The Bobcats head into their final regular season match Thursday at Kent State with the chance to secure a home playoff match for the second year in a row.
Here’s everything you need to know:
The Opponent: @ Kent State (5-9-3, 3-5-2 MAC)
-Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
-Kent State currently sits in 10th place in the MAC and is one point behind the two teams tied for eighth place and the final spot in the conference tournament
-Kent State has only been shut out four times this season, but it has been outscored by its opponents overall this year
-Ohio has lost the last nine regular season meetings between the two teams, with the last seven being in the regular season finale
-Ohio and Kent State have also met in the MAC Tournament each of the past two seasons. The Golden Flashes advanced on penalties two years ago, and the Bobcats won last year
Player to watch: Vital Kats, a junior midfielder from Ontario, has eight goals and five assists this season. All eight goals and four of those assists came in MAC play.
Notes on the Bobcats:
-The Bobcats have won three of their last four matches and now sit tied for third in the MAC with Buffalo, Akron and Western Michigan on 16 points
-Ohio has to win and needs either a Western Michigan loss or a tie from Akron and Buffalo if it wants to secure a home playoff match. The Bobcats are currently behind all three teams because of the tiebreakers in the MAC
-Ohio is 10-7-1 overall and 5-4-1 in the MAC, as well as 4-4-1 on the road
-Last Thursday’s win against Miami secured the Bobcats their first double-digit win season since 2003
-Ohio has scored 34 goals this season and conceded 26
Player to watch: Sophomore forward Abby Townsend took over the team lead in points after a weekend in which she registered two goals and three assists. She now has a total of five goals and 11 assists this season.
