Correction appended.
Ohio is now on a seven-game streak. But not the good kind.
The Bobcats have lost seven in a row after back-to-back 3-0 losses to both Miami and Ohio State at Pruitt Field this weekend.
Ohio State
Defensive miscues hampered Ohio (1-7, 0-1 MAC) at the start and gave Ohio State (4-3, 0-1 Big 10) the lead in just the third minute, and the Buckeyes would never relinquish it.
Ohio fell behind in the first three minutes and couldn't recover for the rest of the day. For the rest of the first half, both teams got opportunities but didn't convert on them.
“They're a good side and I think we can take a lot of positives from the fact that we stayed with them for periods but not a good enough performance to win that game," coach Neil Macmillan said.
Both Ohio’s shots came off the stick of Kendall Ballard, who put one wide of the goal and forced a save with the other shot. Ballard was moved to the backfield early on to sort out defensive struggles.
There were eight penalty corners for the Buckeyes in the second half, and Maartje Bongers scored her first goal of the season off one with assists to Esther Clotet Alsina and Maddy Humphrey. Humphrey would add the final goal of the game in the 55th minute.
Miami
Ohio also played in an eerily similar game Friday in which Miami (4-4, 2-0 MAC) won 3-0. But the difference was that it was the first Mid-American Conference game of the season for both teams.
The game started out strong for Ohio, which got its first two shots of the game in the first 15 minutes. The control soon switched, however, as Ohio managed only one shot the rest of the game compared to 14 from Miami.
Paula Portugal couldn't be stopped by the Bobcats — she was involved in all three RedHawks goals. She scored the first goal of the game and then assisted on the other two.
Alexis Nugent picked up the second goal of the game right before halftime, and Neely Lochmoeller rounded out the scoring in the 56th minute.
In the second half, Ohio had more penalty corners than Miami because of changes at halftime, but the changes weren't enough to pick up a goal.
“We did make some changes at half time that came to fruition, but I felt like we were defending a lot more second half than they were, and that was tough,” Macmillan said.
Throughout the game, Ohio was solid in the midfield but wasn't able to convert within the striking circle.
“The play between the two twenty-fives was good, but actually within the twenty-five in the attacking area and defense, we didn't do as good job as we needed to,” Macmillan said.
Ohio will now hit the road for three straight road games and six of their final eight regular season games.
“You lose games ... that we should be more competitive with these two teams this weekend, and the scoreboard didn't indicate that, so every area we've got to make some improvements,” Macmillan said.
Correction: A previous version of this report misspelled Neil Macmillan's name. The article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
