Not executing on chances can cost teams down the final stretch of a regular season, which is exactly what happened to Ohio this weekend.
After splitting a pair of games, it’s crunch time for the Bobcats (7-6-5, 3-4-3 Mid-American Conference), who have just one game before the MAC Tournament.
A few blown chances Friday against Toledo (5-12-1, 2-7-1 MAC) and Sunday against Northern Illinois (6-9-3, 4-4-2 MAC) cost the Bobcats positioning in the MAC Tournament.
After a late win against the Rockets, Ohio looked destined for the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament, especially if it could win at Northern Illinois.
Unfortunately, the Bobcats lost to the Huskies 2-1, despite playing well during the second half.
“We actually came out in the second half and played better than we did the first half,” coach Aaron Rodgers said. “Unfortunately, we made two costly mistakes and gave up two goals. Credit to our girls to show some resilience and to fight and get a goal back, making the last six minutes very nerve-racking for Northern Illinois. I think if you take away those miscues and we finish one chance or two chances in the second half I feel like we would be walking away with a win.”
There weren’t many chances for either team, as most of the play was bogged down in the midfield. There were only 11 total shots attempted between the two teams, with just nine of those being on goal.
Despite the low shooting output there was still plenty of action during the second half, when three goals were scored. Toledo found the scoreboard in the 63rd and 81st minutes after a pair of miscues off corner kicks, and without these mistakes, the Bobcats would have walked out of DeKalb, Ill., with a win.
Redshirt freshman Carly Manso got one back for Ohio when she scored during the 83rd minute after the defender redirected her shot into the back of the net.
“I will put it on our team this week to be the team that scores first,” Rodgers said. “I think when we do a good job of keeping possession and score first I think we’ll have a good chance to go on and win the game. I think there were periods in the second half where we possessed the ball very well, we just weren’t able to do it consistently enough.”
With her three saves Sunday, senior goalkeeper Mattie Liston moved within 18 career saves of Toledo’s Elise Donovan for the fourth-most in MAC history.
She and the rest of the Bobcats will play their final game of the regular season against Kent State at Chessa Field on Thursday.
“When we play a very disciplined game and we are able to possess and move off the ball and create a rhythm I think we are going to be successful,” Rodgers said. “We have to have a little bit better scoring mentality to be able to put some of these chances away.”
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