Ohio field hockey had trouble getting going in its final dress rehearsal before the regular season, as the Bobcats lost 8-0 Thursday against the Louisville Cardinals in Louisville. The game was the team’s last preseason match before the regular season.
After having not scored for 22 minutes, the Bobcats were outshot 11-1 and were down 2-0 at halftime.
The Cardinals came out strong yet again in the second half, scoring a quick goal to make it 3-0, and then added two more past Ohio sophomore goalkeeper Alex Pennington.
With just minutes remaining in the match, Louisville netted two more goals back-to-back, as the game ended in a blowout.
The final stats weren’t pretty for the Bobcats, as they were outshot by Louisville 24-4, even as they continued into overtime, which Ohio lost 1-0. Next was a best-of-five shootout, also won by Louisville 4-2.
This was by no means going to be an easy team to face, even for a preseason battle by the now veteran Bobcat squad.
Louisville, once a field hockey powerhouse in the MAC, is now in the Atlantic Coast Conference and went 13-7 last year. They lost to the University of Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Championships.
The preseason loss comes after Ohio was projected third in the league standings by the 2016 Mid-American Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, which is voted on annually by the head coaches of the conference.
Ohio will have a week to make changes from the loss, as the Bobcats will face Saint Francis (PA) on Aug. 26 in their home opener.
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