Ohio (2-1-0) celebrated senior day Sunday at their match against the Mercyhurst University Lakers (1-4-0). Ohio won 6-0, and a different player scored each goal. Senior forwards Melia Peer and Jaimason Brooker each scored on their special day. Goalkeepers Bella Wyatt and Ayla Rammel were walls in the net, earning three saves and one save respectively, along with a shutout.
In addition to Peer and Brooker, the Bobcats honored seniors Anna Burchett, Kate Robinson and Rylee Mensel. Family, students, friends and dogs showed up despite the heat.
“They’ve been good servants to this program, and they’re just wonderful people,” head coach Aaron Rodgers said about the seniors. “I’m really proud of the foundation they have laid and what they will continue to build.”
Although Mercyhurst struggled in its first three games and all of last season, the Lakers travelled to Athens with their first win of the year. Ohio shut down the confidence that win gave Mercyhurst with three first-half goals.
Straight from first touch, the Bobcats controlled possession throughout the match. They outshot the Lakers 19-9. Ten of those were shots on goal. The first shot on goal came from a short stint on offense by the Lakers when Wyatt easily gathered a Mercyhurst free kick.
Redshirt senior defender Ella Deevers scored with Ohio’s first shot on goal. She outmaneuvered Mercyhurst’s goalkeeper, Adri Lika, and tapped it in. Burchett and Robinson provided the assists.
Freshman midfielder Camille Francis subbed in and then gave the Bobcats their second goal. Junior midfielder Iro Fakinou fought for the ball near the goal line. She passed to Francis, who buried it. That was Francis’ second goal of the season.
“The depth was our greatest strength,” Rodgers said. “It was hot, and we were able to run all of our players. We think of them as game changers or enhancers, not just subs.”
Mercyhurst continued to struggle the rest of the half. Ohio earned a corner kick with one minute to go. Freshman defender Kendal Erbach launched the ball towards the net. Junior midfielder Lillian Weller collected it and scored.
Rammel started in goal for the second half. The Bobcats set up great plays and earned a penalty kick. Burchett missed. Peer’s fancy footwork tallied their fourth goal. She tricked the goalie, giving her a wide open net to shoot at.
Robinson scored next, but the referees called back the goal due to offsides. Brooker quickly avenged Robinson with a goal of her own. She nearly scored again within a minute.
Ohio made five substitutions after the hydration break. The possession was more even than the rest of the match as the clock ran down. After an Ohio corner kick, the Bobcats retained control in the offensive zone. Sophomore midfielder Noelle Miriello passed to sophomore forward Kiley Bruce for the team’s sixth and final goal.
The Lakers fought until the end, but ultimately had nothing to show for it.
Next, the Bobcats face two Power Four teams at home. They play University of Pittsburgh (4-1-1) Thursday at 4 p.m. and Indiana University (2-2-1) Sunday at 1 p.m.
“There were some things defensively we didn’t do well today that a team at a higher level would take advantage of,” Rodgers said. “We’ll have to clean those things up for Thursday. We hosted Clemson last year. We competed well to a top 25 team, and hopefully we’ll do the same this week.”
