Ohio looks to make a case for entry into MAC tournament.
At the end of practice, the team huddled up and before it broke, and screamed, "Five in a row!"
The Bobcats have five games left this season before the Mid-American Conference Tournament, and they face two conference opponents this weekend in Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green.
"The last five games are really huge for us," coach Aaron Rodgers said. "And to be home for three of them is really important."
EMU and BGSU have meager road records, going a combined 2-10-3, while Ohio is 2-2 at Chessa Field.
Having played the three hardest teams in the MAC this season in terms of conference standings, the rest of the season looks feasible for the Bobcats to potentially finish .500 overall and above .500 in the MAC with five consecutive wins.
With both of Ohio's upcoming opponents' inability to score as consistently as Ohio's recent opponents, goals shouldn't be sporadic for the Bobcats. Both teams have a fair amount of one-goal losses, so all Ohio needs to do is rally at the beginning of the match, and it should control the momentum for 90 minutes.
"For us, (we need) to score some goals and to compete at a higher level than last weekend," Rodgers said.
The defense has taken another hit with Kelley Zebrowski in a walking boot this week. Rodgers said she will not play Friday. In her place, freshman Mandy Arnzen will get the start, with Rianna Reese on the opposite side.
The Bobcats also lost defensive freshman Mikaela McGee for the season with a torn ACL two weeks ago.
But for Rodgers' squad to get results, it's going to need to capitalize on set pieces and controlling the midfield. In practice this week, Rodgers ran set piece routines, and it looks like he plans on changing things a little bit.
In terms of the midfield, Rodgers has changed the variation of the 4-3-3 from having two holding mids and an attacking mid to having two attacking mids and one holding mid.
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"For us it's just the mentality to be willing to push numbers forward," Rodgers said. "We have the work rate to recover back and defend when we have to."
This weekend will be the weekend that will determine Ohio's future in tournament play. The Bobcats have five games to prove why they should have a bid in the MAC Tournament.
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