Ohio (6-5, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) is back at home for the rest of the season as it begins its home stand against MAC rival Ball State. On Sunday it hosts Big Ten opponent Indiana.
Here is the information for the two matches:
Opponents: Ball State Cardinals | Indiana Hoosiers
Match Location: Pruitt Field in Athens, Ohio
Match Date: Oct. 18 at 3 p.m. | Oct. 20 at 11 a.m.
Opponent’s Current Record: 3-10 (1-2 MAC) | 4-9
What’s happened so far:
The Bobcats are coming into this weekend off of a two-match road trip, in which they went 1-1. Despite the one loss, the defense saw improvement, as they only allowed a total of two goals on the whole weekend. Ohio currently sits in second place in the MAC.
Match information:
The Cardinals’ struggles this season have been on offense, as they only average 0.85 goals per match. Their defense, however, is very solid, as they only allow 2.23 goals per match.
“Defensively, Ball State is very tricky to play against and they are very good on the attack,” coach Ali Johnstone said. “It’s a really big game for us.”
The Bobcats only have two MAC matches left. Their goal is to get the best possible seed for the MAC Tournament, and the best way of securing that goal is by winning their conference matches.
The Bobcats also will face Indiana this weekend. The Hoosiers have had a rough season, as they have lost six straight matches coming into this weekend. Their defense is the team's main problem. They allow an average of 3.67 goals per match. The Bobcats will look to be aggressive early in the game and will attack the Hoosier defense.
With only two MAC matches left, it's clear that those two matches are the most important. After it hosts Ball State, the Bobcats host rival Miami next weekend for their final conference match of the season.
