The Ohio soccer team saw their season come to a disappointing finish in the Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinals yesterday, falling to seventh-seeded Northern Illinois 2-0 at Chessa Field.
The loss put a stop to the Bobcats (9-9-1, 7-3-1 MAC) three-game winning streak and was the first time they had been shut out since a 3-0 loss to Miami on Oct. 15. Ohio coach Stacy Strauss said, despite showing strong play, her squad just could not put away the Huskies (7-10-2, 5-6 MAC).
I thought we failed to take advantage of monopolizing the play in the first half
she said. I thought we were all over them and we just didn't get a good enough chance on goal. Anytime you're having to come back from a deficit in the second half it's tough to do.
Northern Illinois was able to jump on top at the 18:32 mark in the first half when midfielder Lisa Maier beat the Bobcat defense and sent a shot across the box that got past the outstretched hands of Ohio goalkeeper Dominique Wright. It seemed as though Ohio was mounting a comeback with just under two minutes in the half when forward Lindsey Price's corner kick was headed into the back of the net by defender Rachael Goulding. However, the goal was called off when a foul was called on Ohio during the scrum for the ball.
Goulding said that the call dealt a significant blow to Ohio's chances.
That's heartbreaking she said. That would have totally changed the game. Goals like that with that amount of time left
that would have just totally changed the game around.
The Huskies struck again at the 66:29 mark in the second half when forward Jamie Sitter took a rebound off of forward Karen Enockson's shot and was able to put it past Wright, who was recovering from making the
previous save. The goal put the game away for Northern Illinois.
Despite not being able to find the back of the net, Ohio had several chances to get on the board. Late in the first half a shot from midfielder Danielle Young sailed just high of goal and forward Aupala Huq lost her footing just as she was in position to boot in a cross-pass from forward Jasmine Merith.
In the second half, Husky goalkeeper Lindsey Curnock stopped a header from forward Amy Lower and a header from Goulding off a corner kick sailed just over the bar.
Lower said the Bobcats' near misses were tough to take.
You always hope that you have the goal that ties it up or starts the comeback
she said. It's really frustrating when you just mis-hit it or anything like that happens.
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Bobcats sophomore midfielder Erika Schmitt (7) battles for control of the ball yesterday against Northern Illinois. The Huskies ended the Bobcats season with a 2-0 victory in the quarterfinal matchup.
