Like the second movie in a trilogy, the Bobcats' weekend matches were riveting and answered some questions, but left many unresolved.
Ohio won a double-overtime thriller against Buffalo Friday before dropping a gut-wrenching contest to Kent State in extra time yesterday.
Sophomore midfielder Cathryn Rogers was the hero of Friday's 1-0 win against Buffalo.
In the final minute of the second overtime period, junior midfielder Kelsey Pichel took a free kick that was deflected out of play by Buffalo goalkeeper Danielle Quigley.
Realizing Ohio had been awarded a corner kick, Rogers quickly grabbed the ball, ran to the corner and fired the ball toward the net as the public address announcer numbered off the final seconds.
The dude was counting down
like '10 nine ' so I just grabbed the ball and just wanted to get it as close into the net as possible so someone could just get the rebound or something
Rogers said.
But to everyone's surprise, the ball crossed the goal line untouched.
It was just great hustle from Cat
a great individual effort to demand the ball
put it down and get it in play as the clock was running out
coach Stacy Strauss said.
The Bobcats outshot the Bulls 24-5. Quigley made 11 saves in a losing effort.
Yesterday, Kent State climbed back late and notched the winning goal in double overtime to add a sour note to Senior Day at Chessa Field.
The match featured 15 offside infractions and four yellow cards issued to Kent State. The Golden Flashes tied the game in the 86th minute, and Annie Messer netted the game winner midway through the second extra session.
We allowed them to get into the game
and they made it a very direct game
Strauss said. They looked for those balls over the top
and we gave them the opportunity to do so by not keeping the ball.
With the loss, the Bobcats (6-7-4, 3-4-3 Mid-American Conference) fell to third place in the MAC East. A win would have given Ohio the division lead, as first-place Miami gained only one point this weekend. The RedHawks lead the division by a point over Akron, which passed Ohio in the standings with two wins this weekend. Miami, Akron or Ohio could win the division.
The Bobcats secured a spot in the MAC tournament with the split. Ohio holds the tiebreaker over Bowling Green, the only team within reach of the Bobcats in the standings. With a win against Akron Thursday, the Bobcats would win the division if Miami loses to Bowling Green.
Even with a guaranteed spot in the tournament, Rogers emphasized the importance of Thursday's match.
We need it. We need a win.
