Ohio traveled to Richmond, Kentucky, to face off against Eastern Kentucky on Sunday. The Bobcats suffered their first loss of the season and snapped their three-match win streak after a 3-1 loss to the Colonels.
Over the course of its first three matches and its no-contest against James Madison, Ohio’s defense has shut out all of its opponents. Its smothering defensive style near the goal proved to be effective thus far, but it struggled to hold back an aggressive Eastern Kentucky offense.
The Bobcats were met with loads of physical play from the Colonels, who racked up 18 fouls and a pair of yellow cards compared to Ohio’s four fouls and one yellow card.
Eastern Kentucky struck first in the match, scoring in the 27th minute when a shot by Audrey Anderson soared over Ohio goalkeeper Sam Wexell. Ohio evened the score seven minutes later, when a free kick by Olivia Sensky rocketed into the bottom right corner of the goal.
Both teams headed into halftime with a goal each, however the Bobcats were overwhelmed in the second half. The Colonels scored two goals and managed to block every shot the Bobcats had on goal in the second half.
The Bobcats were in a deficit for the first time this season and their defense began to collapse. The first goal in the second half was scored by Eastern Kentucky’s Michaela Iacano in the 66th minute, and the final goal came when Hope Evans nailed a shot into the bottom left corner of the goal.
Ohio took four shots on goal in the final 10 minutes of the match in an attempt to mount a comeback, but none were able to land on target.
Ohio will look to recover from its first loss of the season when it returns to Athens to face off against Northern Kentucky at Chessa Field.
