigning MAC Tournament MVP’s performance today.
“When she just is aggressive and tries to get it and goes to the goal, that's where she's not thinking, and she's just playing instinctively, that's where she's going to score goals. And she did just that,” Rodgers said.
As the match began to close, in the 89th minute, Ohio freshman defender Lillian Weller found a pass in a crowded box off a late corner kick, putting that pass into the Valparaiso net for a commanding 5-0 Bobcat lead.
The overwhelming presence of the Ohio offense in the second half was complimented by the tough, gritty defensive play featured early in the match. Ohio is victorious over Valparaiso 5-0 and moves to 2-1-1 in nonconference play.
Next up, Ohio will take on the Marshall Thursday at Chessa Field in another non-conference matchup.
