The Bobcats found themselves in a hotly-contested game during the second half against Miami.
The RedHawks were relentlessly handling the Bobcats' offense, holding them without a shot in the second half. Ohio needed an answer and got one from its defense.
The defense shut out the aggressive RedHawks and preserved the 1-0 lead. Miami attacked almost the entire half but could not score.
For the amount of pressure they put on us
we didn't let up that many shots senior Nina Bruno said. It was definitely pretty impressive.
The three back defenders (Bruno, junior Brittney Zorn and sophomore Jenna Green), along with the defensive midfielders, have picked up their play for the Bobcats.
The team gave up five goals to both Michigan State and Virginia early in the season, but has only given up five goals in its last four games combined.
Each of the back three brings her own arsenal of strengths to the team.
Bruno, the leader of the group, is great at organizing and communicating with the other two - a key asset to her sweeper position.
She's very vocal and has done a great job of that Zorn said of Bruno. She's definitely stepped up this year as a senior.
Aside from being a tough defender, Zorn has one of the hardest hits of the ball on the team and has been effective at corners this season.
The youngest of the group, Green plays calm and collected-even though she is positioned close to the goal.
Despite different strengths, the members of the defensive unit say they communicate well and play with great chemistry.
It's a system of communication and trusting and working off each other
Bruno said. Defense is a lot of angles
so if one is up
the other has to be back and so on.
Aggressive is the mindset of the unit, since the defense has to be hungry to stop the offense.
We're pretty relentless to get the ball out
Green said. That's basically our job
so we try to be.
Kent State and Missouri State come to town this weekend. If the Bobcats hope to avenge their two losses this year in Mid-American conference play, their defense has to play up to its potential.
With Kent
it's a battle in the MAC between two top teams
Zorn said. It's going to come down to who has more heart.
