During a perfect, autumn afternoon at Chessa Field on Friday, Ohio (5-2-2) opened Mid-American Conference play with a 3-1 victory against Bowling Green (0-7-0).
It was a tale of two halves for the Bobcats, after they kicked off the match lackadaisically and found themselves down early.
“We didn’t come out to compete in the first half,” coach Aaron Rodgers said. “It can’t be pick and choose when you want to play.”
In the 10’ minute, Bowling Green took the lead when freshman Kaitlyn Tobin placed her shot into the net, while Bobcat senior goalkeeper Mattie Liston was unable to cleanly handle a shot from point blank range, setting Tobin up with a rebound finish.
Both teams had their chances at scoring throughout the first half, including a 30-yard laser off the crossbar from Tobin, but the teams went into halftime with the Falcons in front with the lone goal.
During the break, Rodgers said the Bobcats talked about the will to score and the will to compete more than just tactics.
“I think we weren’t all there as a team,” said redshirt freshman Carly Manso. “It took a minute to take a step back and take in it.”
Ohio looked like a completely new side in the second half, and equalized in the 60’ minute when Manso played a cross through the penalty area to sophomore Holly Harris, who tapped the ball into the goal for the Bobcats.
From that point forward, tension rose between the players on the pitch as well as the 336 fans in attendance.
In the 72’ minute Falcon fans pleaded for a penalty after sophomore Haley Parkinson was taken down in the box, only for the linesmen to signal for offsides ten yards behind the incident.
Some comical relief came two minutes later when a toddler invaded the field, stopping play.
In the 84’ minute, Manso played a ball to the top of the penalty area, finding freshman Allison Cislo, who scored her first collegiate goal, giving Ohio a 2-1 lead.
“We had to score and [I] had to get it done,” said Cislo.
The Bobcats added another goal to the scoreboard two minutes later when Bowling Green redshirt freshman goalie Lauren Cadel missed the ball and brought Cislo down with a shoe-string tackle, awarding her a yellow card, and Ohio a penalty kick.
Manso then stepped up and buried the ball into the left side of the net, improving Ohio’s lead to 3-1.
“I embrace the pressure,” said Manso. “ We [Cislo and Manso] helped each other out. I gave her an assist and she earned the penalty.”
Ohio finished the match with 10 shots on target to Bowling Green’s three. The Bobcats also won 15 corners while the Falcons recorded none.
Ohio will host winless Central Michigan (0-7-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
gh181212@ohiou.edu
@charliehatch_
