In the first game of Mid-American Conference play, Ohio came out looking quite promising Friday evening but eventually lost 2-0 at Bowling Green.
BGSU scored in the 50th and 75th minutes of the game, the first in which Falcon midfielder Erica Hubert beat Bobcat keeper Erin Beurket to the goal and the second coming off a free kick from Falcon forward Skylar Fleak. The Bobcats had time of recover, and the opportunities to level the playing field were there, but they were unable to capitalize on potential scoring plays.
So what happened to Ohio? It seems to be the same song and dance for the Bobcats — they keep up with the pace of the game, tend to compete fiercely against their opponents, but continue to have trouble finishing their plays.
At Bowling Green, there were at least two instances where Ohio had the perfect opening to score but was called for being offside. Similarly, the team does a nice job of getting in position and setting up picture-perfect plays that just don’t end with a scoring goal.
As coach Aaron Rodgers has said several times before, the reason why the Bobcats’ non-conference schedule was so tough was so that they would be prepared for when MAC play came around, and this game is a perfect example of what the ‘Cats will be up against in the near future. Given that it’s just the first game of the conference season, Ohio can learn from what happened today and hope to make some effective changes in time for Sunday’s game at Toledo.
When the Bobcats face the Rockets, it will be their second of five road games in MAC play, which allows them to count on having a home field advantage as conference play continues. Kickoff at Toledo is set for 1 p.m.
