After a tough and thrilling comeback victory against Appalachian State, the Bobcats had an even tougher challenge when they traveled to Durham, North Carolina, to take on undefeated No. 2 Duke.
Ohio held its own against a previously ranked opponent in a 4-1 loss to No. 23 Boston earlier in the season, and for the early goings in its game against the Blue Devils, it looked like that would happen again.
Unfortunately, that appearance shrank, and Duke proved to be too much in the Bobcats’ 7-0 loss on Sunday. The seven goals scored by Duke were the most allowed by Ohio all season, and this was also the first time the Bobcats were shut out this year.
It was a quiet first quarter for both teams. Both Ohio and Duke failed to score a goal, which suggested a possible defensive matchup. Most of the second quarter saw dominant defensive play as well; that changed with less than three minutes left in the half when Duke’s Leah Crouse scored the first goal of the game. One minute later, Hannah Miller scored another goal for the Blue Devils and left the Bobcats down 2-0 at halftime.
The offensive success Duke had in the first half wasted no time in carrying over into the second half.
Noor van de Laar scored a goal that increased the deficit for Ohio to 3-0. The Blue Devils then scored two more goals in the third quarter and gave Duke a dominant 5-0 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
Ohio wasn’t a stranger to improbable comebacks on its weekend road trip, however. It was down by three goals to the Appalachian State and ended up leaving with a 6-5 win. That hope for a comeback in Durham, however, quickly faded after the Blue Devils scored two goals a minute apart.
It was the first time that the Bobcats were held without a goal since a 5-0 loss to Miami in the 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals. Ohio has more opportunities against ranked opponents this season, too. It hosts No. 12 Ohio State on Oct. 6.
Before that October home game, however, the Bobcats close out their third consecutive road game when they travel to MAC rival Kent State on Sept. 28.
