Ohio's senior leaders might not play in the final home games of the season.
Forwards Amy Lower and Jasmine Merith, co-captains and two of the team's four seniors, are nursing injuries that may keep them out of action this weekend.
Senior goalkeeper Christa Puccio tore her ACL earlier in the year, forcing her to miss the whole season.
That leaves goalkeeper Jess MacLean as potentially the only one of the four to play in her last regular-season game at Chessa Field.
This has been my home away from home
MacLean said. You get to know and get so close with so many people and it becomes much more than just playing soccer.
The seniors will be honored before Sunday's game with the rival Miami RedHawks. Whether or not they compete, it will still be their day.
It's still an honor to get to graduate going all four years through Puccio said. Just because I didn't make it through this senior year
it's an honor to still be on the team and walk out there with my class.
With five games left on the schedule, Ohio is entering its final stretch of the season. The Bobcats are tied with Eastern Michigan for second place in the Mid-American Conference standings, as both teams are 3-1-2 in conference play. A top-eight finish in the conference earns the team a berth in the postseason MAC tournament.
But if they manage to finish in the top four, they clinch a first-round tournament game at home, possibly giving the seniors at least one more chance to play in front of an Athens crowd.
We all love playing on Chessa
Lower said. It's going to be really weird not playing on that ever again
and I think we can just use that as fuel.
The Bobcats have stayed off Chessa Field this week. Coach Stacy Strauss changed practice facilities to keep the field in good condition in preparation for a rainy weekend.
We've struggled a little bit with the field
because the games we've had at home of late have been during or soon after downpours
Strauss said. We'll hope for the best
but it could be another game similar to our last home stand where we have to just sort of battle through the elements.
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