Ohio failed to find the back of the net in either of its two games this weekend in New York, losing to No. 5 Syracuse and Cornell.
Friday was the first game of the season for Cornell (2-0), and the Big Red came out strong early. Gabby DePetro scored the only goal of the game in the fifth minute off an assist from Maddy Conklin.
Cornell outshot Ohio 7-2, but only four of its shots were on goal. Both of Ohio’s were, so both teams had a similar amount of good chances to score.
The two Ohio (1-3) shots came from Maria Russell and Emma Spinnetto, but the two Cornell goalies saved one each.
Last weekend, the Bobcats showed they are extremely dangerous off penalty corners, but they could not convert any of their three in the second half. Kendall Ballard, the ideal player to take those shots, failed to register a shot in the game.
Alex Pennington was stellar in goal for the Bobcats, saving three shots and keeping the deficit to one goal. Because of Pennington, the Bobcats only needed one goal to tie the game, but they were never able to crack Cornell's defense.
With Ohio being unable to score against Cornell, its chances did not look good Sunday against No. 5 Syracuse — the Orange had not allowed a goal in their first four games of the season.
The scoreless streak continued for Syracuse (5-0). The Orange won 3-0 and were in control throughout, attempting 20 shots and shutting out the Bobcats' offense.
The fifth minute hurt the Bobcats once again as Elaine Carey tipped in her first goal of the season. She followed with her second goal of the game in the twentieth minute.
Just before the second Syracuse goal, Ohio forced three saves, with Kennedy Farr, Russell and Spinnetto having shots saved in the span of 20 seconds.
Pennington was a stalwart in goal for Ohio with 12 saves, the third double-digit save game of her Ohio career.
The scoring was rounded out in the sixtieth minute when Carolin Hoffman put a shot past Pennington, putting the game out of reach for Ohio.
Ohio was within inches of doing something no team has done to Syracuse this season when a shot from Ballard hit off the post after a penalty corner. In the opening game of the season against Saint Louis, Ballard scored off penalty corners three times.
Ohio will play at home for the first time this season next weekend, hosting Virginia Commonwealth (2-1) for two games, scheduled for Saturday at 12 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
