The Ohio women's lacrosse team will play its first of three straight home games today as it welcomes California for a non-conference match up.
The Bobcats (3-6 overall, 1-3 American Lacrosse Conference) are coming off a disappointing trip to New York where they suffered an 8-5 loss to Albany.
We learned from the last game that we need to come out wanting to win and really wanting to compete no matter who we are playing
midfielder Caitlin Link said. But we've put that game behind us and we are focused on winning and California.
The Bobcats will need to take care of the ball on offense in order to succeed.
We turned the ball over too much had too many unforced errors and we weren't getting enough shots off because we weren't holding on to the ball
coach Kate Brew said.
Brew also said the team has been working on its ball handling and should be ready for the contest today.
In practice we've been working on a lot of high pressure situations
running our attack against double teams and working on executing against pressure defense and it seems to be working well.
The Golden Bears meanwhile, are 7-5 and rolling after a 19-5 romp against Saint Mary's of California. California will pressure Ohio's defense with fast breaks and transition offense -something Ohio hasn't seen much of lately.
They are a quick team with a nice transition. We haven't seen a lot of fast break goals in the last couple of games
but we are preparing to be able to slow them down in the midfield and get back quickly
Brew said. We're expecting to see them play a quick style and shoot a lot more of transition shots.
Ohio will aim to counteract California's offense with solid offensive play and corrected ball control.
What we have been doing this week in practice is working on our team offense and making sure we get the ball down on offense and getting it into the net
Link said.
The team has continued to focus on itself and worry about its play and not the opponents'.
We are focusing on what we need to do rather than what the other team is going to do
midfielder Kristen Gombeski said. Whether it is individuals or the team as a whole
on defense and offense we have to play together.
Opening draw will take place at 4 p.m. today at Peggy Pruitt Field.
