After two losses to open the season at home, coach Neil Macmillan and Ohio will try to move forward.
At Pruitt Field, it was deja vu all over again for coach Neil Macmillan and the Bobcats.
After losing to then-No. 7 Syracuse in 2012, 6-0, Ohio dropped its second game of the 2014 season in similar fashion to Syracuse — falling 7-0.
If Ohio’s opening weekend against Syracuse and Boston was any indication of how the season will play out for Macmillan and Ohio, it might be a long one.
“We didn't start very well," Macmillan said. "We didn't possess the ball, and, the first 15 minutes, we didn't defend very well. We gave up too many opportunities.”
Despite being vastly outscored, Macmillan said there are still positives to move forward with following the weekend’s losses.
“On the other side, I think we had about as many shots and corners as we had (Sunday against Boston University),” Macmillan said. “We were actually getting forward and getting some opportunities, but they were also not as tight in the back as they might have been had that been a closer game."
The Bobcats struggled with the pace of the Orange, as Macmillan said he thought the team played more cohesively in the second half. Syracuse outshot Ohio, 17-7, and had an advantage in corners.
Junior Clarissa Leickly attested to Macmillan’s statement, saying the Bobcats will remain more positive after giving up five goals to the Orange in the first half.
“I thought we really transitioned after going down 5-0,” Leickly said. “We really bonded together. We changed our formation, we tried to stay positive and worked as a team to move forward.”
In the 7-0 loss, Syracuse was simply quicker and sharper in its third game this season. Annalena Ulbrich led the fifth-ranked Syracuse squad with three goals and an assist.
At times, Syracuse seemed overly aggressive after going up seven goals late in the second half. With a few minutes to go, Syracuse’s Alyssa Manley was issued a yellow card after she shot and hit a grounded Bobcat.
Macmillan said he thought it was an appropriate call.
Freshman Maria Russell was a bright spot for Ohio, notching two shots in her second collegiate game. The closest the Bobcats came to scoring occurred in the second half after both Rachel Kho and Lauryl Desch missed on a breakaway.
“(Maria) is just a ball of energy,” Macmillan said after Ohio’s 4-3 lost to Boston. “She’s got great hands. She’s really excelled in preseason and I’m very excited for her.”
With the loss, the Bobcats now drop to 0-2 on the season despite playing at Pruitt Field in their first two games of the year. Ohio lost to Boston in the final minutes of its season opener on Sunday.
Macmillan said the team has a lot to improve, but was honest when he thought the team improved after two disheartening losses.
“You gotta look at the positives,” Macmillan said. “We found some different places people can play and I think we got that out of our system. (The first half) was just a bad 15 minutes, you don’t normally give up that many points in 15 minutes. After that though, there is a lot of positives.”
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