Ohio (1-5 overall) fell to 1-5 after two losses against Atlantic Coastal Conference teams, rounding out their California trip by coming up short against Stanford 2-1 on Friday and California 9-0 on Sunday.
A tough weekend for Ohio adds to what has been a tough start to the season in non-conference play, and the Bobcats still have to wait to return home to Pruitt Field.
Friday, Ohio got off to a hot start against the Stanford Cardinal, getting two shots on goal within the first four minutes, the latter of which found the back of the net for Sasha Dikotla’s first goal of the season.
However, Stanford quickly locked down the Bobcats, and they did not allow another shot for the rest of the game as the Ohio offense went stagnant after the lone goal from Dikotla.
The Cardinal tied the game with under a minute left in the first period, with a Stanford penalty corner setting up a Cara Sambeth assist for a Natalie Hoppe goal.
Stanford took the lead one minute into the second period, with Gemma Townsend scoring off of a Summer Knight-Thomps assist. Ohio goalie Ash Stephenson stayed solid for the remainder of the game, keeping three Stanford shots out of the goal, but Ohio was ultimately not able to get past the stingy Cardinal defense, falling to Stanford 2-1.
Sunday’s contest against the California Golden Bears did not go as well for the Bobcats. Unlike the Stanford game, it was California to strike first early, with Olivia Sharratt scoring off a penalty corner five minutes in.
Liz Klompmaker made it 2-0 Cal with a minute left in the first period, and Holly Pears gave the Golden Bears a 3-0 halftime lead. The Bears were clearly dominant both ways, as they only allowed a single Bobcats shot for the entire first half.
They continued their dominance in the third period, scoring a whopping five goals: Josefina Moyano scored two, Hannah Ward and Morgan Kallmann each scored one, and Klompmaker scored her second of the game.
Entering the final period with an 8-0 lead, Klompmaker rounded out the hat trick with 11 minutes remaining, making the final score 9-0, Cal’s largest win since defeating UConn 10-0 in 2015 behind the stellar performance from Klompmaker.
While the defense struggled, the offense did as well, only getting up three shots compared to the 23 Cal had.
Looking ahead, the Bobcats continue on the road as they travel to North Carolina this weekend. They open their conference slate against Appalachian State (4-1, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) Friday, then play Davidson (3-3) the following Sunday. The Bobcats finally return home to the brand-new turf of Pruitt Field when they have their home opener on Sept. 26 against UMass.
