Ohio was successful on the pitch but unlucky on the court this Saturday as the soccer and volleyball teams played further into their spring seasons.
Soccer
Dripping wet with mud-stained jerseys, a roster of tired Bobcats filtered through the doors of the Chessa Field press box Saturday afternoon. Part two of Ohio’s two-game spring season opener had been cut short by storms, forcing the team to converge in the nearest shelter.
Coach Stacy Strauss held her post-game conference with the squad within the confines of the press box. She asked the team to evaluate itself. The response was positive.
“We knew it was our first game of the spring, and we just had to come in, practice, keep the ball and possess,” midfielder Cat Rogers said. “A little shaky at times, but when we strung passes together it was fine.”
The Bobcats were scoreless through 30 minutes against Marshall, though they had defeated Capital 3-1 earlier in the afternoon.
Ohio wasted no time displaying its revamped offense against the Crusaders. Roughly three minutes into the match, the Bobcats’ pressure resulted in the game’s first goal. Veronica Rock tucked a shot inside the far post after intercepting a clearing attempt to give Ohio the 1-0 advantage.
Capital continued to crumble under the Ohio’s pressure. Rogers played a huge part in the team’s aggression and control of the midfield.
Ohio was equally dominant on defense. The Bobcats’ back line allowed only three shots, but one poorly defended stretch led to the Crusaders’ lone tally.
The Bobcats scored twice more before the final whistle to emerge with the victory. Alex Stec converted following a corner kick, and then Liz Finley redirected a strike into the back corner of the net.
“I thought we played pretty well in the second half,” Strauss said. “We were able to keep the ball a little more, which was the focus going into the game, and in doing so, we tired them out a bit and created opportunities to score.”
Ohio was more evenly matched with Marshall. Neither team had much of an edge when the game was called. Ohio goalkeeper Mattie Liston claimed the short match’s lone highlight when her diving save kept the game even.
Volleyball
The Bobcats had much to think about on their bus ride home from the KIVA College Tournament, as their quality performance was marred by a string of close losses. Ohio fell in the third set to Samford, Louisville and Ole Miss.
“The moral of the story is we lost three very closely-contested matches,” coach Ryan Theis said. “We were right there at the end. I don’t think the last couple points come down to how many weeks you practice.”
Still searching for their first win of the spring season, the Bobcats continue to work on creating a more balanced attack. Much of that responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of middle blocker Serena Warner, who scored more than 20 points on Saturday.
“I think we’ve changed a little bit of Serena’s offensive game in the last few weeks, and it’s really helped her out,” Theis said. “She stood out to me today as a bright spot in a day where we didn’t get the wins.”
Defensively, Ohio has noted its areas for improvement but still has some refining to do.
“I think we’re touching a lot of blocks but not getting a lot of points on it,” Theis said. “Behind the blocks, I would say we need to do a bit better job.”
mm938910@ohiou.edu
