Ohio faces a team with a unique home-field advantage this weekend.
The Bobcats travel to Kent State today as part of their final weekend road trip of the regular season. The Golden Flashes (7-6-2, 3-3-2 Mid-American Conference) play on a smaller field, which gives them a home-field edge different from the other schools in the MAC.
The size of the field allows the Golden Flashes to play a particular style that makes them tougher to beat, coach Stacy Strauss said.
Kent State Soccer Field was built in 1990. Its dimensions are not listed, but according to the team's official Web site, the playing surface is regulation size.
Still, Strauss had the team practice on a shorter field all week to prepare for the challenge in Kent.
(We need to) play a bit tighter
in terms of playing two feet rather than leading players quite as much Strauss said. And make sure that we play a little quicker than normal because we'll be under a bit more pressure.
The Golden Flashes are 3-0-1 at home in conference play and 4-3-1 at home overall this season.
Ohio has not won a regular-season match at Kent State since 2001.
We just need to be smart about it Strauss said. Not play the ball out of bounds
adjust to the size of the field.
The Bobcats (7-6-2, 4-2-2 MAC) enter the weekend with their own unbeaten record. They are 3-0-1 in MAC games away from Chessa Field, making this a contest with two unbeaten streaks on the line.
Every game in this conference is a battle
and there's a lot of parity
Strauss said. So we need to come out and make sure we play our best
regardless of the opponent.
The Bobcats will finish the weekend by heading north Sunday to take on Buffalo.
The Bulls (3-12-1, 2-5-1 MAC) have struggled this season, sitting 10th in the MAC standings.
The Bobcats will attempt to inch closer to a berth in the MAC postseason tournament, but any team can win on any given day in this conference, Strauss said.
Certainly picking up two wins would put us in the mix
Strauss said. But we're just taking one game at a time.
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