Ohio was four minutes away from a win.
The heat was intense and the fatigue had set in, but one of the last things keeping Ohio from getting its second consecutive win was a High Point corner — it’s only corner in the second half.
The corner came in, and after a slight scrum it ended up in goalkeeper Vanessa Cordoba’s net, tying the game.
Five minutes into overtime, Ohio conceded a penalty, and High Point converted for the 2-1, overtime victory.
“We didn’t lose to a poor team,” coach Aaron Rodgers said. “We lost to a very talented, a very effective team.”
Despite the loss, Rodgers was, for the most part, pleased with how his team played against a tough, 3-0-1 High Point team.
In the first half, High Point controlled most of the possession, but Ohio had the advantage in shots. Bryce Hueber scored her first goal as a Bobcat in the 18th minute.
Up until Ohio’s goal, High Point controlled momentum and the game. The Panthers passed the ball around the field, continually looking for an opening. Occasionally a shot would go through, but Cordoba would clear it any time High Point threatened.
“We knew they were going to come out and press us,” Rodgers said. “They want to run and press and run and we knew that if we could break that down and control the tempo of the game we would be successful. And for a lot of the time during the game, we did that.”
For Ohio, it spent the opening 15 minutes trying to infiltrate the passing lanes looking for a chance to counter. When it got that chance, it was freshman midfielder/forward Sydney Leckie that tried creating chances for Ohio.
Once the Bobcats scored, their style switched. While Ohio was attacking and searching for an insurance goal, it also had to slow the pace to keep High Point from getting an equalizer.
“You saw two different styles,” Rodgers said. “We tried to maintain our impression on the game. There were big times on the game we did. So we just kept encouraging the girls to still play our style and impress our rhythm into the game and for times we did a really good job, and others, High Point did a good job.”
Ohio (1-2) was just one clear from two consecutive wins early in the season. Instead, it suffered its second overtime loss of the season.
Ohio doesn’t have the luxury of just one game this week, however, as the Bobcats will travel to Cleveland State for their match Friday.
